MEN @ Kampnagel

Awhile back I posted about the new remix group with two members from Le Tigre: MEN. I was pretty pumped to see them in concert in Hamburg a couple weeks ago (yes, my response time is slow). Apparently JD Samson- who I am developing a major crush on- is the only former tiger remaining.

The Concert was part of a Girl Monster night at Kampnagel in Hamburg. Girl Monster is basically a hisstory project of girl groups including releases, events and a zine. The series of events at Kampnagel are curated by Chicks on Speed. The theme of the evening was "Are you a boy or a girl?" and began with a series of videos. My favourite was Matthew Lutz-Kinoy, Cone (2005), and this was another cool one by Tara Mateik: PYT:

Next came a performance, albeit short, by Ginger Brooks Takahashi. She demonstrated how to make and use flogs from recycled bicycle inner tubes and brough a giant bag for give-a-ways. Here's a pix of JD Samson looking on:

It was a good idea, but the problem is that inner tubes have grease on the inside and when you cut them, that makes for a nasty experience. Bonus points for trying to engage the audience but unfortunately the Hamburgers weren't having any of it.

This was followed by a lecture from Vaginal Davis, who is apparently now residing in Berlin. It's hard to describe exactly what she was doing, so just check out this video:

I was was pretty excited to see Davis but wasn't so amazed by the performance. MEN, however, were amazing. They closed the show with their fifth ever live performance and played only original material. Here is a clip of the preamble by JD Samson. I was enjoying the show too much to bother taping any of it- sorry! MEN are now on tour through July (and likely coming to a city near you! check out their mySpace).