Man Man Open for Gogol Bordello at E Factory Dec. 29

While I tend to shy away from the larger shows these days and prefer to hide out at home or in the local smaller music venues, I can’t help but be drawn to the warehouse space of the Electric Factory tonight for Gogol Bordello. Eugene Hutz will be in town with his caravan of musical misfits spreading the gospel of their old world meets new world order Gypsy punk which should be reason enough to pull me out of this winter hermit-ish state that I’ve been in (hard not to be with all this goddamn cold and snow!). But admittedly, I’ll really be there for our local madmen clad in white Man Man. It’s been a while since we’ve had a chance to catch a live performance from Philly’s favorite sons. They’ve taken a little hiatus from touring this past year working on their upcoming new album in Omaha. And leading purveyor of chaos Honus Honus a.k.a. Ryan Kattner has certainly been staying busy recently with his new side project and indie supergroup Mister Heavenly, which also features Nick Diamond (Islands and Unicorns) and Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse). Mister Heavenly announced that they signed to Sub Pop at the end of last month even before playing a single show (that I know of), but it’s not surprising with each members’ indie music pedigree. And when they finally made their first appearance opening for Passion Pit on the Left Coast, the band had in tow actor and Diamond’s buddy, Michael Cera, on bass, which created quite a furious media storm on the internet. Also judging by the live footage of Mister Heavenly’s new material, the tunes are pretty badasssss with Kattner and Diamond trading off on vocals accompanied by their self-proclaimed “Doom Wop” arrangements. I’d suggest all to catch Man Man when you can because you never know what Kattner’s busy calendar will hold for their live performance schedule in the future. But luckily with a new Man Man album in the works for Anti- Records, there should be at least a tour to follow. Toms River, New Jersey’s (and I wish that they were Philly’s) River City Extension will also be opening the evening which is definitely an added bonus. I had a chance to catch them last year at The Fire, and could instantly tell that their folk-ish sound fuel-injected with plenty of horns had a bright future. Glad to see River City Extension getting their opportunity on the big stage in front of what should be a lively audience. Already wishing right now that the local support acts will have longer sets. Electric Factory, 421 N. 7th St., 8pm, $37.40, All Ages (Photo by Shawn Brackbill) – Q.D. Tran