I wrote a piece for my job, but I wanted to wanted to share more thoughts on the band and the show.
I don’t speak German. I don’t even know what the band is singing when I do listen, but their music transcends the language barrier and I that I understand. When I do get curious as to what they are singing about, I visit www.herzeleid.com a fan site that has the lyrics translate into English, but I’ve learned, the lyrics and the songs are better in German. When Rammstein sang “Du Hast” in English, I just liked it less.
Oliver Riedel has been quoted “French is the language of love, and German is the language of anger.”
Sure the music sounds angry with pounding drums and bass rhythms, but there is something beautiful about it. Something haunting about it. Something that just moves me.
I like the fact the band isn’t scared to touch on subjects that are deemed taboo or controversial and they aren’t scared to do a video that is taboo or controversial.
Example #1: When I first heard the song “Mein Teil” from their album Reise Reise, it gave me chills. It’s the way Til sings the song and the music that make the song creepy, and when I saw the video, I was even more disturbed and creeped out by it. After some research, “Mein Teil” was inspired by the song was inspired by the case of Armin Meiwes, a man convicted of murder and cannibalism. Not only had they taken subjects that were ripped from the headlines, they had made them their own, and in the end, twisted it around to open the minds of their fans. I had never heard of the crimes that Armin Meiwes had committed, but I’m aware of it now and the trails he went through, but the video also opened my mind and made me question things. Watch the Making of “Mein Teil”
Example #2: The video for “Ich Will” shows the band as bank robbers who are put on a pedestal by the media and then of course knocked off the pedestal by the same media. This video release was delayed in the US because of the 9.11 attacks.
Example #3: Another ripped from the headlines, is the song “Wiener Blut” from their latest album Liebe Ist Fur Alles Da that was inspired by the story of of Jozef Fritzi who held his daughter captive for 24 years underneath his house.
I could go on listing examples but the band isn’t afraid to share their art and music and I like that even if it was inspired by something that “normal” people don’t like…but really…what is normal?
There are bands that are over the top live…the ones that hide behind lights and pyro because they’re not the great live and then there are the bands that balance the lights and the pyro with a great show that shows the talent of the band and the musicianship of the band. When you see a band that can balance everything, you’re not only watching a concert, but a work of art that has come alive. To me, Rammstein has found that perfect balance…excellent music from talented band members plus just the right mix of pyro and lights. When they perform the song “Enge,” Til wears this gigantic silver angel wings and the wings of course shoot out flames, but are they blazing the entire song? No, just where it emphasizes the beauty of the song most. It was an excellent way to close their show…perhaps, the most perfect way to close their show.
Here is what I originally wrote for my job: Rammstein
On December 11, 2010, Rammstein played to a sold out crowd at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was the band’s first appearance on US soil in 10 years.
After discovering the band in 1996, I never thought I’d get to see the band live, but after 14 years of waiting patiently, I FINALLY got to see one of my all time favorite bands! It was worth the wait!
First, apologizes this concert review is 3 days late, but I didn’t have my laptop with me in NYC.
Now that’s out of the way, let’s start the review:
I went into the show hoping they would be the best performance I’ve seen and I really wanted them to be my NUMBER ONE LIVE show so I had pretty high expectations. After discussing what to expect from the show with a fellow fan who flew from England just to see the show, he said it would not have all the pyro from the European shows but that I would not be let down. He had seen the 6 times already and said the show only got better if you’re a fan. I was already excited and this helped fuel the fire.
OH MY GOD! What a spectacular live show. I was not disappointed at all!
The lights dim and over 19,000 fans start chanting “Rammstein! Rammstein! Rammstein!” It gave me cold chills to hear that many fans chanting the name of a band and I can say true fans because the fan spectrum was from every nation and from every walk of life. We were all there together, forgetting our differences for one evening just for one band: RAMMSTEIN.
Rammstein opened with “Rammlied” from their latest album Liebe ist für alle da – They arrived on stage by using pick axes to tear throw the “wall” that separated them from the crowd and then delivered an 18 song set that rocked my face off (and I’m sure the other fans as well). The beginning of the set can be seen below.
Words cannot describe how as a music fan and a Rammstein fan how spectacular the show was. It was just amazing, completely blew me out of the water, and all shows after this will pale in comparison to this show. If this show was the first show I had ever seen, I’d never go to another concert in my life because no show could live up to it. Metallica and U2 are two of my favorite live shows. They get it. Rammstein, now my favorite live show of all time, well, they truly get it. Just enough lights, just enough pyro, just enough show. It was a perfect combination of showmanship, pyro, lights, and so on.
It truly was a perfect show.
I can tell any fan of music, go and appreciate what you’re about to witness because you will never ever witness it again with another band unless you’re watching Rammstein again.
Set List:
Rammlied
B********
Waidmann’s Heil
Keine Lust
Weisses Fleisch
Feuer Frei!
Wiener Blut
Fruhling in Paris
Ich tu Dir Weh
Du Reichst So Good
Benzin
Links 2 3 4
Du Hast
P**sy
Sonne
Haifisch
Ich Will
Engel
