Despite their kooky, manic onstage antics and dorky sci-fi obsession, Man Or Astro-Man? were one kickass, high-energy band. Filmed 2 September 1994 at Cas Rock, Edinburgh, on two cameras with little editing, this is a fabulous 90- minute set in a packed, sweaty club. There are no extras, but when the content is as good as this you don’t need any. This is one of the most explosive, entertaining and unique live bands of the 90s, caught in their prime, with clear and sharp sound. One of only two non-instrumentals is a storming cover of the Rezillos’ Destination Venus, though every song is punctuated by screams, hee-haws and yelps.
A stage invader ends up dancing with his head inside a hollowed out VDU monitor, an old Twilight Zone episode is projected onto the backdrop and, for some reason, the drummer’s mouth is gaffer-taped up. The band, dressed in their customary spacesuits and lab coats, are physically all over the place but musically in total control of the out-of-this-world surf-punk they spit out.
Despite difficulty in understanding broad Scots heckling, lead Astro-Man Birdstuff engages with the audience while introducing pseudo spy theme The Man from F.U.C.K.Y.O.U. You can guess how the call and response goes.
