Berlin, early September 2024, and we feel a bit of a breeze. Yet, we don’t experience the beginning of autumn, but peak summer temperatures above thirty degrees. It’s climate change madness with an extended summer length unusual for Germany. But our minds are set on escapism and having concert fun.
Fourteen years ago, in 2010, the wolves of MAN WITH A MISSION awoke from their eternal slumber due to global warming. When the Antarctic ice melted, it set the pack of superior creatures with incredible brain power and a superhuman physique free. Created at some point in the 20th century by the mad scientist Dr. Jimi (Hendrix), they had carried out the most secret missions. But after falling for the spell of evil, they contributed to some of the most evil deeds in history. Plagued with guilt, Dr. Jimi put them in icy caskets, where they stayed frozen for decades—and in their sleep, listened to music from all over the world.
So the story goes, telling the tale of the awoken wolves turning to music. But the question remains: are they redeeming themselves, working for justice, or are they nothing else but evil?
After several missed opportunities, I’m seeing MAN WITH A MISSION live for the first time. Oh, what I have been missing out on all these years! The band’s warm and friendly interaction with their smitten audience creates a sense of inclusion and shared enjoyment from the very first song, INTO THE DEEP.
The song builds up with DJ Santa Montana starting the intro at a slower pace and his band mates, vocalist Tokyo Tanaka, guitarist/vocalist Jean-ken Johnny, bassist Kamikaze Boy, and drummer Spear Rib, chiming in one by one. The pillars of the venue Astra Kulturhaus are illuminated in blue while the music speeds up—and we are ready to take off, launching whatever mission the wolves have in mind for this night.
The tour is powered by streaming giant Crunchyroll and draws an anime fan crowd, happy to be swept off their feet by the masked quintet from Shibuya, Tokyo. But contrary to my expectations, the fans are not only going bunkers over Kizuna no Kiseki [絆ノ奇跡] (Miracle of Bonds), the title song of the tour and theme song for the third season of Demon Slayer, recorded with the Japanese singer milet.
The fans are in all the way, singing along whenever opportunities arise, cheering for the wolves, and raising their hands as (very cute) clawed wolf paws to greet the band. (This is a wolf salute I can very much get along with, contrary to the Turkish nationalist gesture and symbol of the right-wing Grey Wolves that sparked heated discussions during the European Football Championship 2024.)
But even superwolves need a break sometimes. Halfway through the set, MAN WITH A MISSION leave the stage, and a humorous video is played of DJ Santa Montana receiving a perm. After the funny, entertaining interlude, Jean-ken Johnny returns alone and chats with the audience, explaining how damn hot it is under the masks.
It’s refreshing to experience that the musicians aren’t taking their image too seriously despite making sure to keep the illusion up. The grounded attitude makes Jean-ken Johnny’s following acoustic version of Take Me Under, only supported by the support guitarist, even more relatable. His impressively strong voice fills the hall, with most people attentively listening.
Certainly, the band’s backstory would also be worthy material for an anime! If that ever gets made into a film is written in the stars. But MAN WITH A MISSION have a movie coming up, as they announced at the end of the show: Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the release of their only concept album to date, Tales of Purefly, they are producing a story movie that will be published in six languages. So, stay tuned and check out MAN WITH A MISSION’s website for updates!
But now, are they good or are they evil? The five wolves and their support guitarist certainly don’t appear evil or dangerous. They don’t even seem to be superhuman or out of touch with reality. Instead, they are utterly friendly, fun, and relatable, guaranteeing a wonderful concert evening.
Oftentimes, they appear more like a pack of teenage wolf cubs living their best lives, not being forced to grow up, living their dream, and letting all of us live our inner child carefree. I can’t imagine anything sinister coming from this pack. Yet, if they had any bad intentions, their concert energy would sure be a formidable distraction!
SETLIST
01. INTO THE DEEP
02. Merry-Go-Round
03. Get Off of My Way
04. database
05. My Hero
06. Thunderstruck (AC/DC cover)
07. When My Devil Rises
08. Seven Deadly Sins
09. Take Me Under (Acoustic)
10. Dark Crow
11. Hey Now
12. Raise Your Flag
13. Winding Road
14. TAKE ME HOME
15. Kizuna no Kiseki (MAN WITH A MISSION × milet cover)
ENCORE
E1. Dead End in Tokyo
E2. FLY AGAIN
