MAN WITH A MISSION in Bochum

Right after releasing their sixth single Raise your flag, wolf-men MAN WITH A MISSION kicked off their 2015 Out Of Control Tour together with MxPx to support Zebrahead, which were part of the collaboration album Out Of Control.

Although it was already 30 minutes before doors, the crowd in front of Bochum's Matrix was surprisingly small. Though it is a well-known phenomenon at Zebrahead’s shows for the crowd to show up right before doors, one would still be surprised about it, considering the popularity of MAN WITH A MISSION in Japan. In fact, there was a small group of Japanese people, who embraced the chance to see the band playing at such a small venue.

The doors opened on time and the entry of all visitors went smoothly. 30 minutes later, the venue was surprisingly well-filled. MAN WITH A MISSION was the opening act and the first out of three bands. Also there was a noticeable number of people wearing MAN WITH A MISSION t-shirts before the show started.

MAN WITH A MISSION started their show right on time and opened with Fly Again, a fairly generic song to begin a set with. The crowd was a little restrained at first, but after a short time people began to clap their hands and dance to the beat. In the spotlight were Tokyo Tanaka and Jean-Ken Johhny, who impeccably played his chords while supporting Tokyo Tanaka with his vocals. These two and Santa Monica thus had the greatest presence on stage. Drummer Spear Rib and bassist Kamikaze Boy unfortunately seemed a little restrained themselves.

Additionally, MAN WITH A MISSION had a backup guitarist as the live lead guitar on stage, wearing a simple white mask and playing his chords right in front of a laptop screen. He blended into the group well and all in all he seemed like a simple, yet elegant solution to have both a rhythm guitarist and lead guitarist live on stage for the perfect live experience.

The second song of MAN WITH A MISSION's set was database, a fairly well-known song, which was used as opening song for the anime series “Log Horizon”. The crowd seemed to know the song, since a reasonable number of people knew the lyrics and started to sing along. Also, the tension rose and even more people started jumping, clapping and waving their hands.

Unfortunately, the venue is well known for having miserable sound mixing. MAN WITH A MISSION were not spared and the sound was horrible at some points. The drums were way too loud and there was no way of telling apart the vocals of Jean-Ken Johnny and Tokyo Tanaka. Moreover, the guitars and samples were too silent and it was hard to grasp the whole potential of Jean-Ken Johnny's guitar playing or Santa Monica's DJ-ing.

The crowd was surprised with fairly good lighting in return. Although the venue is equipped with just basic lighting and the band did not bring their own equipment, they did their absolute best to deliver a good light show, which made for a great atmosphere at most points of the show.

The third song Take What You Want was opened by a turntable solo from Santa Monica. A fair number of people were surprised by his potential, and this one time the samples and mixing were actually audible in all their might.

The next song was a cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana, or more like a reinvention, since the verses were slightly changed. Finally, the crowd let loose and the first mosh pit of the evening appeared. The atmosphere reached a new climax and after the song ended, the crowd surely warmed up for the upcoming acts that evening.

Before the next song started, MAN WITH A MISSION gave a shout out to the other bands and called Matty and Ali from Zebrahead on stage. Together they performed Out Of Control, the lead single of their latest collaboration EP. The crowd went wild, since this was the first song that the majority could sing along to. After high-fiving, the two bands gave shout outs to each other and the wolf-headed rockers prepared for their last song of the evening.

The last song of the set was Get Off of My Way, which was once again introduced by a turntable solo and simply said, the best way to end a set and make an imposing last impression. The beat was perfect for an easygoing and boisterous mosh pit. The wolf-rockers once again gave it all they had and so did their new fans in order to show the wolves that they were enjoying their show.

MAN WITH A MISSION ended their show in an elegant fashion and the applause after was louder than before their set. The first fans rushed to the merchandise table and grabbed t-shirts as a memory of the show.

After Zebrahead ended their set, Jean-Ken Johnny stood at the exit, accompanied by a higher-up and a camera team, in order to high-five and shake hands with the fans. He also handed out stickers as a nice little souvenir and to promote his band. Even though he looked a little ridiculous with the higher-up and a whole camera team next to him while the other two bands were friendly and all cuddly with their fans so casually, it was still a nice gesture by MAN WITH A MISSION.

MAN WITH A MISSION's show was a success, the progression of the show being especially good. While most of the new fans were restrained at first, MAN WITH A MISSION managed to create a boisterous atmosphere later in their set, which grew with every song they played. The venue still did not give the wolves the conditions they would have needed to really deliver the full-fledged experience. After all, MAN WITH A MISSION's a band that makes a great impression through their stage presence and appearance. Given, that the stage was fairly small, the wolf-heads still made the best out of it and fulfilled their overall goal: warming up the crowd for the upcoming acts and promoting their band.

Set list

01. Fly Again
02. database
03. Take What You Want
04. Smells Like Teen Spirit (cover)
05. Out of Control (performed with Ali and Matty from Zebrahead)
06. Get Off of My Way