Concert review for Rammstein - Allstate Arena May 10, 2011
(Even for those that are not LIFAD fans, the concert rocked...)
Rammstein took the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, BY FIRE on Tuesday, May 10, 2011. My husband and I had the privilege to see them in New York December, 2010. We had to bring our best friends to the Chicago show because they, too, are HUGE Rammstein fans. They were completely shocked, amazed, speechless. We cannot WAIT to see them in concert again! Rammstein, as always, did more than any fan could ask for!
The show opened with Paul Landers and Richard Kruspe bursting out of their sides of the stage with white light beaming from behind them. Then, the door in the center began to emit sparks like the fuse on a firecracker. Once the fuse burned around the entire door, Till Lindemann busted through the door like it was cardboard, and the crowd went absolutely crazy! The chants of RAMMSTEIN for the first song, Rammleid, filled the rafters at the Allstate Arena.
From that moment on, Rammstein took the crowd on one incredible journey. Till growled the lyrics of Buckstabu, or B********, (which really isn't a word by the way...) and was so convincing, he could have made a werewolf nervous. Weidmann's Heil and Keine Lust were awesome! Once the crowd really understood their part, they shouted, 'STERBEN!', 'Weidmanns, manns, manns, manns, Heil!', and '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. And what do us fans say to that? "BANG, BANG!" During the song, Weiner Blut, plastic baby dolls with green laser eyes hung from the top of the stage only to blow up into bits at the end of the song. An art only Rammstein fans would enjoy. Then a transition only Rammstein could pull off: Weiner Blut to Fruhling in Paris. Oliver "Ollie" Riedel really poured out the melodic tune of Fruhling in Paris. An absolutely beautiful performance.
For the song, Ich Tu Der Weh, Flake was up to "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 proceeded to pour fire sparks into the tub Flake was lying in. After the flaming sparks ended, Till was lowered back to the stage to see if Flake had met his 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, sparkling like a disco Christmas ornament the whole way. Then, Flake walked on a treadmill while playing the keyboards and doing what Flake does - entertain us all so well.
Till really surprised Rammstein's doting American, mostly English speaking fans by singing some English lyrics on Du Reichst So Gut. He said, "You smell so good." He certainly got my attention. It was as if he were saying thanks to us English speaking folks or something. Even though some of us have actually learned or are learning German just because of Rammstein. Another fantastic transition: Rammstein moves into Benzin. This was quite an amazing fire show. An "out of control fan" appears to run onto the stage. Till chases him down with a gas hose and a flare. Till ignites the gas hose and sets the crazed fan on fire. Kruspe and Landers work as a team with Till to keep the burning fan on the stage. Finally, he runs to the side and one of Rammstein's faithful and oh - so - hard - working crew members puts the guy out with a fire extinguisher. After Benzin is over, the fan is taken off the stage only to run back up to fall down at Till's feet, hug his knee, and give the crowd the international hand sign for ROCK ON. (It was obvious the "crazed fan" was part of the show...).
Links 2-3-4 had the fans marching in the crowded, sold out arena. I could feel my seat shaking. Lots of fans were waiting for that all familiar, favorite Rammstein song. And, of course, the fans got it. Du...Du Hast...Du Hast Mich... It was so loud during Du Hast, I don't even think the band had to sing. It was unbelievable where this fan was sitting. 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. Sonne and Ich Will had Rammstein and us fans connecting on such a deep level. At this point, you would just have to be there to understand the true meaning of counting with Rammstein during Sonne and answering Rammstein on Ich Will, "Wir horen dich, Wir sehen dich, wir fuhlen dich."
In between the songs Sonne and Ich Will, an amazing event occurred. (I thought this deserved its own paragraph.) Haifisch took Rammstein fans to the depths where the shark's swim. AND FLAKE WENT INTO THE CROWD ON THE DINGHY! Yes, folks, you heard me right. Despite the rumors Flake was no longer going to crowd surf (boat surf?) over the crowd during concerts because of his injuries and broken bones from unfortunate boat upheavals, HE SAILED! Not only did he sail, but he waived the Illinois flag along his trip. One lucky fan got to keep that flag. We were breathless! After two hours, 17 songs, and one encore, Rammstein stepped off the stage. For five minutes, the crowd shouted, "RAMMSTEIN!" at the tops of their voices. The arena was shaking as the fans pleaded for JUST ONE MORE SONG. And, Rammstein delivered.
Engel. Angel Wings. Fire. 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. Rammstein really went out with a bang. Engel was the perfect song to leave us with. 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 Kristoph Schneider's birthday! Some of the members of the crew 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 shows at MSG and Chicago 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 concert in North America again next year!
(Even for those that are not LIFAD fans, the concert rocked...)
Rammstein took the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, BY FIRE on Tuesday, May 10, 2011. My husband and I had the privilege to see them in New York December, 2010. We had to bring our best friends to the Chicago show because they, too, are HUGE Rammstein fans. They were completely shocked, amazed, speechless. We cannot WAIT to see them in concert again! Rammstein, as always, did more than any fan could ask for!
The show opened with Paul Landers and Richard Kruspe bursting out of their sides of the stage with white light beaming from behind them. Then, the door in the center began to emit sparks like the fuse on a firecracker. Once the fuse burned around the entire door, Till Lindemann busted through the door like it was cardboard, and the crowd went absolutely crazy! The chants of RAMMSTEIN for the first song, Rammleid, filled the rafters at the Allstate Arena.
From that moment on, Rammstein took the crowd on one incredible journey. Till growled the lyrics of Buckstabu, or B********, (which really isn't a word by the way...) and was so convincing, he could have made a werewolf nervous. Weidmann's Heil and Keine Lust were awesome! Once the crowd really understood their part, they shouted, 'STERBEN!', 'Weidmanns, manns, manns, manns, Heil!', and '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. And what do us fans say to that? "BANG, BANG!" During the song, Weiner Blut, plastic baby dolls with green laser eyes hung from the top of the stage only to blow up into bits at the end of the song. An art only Rammstein fans would enjoy. Then a transition only Rammstein could pull off: Weiner Blut to Fruhling in Paris. Oliver "Ollie" Riedel really poured out the melodic tune of Fruhling in Paris. An absolutely beautiful performance.
For the song, Ich Tu Der Weh, Flake was up to "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 proceeded to pour fire sparks into the tub Flake was lying in. After the flaming sparks ended, Till was lowered back to the stage to see if Flake had met his 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, sparkling like a disco Christmas ornament the whole way. Then, Flake walked on a treadmill while playing the keyboards and doing what Flake does - entertain us all so well.
Till really surprised Rammstein's doting American, mostly English speaking fans by singing some English lyrics on Du Reichst So Gut. He said, "You smell so good." He certainly got my attention. It was as if he were saying thanks to us English speaking folks or something. Even though some of us have actually learned or are learning German just because of Rammstein. Another fantastic transition: Rammstein moves into Benzin. This was quite an amazing fire show. An "out of control fan" appears to run onto the stage. Till chases him down with a gas hose and a flare. Till ignites the gas hose and sets the crazed fan on fire. Kruspe and Landers work as a team with Till to keep the burning fan on the stage. Finally, he runs to the side and one of Rammstein's faithful and oh - so - hard - working crew members puts the guy out with a fire extinguisher. After Benzin is over, the fan is taken off the stage only to run back up to fall down at Till's feet, hug his knee, and give the crowd the international hand sign for ROCK ON. (It was obvious the "crazed fan" was part of the show...).
Links 2-3-4 had the fans marching in the crowded, sold out arena. I could feel my seat shaking. Lots of fans were waiting for that all familiar, favorite Rammstein song. And, of course, the fans got it. Du...Du Hast...Du Hast Mich... It was so loud during Du Hast, I don't even think the band had to sing. It was unbelievable where this fan was sitting. 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. Sonne and Ich Will had Rammstein and us fans connecting on such a deep level. At this point, you would just have to be there to understand the true meaning of counting with Rammstein during Sonne and answering Rammstein on Ich Will, "Wir horen dich, Wir sehen dich, wir fuhlen dich."
In between the songs Sonne and Ich Will, an amazing event occurred. (I thought this deserved its own paragraph.) Haifisch took Rammstein fans to the depths where the shark's swim. AND FLAKE WENT INTO THE CROWD ON THE DINGHY! Yes, folks, you heard me right. Despite the rumors Flake was no longer going to crowd surf (boat surf?) over the crowd during concerts because of his injuries and broken bones from unfortunate boat upheavals, HE SAILED! Not only did he sail, but he waived the Illinois flag along his trip. One lucky fan got to keep that flag. We were breathless! After two hours, 17 songs, and one encore, Rammstein stepped off the stage. For five minutes, the crowd shouted, "RAMMSTEIN!" at the tops of their voices. The arena was shaking as the fans pleaded for JUST ONE MORE SONG. And, Rammstein delivered.
Engel. Angel Wings. Fire. 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. Rammstein really went out with a bang. Engel was the perfect song to leave us with. 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 Kristoph Schneider's birthday! Some of the members of the crew 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 shows at MSG and Chicago 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 concert in North America again next year!
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