The sounds coming from the five artists took the audience to a place far away from this nation’s dairy land, a place where pirates and centaurs and sideshow freaks dance the night away to the forgotten anthems of Slovakian carnivals and zombie cults.

Aging hipsters, clove-smoking 16-year-olds, and Milwaukee’s own world-famous dude-bros came together at The Rave on Nov. 11 for a night of good old fashioned rebel-rousing led by Modest Mouse and their unexpectedly magnificent opening act, Man Man.

As concert halls in Milwaukee go, The Rave is certainly not the classiest, certainly not the cleanest and certainly not the friendliest of institutions. But as a backdrop for the raucous gypsy romps and apathetic rebellion offered up by each of the respective performers, it was perfect.

Attendees of the show were treated to strong performances by the two opening acts, Brooklyn’s Love as Laughter and the outstanding Man Man, from Philadelphia.

Led by Washington native Sam Jayne, Love as Laughter delivered eight solid songs, each characterized by the band’s strong stage presence and Jayne’s powerful and distinct vocals.

Though Love as Laughter earned a respectable amount of attention from the crowd, nothing could compare to the reception that greeted the mustachioed members of Man Man.

Donned in all-white tennis-pro duds and war paint smeared under their eyes, the members of Man Man huddled together in the center of the stage with their wide assortment of instruments and proceeded to massacre the preconceptions that every human in the room previously held concerning what music was and what it could be.

The apparent front man of the group, Honus Honus, primarily played organ and sung lead vocals. From time to time, Honus, like every other member of Man Man, routinely busted out a pair of drumsticks to hit anything and everything within reach be it the shrunken head to his left or the ’50s-era fire extinguisher to his right.

The sounds coming from the five artists took the audience to a place far away from this nation’s dairy land, a place where pirates and centaurs and sideshow freaks dance the night away to the forgotten anthems of Slovakian carnivals and zombie cults.

The grimy ballroom suddenly morphed into a Sao Paulo discotheque, a tribal drum circle or a subterranean den hosting the vilest of pagan rituals.

The band didn’t let up the pace for its entire 30 minute set, using saxophones, cornets, keyboards and flutes to keep the crowd bouncing and shouting and stomping their Converse-clad feet.

One young fan in the front row even showed her appreciation with a steady stream of projectile vomit. After the show, Honus explained this was to be expected at any exorcism, and as such, it made perfect sense to him.

As the crowd anticipated the arrival of Modest Mouse, the considerable energy brought on by Man Man’s performance held strong and it was obvious that the headliners would reap the benefits of handpicking such magnificent openers.

The band opened with “Bury Me With It” and followed with “Paper Thin Walls” and “Dashboard.”

Though the crowd seemed to appreciate the energy and fury which front man Isaac Brock put into the performance, the room didn’t really explode until the band unleashed its new hit single “Fire It Up.”

Sure enough, nearly every punk who not yet old enough to purchase lottery tickets or pornography lifted their Motorola Razors in the air to record their new favorite song. If it weren’t for the screams of the aforementioned lunatics, the collective moans of the seasoned Modest Mouse fans would most surely have been heard.

These older fans would not be let down on this particular night, though, as recently released hits were balanced with several rarely-heard older cuts like “Tiny Cities Made of Ash” and “Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset.”

Brock brought out the banjo for several songs such as the excellent “Bukowski,” and the superb work of former Smith’s guitarist Johnny Marr only added to powerful and heartfelt performance the band offered their eager fans.

The encore consisted of four songs including “Black Cadillacs” and “Parting of the Sensory,” which brought the set to an appropriate close.

Though Modest Mouse put on a great show, many of those in attendance will undoubtedly be talking about Man Man at their respective water coolers (or lunch room tables) for some time to come.

Look for Man Man’s new album, out in March. In the mean time check them out on YouTube to see what music is meant to be.

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