Gig review: Man on Man at Headrow House, Leeds

In the words of Hot Chocolate, it started with a kiss. Man on Man are couple Roddy Bottum and Joey Holman, formed in 2020 as a release from the monotony of lockdown but quickly came to the realisation that the music they were producing was deserving of a wider audience.

Touring to promote their second album Providencetown, they produce ‘queer power-punch’ rock that tackles all forms of prejudice, but principally homophobia.

Bottum’s wings had been well and truly clipped through the abandonment of first one UK/European tour of his better-known entity Faith No More and then the rearranged dates being refunded. Man on Man benefitted, his signature swirling keyboards creating sounds of a cinematic and orchestral quality that have been the foundation of seven FNM albums are put to good effect at Headrow House, Holman layering the guitars over the top.

First track after the tender opening Take It From Me sets the scene with lyrics referring to gay haunts throughout San Francisco, poppers and sex. The chorus is shouted, a protest song over laden guitars.

Haute Couture continues the theme, Bottum and Holman pausing frequently to talk about how the music evolved, about prejudice and inequality and the punitive income generated through streaming.

The heavier parts of the set rely on a taped background and two guitars. The vocals are frequently lost in the mix, also the case on the recorded version, and despite the quality of the venue acoustics they can be difficult to make out at times. It matters not, it’s not a sermon, it’s a rock gig of the highest quality.

It’s a short set, clocking in at 45 minutes including encore 1983, but despite familiarity with much larger venues, the duo are happy to come out and sell merchandise (one vinyl purchase equating to 2.5 years of Spotify, we’re told).

Man on Man certainly pack in a punch, rock music to stimulate both the eardrums and the brain, a unique combination and one touring the UK for the next fortnight.

Warming up the venue was Leeds’s punk band Helle, a wall of sound fronted by astonishing vocals, the four-piece has already been picked up by BBC Music Introducing, building a steadily increasing fan base. The energy is exhausting, screamed vocals covering subjects from our abject Government, to, err, cannibalism and all stops in between.