James Schneider's Man on Sex through me for a bit of a loop because I was expecting a funny meditation on what men think about sex. Instead, what Schneider gives us is his perspective on his sex life as he comes to grips with how to navigate living in a sexless marriage. Alternating between anecdotes, reflections and very well-crafted songs, he takes the audience deep into his own personal trials and while it's never uninteresting, it's often personal to the point of voyeuristic weirdness. I know too many people in this same situation and I'm just not sure I really want to hear about a stranger's take on this, though his "Penisfesto" is simply brilliant.

Schneider even offered to stick around afterward in the Exit's cafe to chat, but the only thing I could think of to ask him in this scenario was if everything he was relating was true, and I really didn't want to know the answer if it was "yes." But he's funny, and  he's a very talented songwriter-composer. His tunes, which resemble the more artful side of Billy Joel's work, are well constructed, minor-key based pieces of pure pop delight. As I listened to him play and sing I thought to myself how great he would be at composing a full-blown musical. Hopefully he will, but on a different topic.

There are three more performances at the Exit, 156 Eddy St., San Francisco:
Sat, Sept 18 5:30 PM

Sat, Sept 18 7:00 PM
Sun, Sept 19 1:00 PM