A little less than a year ago, Croatian singer-songwriter Marko Purišić, known under his stage name Baby Lasagna, participated in the Eurovision Song Contest and got second place in the final. The highest-placing Croatian entry ever, ‘Rim Tim Tagi Dim’ was written for Purišić’s album DMNS & Mosquitoes, which he released in February of this year. Only three weeks later, Purišić embarked on his first ever European tour in support of the aforementioned album – his only body of solo work so far. On the 11th of April, his ‘Meow Back Tour’ made a stop in Amsterdam’s Melkweg.
The show was nearly sold out and fans had been queuing for the show since the morning – fortunately, it was a very sunny day. When the doors opened at 19:00, the eager fans stormed in to claim a good spot to see their favourite artist. The pre-show playlist consisted solely of artists who had participated in Eurovision before, which hyped up the audience even more. About thirty minutes later, the music switched to Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’ – the introductory song to support act Barbie Sailers. The Swiss rock band that has been around for over a decade consists of lead singer Thierry Jaccard, guitarist Alex Sassella, bassist Elia Bazzi and drummer Jonathan Vitali. They have been supporting Baby Lasagna since his show in their home country of Switzerland. Tonight’s set opened with their newest single ‘Chemicals’ followed by ‘In Extremis’. Both songs are absolute bangers; the latter is originally a collaboration with Kellin Quinn from Sleeping with Sirens, whose vocals would be taken over tonight by the band.
Barbie Sailers then treated the crowd to an anthemic rock version of Artemas’ ‘i like the way you kiss me’, with Bazzi providing some amazing screams during the final part of the song. They followed it up with a slower song, stating they “hope it speaks to” the audience, who eagerly clapped and swung along to the rock ballad ‘Wild World’. In the song, Jaccard sings about feeling out of place in this “wild world” and facing one’s fears and demons. However, it is also a very hopeful song that shows how together, the darkness can be overcome. After the track ended, the band left the stage for a bit, with a spoken word interlude introducing the next song, ‘Mirrors’. The band once again upped the energy for this and the next few tracks on the setlist, ‘Breathe’ and ‘Follow’. Before playing ‘Breathe,’ the band taught the audience a line from the chorus — “I can taste the air.” Simple and repeated often, it gave the crowd the confidence to shout it out every time the band counted them in.
Before playing the final song, Jaccard explained why the band, normally a five-piece, were on stage with four band members tonight. Their fifth member, Giona Bazzi, was at home with his partner, who just gave birth to their second child — leading to loud cheers and “awes” from the audience. The band ended the night with a cover of The Fray’s ‘You Found Me’, with Elia Bazzi singing the first verse and Jaccard the rest, the crowd waving along to this beautiful track. The band left the stage, but Sassella and Jaccard came back for a minute to share a bet: they were convinced they could gain at least 200 followers after tonight’s show. They promised they would post “something big” on Instagram if they pulled it off. 200 out of nearly 1500 attendees. That should be doable, right?
Another half hour of Eurovision-esque music later, it was time for the intro to Baby Lasagna’s own set to start playing over the speakers. On the stage were several light poles that flashed red to the rhythm of the beat, with Purišić’s band coming on stage together to continue the intro instrumentally. On the audience’s left side, one could find keyboardist and bassist Mihael Žipovski; on the right, guitarist and percussionist Martin Purišić, Marko’s younger brother; and in the center, drummer Matija Klaj. As soon as the man himself came on stage, the crowd immediately erupted into cheers as they started clapping along to the night’s first song, ‘Hypocritical’. This was followed by Purišić’s debut single ‘IG Boy’, which he wrote about the fake realities created through social media platforms. “Are you ready to jump for the first time this evening?” Purišić asked the crowd before the beat dropped and the fog machines went off.
“What’s next?” Purišić then asked, looking at the setlist – “Oh no, it’s also a fast one”. Purišić had already given 200% energy for the first two songs, and considering he had to cancel the previous day’s show in Paris due to sickness, it must be praised how he kept that going for the rest of the night. He continued with ‘Good Boy Lasagna’, showing some sick dance moves and jumps throughout. Once song ended, a big object was thrown onto the stage. Turned out “the first kittens arrived”, as Purišić picked up a bag filled with crocheted versions of his cats. He put them in a safe spot near the drums and continued with “a chill” song: ‘Stress’. The man had earned himself a little break, and the crowd took this opportunity to wave their flashlights around and light up the whole room, which Purišić appreciated. Afterwards, he asked the crowd if they “know our song ‘Rim Tim Tagi Dim’?” which led to some intense screaming. But no, “they were not playing it yet because then [the crowd] would all leave”. Instead, he just wanted to explain how, like ‘Rim Tim Tagi Dim’, the next song was never supposed to be anything special, just an album filler. This song was ‘Less Than Great’, during which he introduced his drummer Matija Klaj, who had the spotlight on him for the first time tonight. Purišić left the stage so all the attention would be on Klaj and his drumming.
Before playing the sixth song on the setlist, Purišić stated how they would be doing something that they “do every time on tour but every time, it sucks”. All four men on stage took the time to switch positions and instruments. Klaj took Žipovski’s bass, Purišić took his little brother’s guitar, with him in turn taking a seat behind the drums. Singing the song ‘and I’ was not Purišić himself, but Žipovski – at least up until the second verse, when he conveniently “forgot the lyrics” and made everyone move back to their original positions to play the song again with the proper vocals and lyrics. It made for a very quirky moment that caused a lot of laughter. So too did Purišić notice a fan’s shirt in the audience after, a Sabaton band tee that he appreciated. Purišić and his band continued with the fast-paced ‘Dopamine’, jumping and running around the stage like he had been doing all night.
For the people in the crowd who had been to multiple shows on this tour, Purišić had to note how he tells the same jokes at every show because he “hates talking in between songs” – so, he is sorry if that is getting boring. Of course, these fans — who were mostly in the front of the audience — disagreed with him. They were simply having the time of their lives. Purišić then told the crowd the next song was written by Žipovski, so if the audience thinks it sucks, they should blame him! Of course, they did not think so, and everyone clapped and danced along to ‘Baila’. It was then time for the final song of debut album DMNS & Mosquitoes, namely its title track. This track is less upbeat than the others and talks about stress and overthinking, with “demons and mosquitoes keeping [you] up at night”. During this track, Žipovski had the spotlight on him for the bridge’s keyboard solo.
As Purišić has only one album out under Baby Lasagna, he had to fill some time in this show by playing other music. During the acoustic set, with Purišić himself playing the acoustic guitar, he decided to play some pretty well-known songs, as the audience may “only know the one song” from Baby Lasagna himself. Purišić started the set with ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ and followed that up with Smash Mouth’s ‘I’m a Believer’, with Klaj playing the kazoo behind the drums. Finally, he played a shortened version of ‘I’ll Be There for You’ – with the crowd clapping exactly when they were supposed to. Putting the acoustic guitar away again, Purišić stated that “now we are coming to the best part of the concert” as the next song is their favourite to play: ‘Biggie Boom Boom’. For the final part of the track, Purišić left the stage to come into the crowd, telling everyone to get low and jump together. While he was in the crowd, the other musicians had left the stage. Purišić himself was the first one to make it back, asking “Does Amsterdam like this one?” before Klaj started the song ‘Again’ on his drums. Žipovski and Martin Purišić joined later with their wind instruments, replacing these with their bass and guitar again afterwards to play ‘Catch Me If You Can’.
The entire band went off stage, and the introduction to ‘Rim Tim Tagi Dim’ started playing over the speakers. A few-minute-long orchestral hymn sounded through the room. The light poles were removed from the stage for this final part of the night. Of course, ‘Rim Tim Tagi Dim’ got the loudest reception of the night – while many fans are very much familiar with all his music, there are always Eurovision fans just here to hear this one, amazing song. Purišić once more gave it his all, and so did the fans, shouting along every lyric, including the iconic “meow cat, please meow back”. Purišić treated the crowd to an extra a cappella part at the end and silently thanked the audience for their enthusiasm; the appreciative smile said it all. They all left the stage one final time, with Klaj coming back on first with a Melodica which he played to introduce the final track. During this song, ‘Don’t hate yourself, but don’t love yourself too much’, Purišić’s brother was playing a huge red trumpet that he pranced around the stage with. At the end of the song, Purišić himself left first, with his musicians dancing around during the outro before taking a bow and leaving the stage as well. The show was only an hour long, but due to the high level of energy, it may have felt longer. The show was funny, loud and exciting – hopefully, Baby Lasagna will be back soon with even more music.
