There is nothing like a good live show after four days of vacation. ME AND THAT MAN had one at Korjaamo, Helsinki, on April 2nd, 2024, which happened to be a rainy day. The terrible weather was surely counterbalanced by the outstanding concert they played, along with FRANK THE BAPTIST, a very interesting American rock band who played as an opening act.
Given the big popularity of the Polish outfit, we decided to get to the venue well in advance, to secure a nice spot in the front row. We got lucky enough to be exactly in front of Nergal, the leader of the band, known also for being the frontman in the blackened death metal band BEHEMOTH. There were no physical barriers between the audience and the stage, and this feature affected the whole show in a good way, as the interaction was smooth, spontaneous, and pleasant.
Founded in San Diego in the late ‘90s, five-piece FRANK THE BAPTIST released their first album in 2003. Their energetic and melodic blend of indie rock, punk, and post-punk truly surprised us, as their attitude on stage was stunning, too. “Diogenese Travels” worked as a perfect opening tune, and even though we did not know a thing about the band beforehand, their music did sound quite familiar to us: groovy, straightforward, and involving. It seemed to us that they were skillfully summarizing everything good that came out in the ‘90s, a grunge hint included, which is always a plus, in our opinion. Their cover version of MISFITS’ legendary tune “Die Die my Darling” took us off guard in the best possible way: so many big and small bands have been covering that song, and we are definitely fond of the original version, but we have to admit that FRANK THE BAPTIST did a great job, as they managed to keep the vibe as it originally was, while adding their own personal touch, in a creative yet respectful manner we did not take for granted at all. A bluesy vibe and a great bassline, as well as a significantly slower pace, worked perfectly in making the tune quite remarkable. Right after, we noticed that the singer had the famous MISFITS skull tattooed on his arm (known also as “the crimson ghost” or “the fiend skull”), so their choice made even more sense to us. We were amazed by his charisma: he tapped his feet to the beat while wearing a top hat: all in all, he did really look and act like a character from a weird yet intriguing fairytale. A new song called “Kingda Ka” followed, which, according to the singer, will end up in their next album. It sounded promising, hence we do feel like we will keep an eye on the band’s future activities. This was their first time in Helsinki, and we do hope it will not be too long before they come again.
The headliners took the stage at 22:00 as scheduled, on the notes of the soundtrack of an old Polish TV series called Janosik, making their entrance epic, and, speaking of epicness, it was just the beginning. As many of you probably know, most of the songs they published feature guest vocalists, who are usually big names in the international metal scene, but in live settings the main singer is Matteo Bassoli, the bass player, whose versatility, skills, and stage presence left us speechless, beyond any expectation. He was standing on the left side of the stage, Nergal in the middle, guitarist Marcin Gałązka on the right, who had been playing barefoot the whole show, and drummer Łukasz Kumański behind, as usual. “Run with the Devil” gave us the boost of energy we needed and set the right atmosphere, then Nergal took his singing duties on “My Church is Black,” on which Matteo and Marcin provided some backing vocals. At that point, we realized that we were witnessing something special. Nergal announced the following song by saying “We are ME AND THAT MAN, and we are taking you for a night ride,” as “Nightride” was the upcoming tune, on which he came closer to us while walking back and forth on stage with his bandmates, giving some sort of choreography as a result, in a party mood that lasted for the entire show. He invited us to clap to the beat, then at the end of the song, he pointed out how happy they were to be in Finland again and to see a full house: the venue was fully packed, and everyone around us was as excited as much as the guys on stage. The call-and-response on “On the Road” between us and Matteo was something, as we all felt part of the ritual. The tune turned out to be even groovier and more involved than we imagined, and it kind of proves that no matter how deeply you know a band or a song, a live concert is always a different experience that words can barely describe, but hey, we are doing our best…
The passionate and solemn bluesy vibe on “Surrender” highlighted Matteo’s outstanding presence and singing skills. Nergal’s jokes in between songs made us laugh to tears: at some point, he asked how many of us were seeing ME AND THAT MAN for the first time, then he compared us to a virgin who’s about to get deflowered… That was an appropriate metaphor indeed! We laughed hard at this. He invited us to “get engaged and sing” the song “Burning Churches” with them, and we totally jumped on board.
Nergal at that point noticed a girl with a hat he had met in Norway a few days before and invited her on stage to perform “Witches don’t Fall in Love,” of which she had made a short video on Instagram, very appreciated by the band. He gave her the time to think about it, as there were some other songs in the setlist to play, but of course, we were quite surprised about it. “Coming Home” and “Angel of Light” followed. The latter, which was written by Matteo, features MYRKUR as a guest, but of course, the band is not traveling with every guest, so Nergal ended up telling jokes about the bassist, “a ginger short Italian who can sing like a fucking angel, trust me!” which totally sounded like a sweet “bromance” moment. Matteo took MYRKUR’s place on vocals. It was very intense, and words can barely describe the jovial, light-hearted, and fun atmosphere we were immersed in, but we hope at least some of it can be conveyed to the readers. Nergal shouted “bravissimo” to the guy, and someone from the audience echoed. We definitely agree with that, too…
An energetic tune called “Got Your Tongue” was the next one. Nergal offered himself to the cameras, held the hands of the people in the front row, and eventually jumped from the drum’s platform. He announced that the acoustic part of the show was about to happen, and he invited the girl with the hat on stage, while stools got placed for them. The girl joined, and Nergal asked her name, where she was from, and such. She lives here but has traveled to Norway to see the band. Then Nergal pointed out that they had not set the whole thing up in advance, which made it even more meaningful. The girl, whose name was Iida, said that her heart was racing, and we believed her. Getting invited on stage by a band you love, to sing with them, out of the blue, must be equally terrifying and stunning. Nergal also pointed out that the guy who wrote the song, their guitarist Sasha Boole, was not there because, as a Ukrainian, he was fighting for his country. A short yet poignant statement about the ongoing conflict followed, where he also stated how much he respects Finland and its people, and of course, we reacted with heartfelt applause. The duet with Iida went smoothly. She nailed the whole song, despite being excited and nervous. Everyone on stage was singing along; their smiles were incredibly sincere and sweet when they encouraged us to wave our hands to the beat. Nergal pointed his finger at Iida and then at us and said, “She’s amazing, and you’re amazing,” and although we do not really like to misuse such a word, we cannot help but agree with him. It felt like we were at one with them: priceless, magical, and unforgettable. Matteo and Nergal hugged her before she left the stage, then Nergal told Matteo: “you’re fired,” and we laughed hard at that one, too.
Nergal introduced the following tune as “a song about death,” as he was talking about “Silver Halide Echoes” which features Randy Blythe from LAMB OF GOD as a guest, in the studio version. He was singing the main vocal line, Matteo and Marcin were providing that iconic whistled part, and then Matteo joined on backing vocals as well. At the end of it, Nergal noticed a couple who was basically the same age as his parents in the audience and expressed how happy he was to see three generations of people at their show, and he promised he would not swear too much on stage. Of course, we laughed at that one, too…
“Black Hearse Cadillac” was the next up in line, and Nergal did not miss the chance to mention the weird, creepy coincidence about the song, as the guest who sings it on the album, who also wrote the lyrics, died on the very same day the album was released. We are talking about Hank Von Helvete, the late frontman of the legendary Norwegian death/punk band TURBONEGRO. That was a very touching moment indeed, as we were well aware of that coincidence, too, and the lyrics themselves do sound like a premonition. Nergal took vocals duties on that, and the tremble in his voice said it all, along with the funereal, evocative beat provided by Łukasz.
They briefly left the stage but returned after a couple of minutes and delighted us with “White Faces,” a cover song by Roky Ericsson which sees Mat McNerney from HEXVESSEL as a guest on the studio version. The tune was released as a single quite recently. Nergal jokingly told us that they got accused of being racist on the internet because of the song’s title, instead, he wanted to consider it as “a tribute to all the black metalheads out there,” as he also mentioned how fun it was for him to play in Finland with BEHEMOTH. Matteo was giving his best as a main singer besides his bass duties, while Nergal and Marcin delivered some backing vocals. A blast from the past, “Love and Death,” brought us back to ME AND THAT MAN’s debut album, which saw Nergal in a more prominent frontman-ish role; then he announced the singer from FRANK THE BAPTIST as the guest on the following tune. He warned us to not take it personally, as the song was called “Get Outta This Place.” Matteo promptly said, “Stay here,” and guess what? We laughed hard, again! The massive bluesy features of the song invaded the room, Matteo pretended to light an invisible cigarette for Nergal, and the playful atmosphere oddly paired perfectly with the flawless show they were offering us. The affection they showed towards us and our country was heartwarming, as Nergal at some point mentioned that Finland is the capital of heavy metal, and how cool it was to see us having fun, if compared to the average BEHEMOTH’s audience, which, he said, is mainly made of people who do not want to show this kind of feeling. It was, to some extent, a joke, and he also stated that after the show these people could definitely go out in the streets and “be evil again.”
The next-to-last song, “Losing My Blues,” saw Frank once more as a guest vocalist, followed by “Blues & Cocaine,” on which the guys encouraged us to sing along with them, and that’s what we did while clapping to the beat. The sound of our hands clapping and Matteo’s chant, along with Nergal’s and Marcin’s backing vocals, created some sort of a weird, sacred vibe. We mean it by stating that it was a perfect closure for a perfect show, during which we laughed and had a great time, enjoying not only the music but also the good company of the outstanding people on stage. Both bands gave it all until the last second, and we feel grateful for each note and smile we shared.
Written by Licia Mapelli
Photos by Mirko Luparelli
Setlist
- Run with the Devil
- My Church is Black
- Nightride
- On the Road
- Surrender
- Burning Churches
- Coming home
- Angel of Light
- Got your Tongue
- Witches don’t Fall in Love
- Silver Halide Echoes
- Black Hearse Cadillac
- White Faces
- Love & Death
- Get Outta this place
- Loosing my Blues
- Blues & Cocaine
