Written by: Daisy Barrett
Rammstein took the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, BY FIRE on Tuesday, May 10, 2011. Rammstein did more than any fan could ask for!
The show opened with Paul Landers and Richard Kruspe busting out of their sides of the stage with white light beaming from behing them. Then, the door in the center begins to emit sparks like the fuse on a firecracker. Once the fuse burned around the entire door, Till Lindemann busted through and the crowd went absolutely crazy!
From that moment on, Rammstein took the crowd on one incredible journey. Flake was up to his “no good” and ended up being thrown into a bathtub on the stage by Till. Till rose up on a special riser some 20 plus feet above the tub and poured fire sparks into the tub Flake was in. After the flaming sparks ended, Till was lowered back to the stage to see if Flake had met an untimely end. To Till’s surprise, Flake was actually doing well in a flashy, disco ball suit. Flake got out of the tub and did his “Flake” dance all the way back to the keyboards. Then, Flake walked on a treadmill while playing the keyboards and doing what Flake does – entertain us all so well. Flake also got in his rubber dinghy and sailed across the crowd in true crowd surfing ?boat surfing? form. He flew the Illinois flag which caused quite a response from the fans.
The crowd screamed the lyrics to Du Hast in unison. Keine Lust was awesome! Once the crowd really understood their part, they shouted, ‘Ich hab Keine Lust!’ until voices became hoarse. Freuer Frei was, well, full of fire much to the pleasure of the audience. You could feel the heat from the flames where we were sitting. (On the second level.) One can only imagine what these six guys go through in the course of a concert. It is definitely unimagineable. Oliver “Ollie” Riedel really poured out the melodic tune of Fruhling in Paris. An absolutely beautiful performance. Links 2-3-4 had the fans marching in the crowded, sold out arena. I could feel my seat shaking. Ich Will and Sonne created a real fan – Rammstein connection as the responses from the audience filled the arena. And, of course, Pussy was a real fave. The phallis that shot white debris all over the Pit was amazing. If you were elevated enough, you could see white foam covering the heads of all those fortunate enough to be on the floor. After two hours, 17 songs, and one encore, Rammstein ended the show with one final song.
The finale was – well – the fans are hoping it is not a real finale for the Chicago area. We hope they come back at least one more time. For this councert,
Rammstein really went out with a bang. Engel was the last song of the night. Till was wearing his famous Angel Wings. The crowd went completely wild. Some of us long time, true fans had tears in our eyes. It was one hell of a way to end the show.
Till and his bandmates usually have little interaction with the audience. At this show, though, it was different. At the end of Engel, the band came out on the stage, bowing to the crowd in appreciation. Till stood up and told Chicago that it was Christoph Schneider’s birthday! Some of the members of Combichrist, (the opening band), brought out a birthday cake, Flake played the birthday song, and the crowd sang Happy Birthday to Rammstein’s devoted drummer. Till took the microphone and told Chicago ‘Thank you, Chicago. Thank you.” I could feel and hear his appreciation in his voice.
Seeing a Rammstein show for the first time is almost a musically spiritual happening. That’s all I can say. Nothing else really describes it. Rammstein truly is the best band out there, hands down. My husband and I flew from Florida to see them at Madison Square Gardens in 2010. The show’s were the same. It was perfect the first time we saw them in New York, and the concert was better the second time around.
GO SEE RAMMSTEIN! Obviously, they are my favorite band in the world – and always will be. They have earned my love, respect and appreciation for what they do. Nothing musically compares to Rammstein. Thanks, Rammstein, for the best concert I have ever seen! And we hope to see you in North America next year!”
For Affenknecht Daisy Barrett
[starratingmulti id=3 tpl=32]