Justin Hyte
MEN spin roller-skate jams, house beats in Atlanta
March 10, 2008, at the Earl
By Beverly Bryan
Published: March 13th, 2008 | 11:35am
With the feminist dance party known as Le Tigre on a lengthy hiatus, JD Samson and Johanna Fateman, who make up two thirds of the band, have regrouped as DJs and are working on some new dance numbers of their own under the title MEN. With a European tour already behind them, the duo has set off on a U.S. trek with support from Hey Willpower, stopping at the Earl on a Monday night.
Hey Willpower consisted of breathtakingly vulnerable vocalist Will Schwartz of Imperial Teen in a sequined bow-tie accompanied on a vocoder-equipped MiniKorg by a shy-looking Tomo Yasuda in an oversized kitten sweater. Vogueing and gyrating on a one-man electronic pop escapade complete with disco-soul chorus, Schwartz established the cultural tone for the night. Like all successful popsters, there was heartfelt yearning in the melodies and in Schwartz’s reedy voice. That may be what eventually drew the thin and uncertain audience closer and brought a few to dance carefully.
Because there weren’t many people in the Earl’s clubroom, too much of the night was bound in the clay-footed stretch of the school dance or indie rock show where no one wants to cut loose because no one else has yet. Hey Willpower fought the tide with bravery and charm. His set at an end, a bashful and giggling Schwartz introduced the main event. Samson and Fateman swept onstage without ado and began pumping out a few hours' worth of their favorite non-Le Tigre roller-skate jams for ladies and gents.
The duo started out playing on words with a clip of the opening lines to “It’s Raining Men.” Bent over their Mac computers, heads close together, shoulders rocking in unison, they would go on to perform such feats as blending crunk and house beats with the likes of Enya and Deniece Williams. MEN’s other stock in trade is club hip-hop from the latest Snoop Dogg to Sir Mix-A-Lot. “Baby Got Back” prompted spontaneous call and response. And, just as in days of yore, grinding and popping it on the dance floor reigned. For a fleeting moment, the Roger Rabbit even surfaced.
After awhile MEN whipped up a comfortably grooving crowd. It was a family-and-friends vibe — emphasis on the family — even if not everyone was acquainted. One denim-clad man turned the drinking bar into a ballet barre as two female friends helped him to extend his legs. Dressed down in T-shirts and jeans, Samson and Fateman presented a low-key front for most of the night. They did break out in arm waving and interpretive dance moves after midnight, but by then it would not be long before they bid farewell, taking down their set-up to a little Donna Summer.
Fans of Le Tigre, puzzled by the lack of obvious polemics in the JD-and-Jo show, needn’t fret. There is still plenty of post-modern feminist fun to be had picking apart the semiotics of the MEN tour T-shirt’s simple declaration: MEN ARE DJS. Who can deny it?
Issue #25
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