Story Time: Dr.Manhattan

Two years ago I had the opportunity to see my all-time favorite rock band play a scaled down acoustic show at one of the smaller, more intimate venues in Philadelphia called the North Star Bar. It was a rare event made even rarer by the fact that the band, Saves the Day, were recording some of their songs for an acoustic EP they'd later put out and also by the fact that their lead guitarist has since left the band, meaning it will probably never happen again.

Before Saves the Day could go on there were two opening acts. One of those acts, a power trio calling themselves Single File, was excellent. The other band, a group of 4 younger-seeming guys calling themselves Dr.Manhattan (yes, like the Watchmen character) were pretty good as well. They had a drummer, but they also had a big stand-alone bass drum that another band member would play during certain parts of songs, and I thought it sounded really cool and it was certainly different from anything I'd seen before. They were catchy and played music that really stood out against other stuff I was listening to at the time. I didn't think they needed to add anything crazy outside of the music to be likeable, but they insisted on running around stage acting like goofy kids, and I'll admit that's probably cool to some people, but I just didn't get it, and when they joked around it seemed a little "inside," especially for an opening act. I'm sure some people loved it. It was a young band having fun, but I was there for Saves the Day and they were taking up time. After the show I bought EPs from both supporting acts because I thought the music was excellent and I like supporting young bands, especially in environments like the North Star where they have to sell their own merchandise after their set so you can talk to them.

Later in the week I decided, as I sometimes do, to write a review about the show for a music website I frequent. This review that took me 5 minutes to write at work turned out to be the single most read piece I've ever contributed to the internet, however small that may be. It turns out bands--especially those just starting out-- like to read reviews about themselves on the internet. Who wouldn't? Only one band, Dr.Manhattan, took that review, and used the--admittedly--backhanded compliments I gave them to promote themselves on their MySpace page. It was a pretty smooth move on their part, and as a result I bought their LP when it came out. It's not bad.

To see what I mean, here is the Dr.Manhattan portion of my review from their myspace page. Feel free to read the comments, too, as some people took some pretty good shots at me. Here's one for free:
" you probably were too vibrant and energetic for his cold-black-blooded-soul"

Then check out their song, Big Chomper, Big Chomper, below:

	Dr. Manhattan - Big Chomper, Big Chomper
	Found at skreemr.com