In the 1990s, most independent music bands had "a thing". It could be something subtle like putting on a fake voice (Calvin Johnson and his Dub Narcotic Sound System) or playing a saw in darkened rooms (The Black Heart Procession). Or it could be in-your-face weirdness like pretending you are agents (Frodus), insects (The Locust), or gospel preachers (The Make-Up). Man Or Astroman? managed to top everybody by saying they were from Outer Space and creating a whole story and imagery around it. At some point, they even planned to have several bands tour the planet simultaneously as Man Or Astroman?, though that never materialised as far as I am aware. Incidentally, they also had a side-project called Servotron, in which all band members dressed up as robots.As silly, and maybe slightly outdated, the whole idea of bands assuming fake identities and making up stories seems, there is something admirable and fun about the effort that went into these assumed personas. You identified each band with a distinct image, you had expectations and live shows could exhale the atmosphere of a circus show. Luckily for 1990s independent music, being a little silly did not take away anything from good music. Really good music.
I do not tend towards nostalgia. The new excites me. The here and now, or better, the future is where I like to be. Every now and so often though, you hear a name or a song and you remember the emotions you felt when you used to hear it. Man Or Astroman? are one of those bands that do that for me. So the minute I read the show announcement by Eine Welt Aus Hack, I was on to buying my ticket. It was only afterwards that I realised that a lot of folks in my surroundings had never heard of this band before. It may be that several of my friends are younger than me. Or it may be that I was just into weirdo stuff back then. Gary and I, and our friend Steffen, got more excited as the day drew near, while everybody else was like "I need to have a listen first". Yeah, you do that. And you'll love. Don't miss!
