Men Women & Children Preview

Men Women & Children
House Of Blues, Chicago
Saturday, September 2, 2006

“You don’t need a reason to get on the dance floor,”Men Women & Children vocalist TJ Penzone insists during “Dance In My Blood,”the first song on MWC’s self-titled Reprise debut. Maybe he’s right, but his band provide pretty good reason anyway.

Men Women & Children may have originally began as a “joke”project between former Glassjaw guitarist Todd Weinstock and keyboardist/programmer Nick Conceller (the band grew to include Penzone and his brother, bassist Rick, guitarist Jason Gimmule, and drummer David Sullivan) and may still resemble one because of the headbands, mustaches, leopard print vests, and pastel blazers, but Men Women & Children is a hell of a good time nonetheless. A combination of Gang Of Four’s jagged grooves, Queen’s rock flamboyancy, and The Bee Gees’ disco decadence, MWC might just be the electric shock the thought-to-be-deceased dance rock movement needs, thanks in large part to the group’s less-than-serious beginnings. With none of the oh-so-cool hipster cred of Franz Ferdinand or The Killers, MWC only care about your ass and how much it’s shaking, hence an abundance of dancers-unite anthems like “Messy”(So we don’t care if we get dirty/we ain’t here for cleanliness . . . we’re just making friends”), “The Name Of The Train Is The Hurricane”(“Just keep it shaking like a rattlesnake now just jump right our of your skin”), and, of course, “Él Celebracion!”(“Take take what you gave away/while we set it off/turn on the lights let’s celebrate.”)

MWC are part of the Propaganda Tour 2006, headlined by Head Automatica and also including Rock Kills Kid and Young Love.

— Trevor Fisher

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly