Well, they like to keep us in the dark Maya. LOL As always.
A few thoughts to all the comments I've read, Really, you all have a point. True some venues were not sold out, as a matter of fact, most were not. I attribute that to poor advertising for the most part. But I also think that Rammstein in particular is somewhat of a niche band because of their type of music, singing in German only, and of course their live show which once more moderate folks check it out is (let's say) shocking to the casual music fan. I guess I can describe it based on the reaction of some of my friends, some of which who came to the show, and then some who did not after they checked them out.
Some quotes: "Why would I want to see a band I cannot understand." "That's nuts, he's raping the guy on stage with a dildo." "That looks like fun, I want to check it out." "Awesome, look at all the fire."
You can guess which ones came with me and my wife to see them. These are true statements btw, and I can only say this, after the concert back at work we were telling about what we saw and experienced and just about everyone who didn't go regretted it. As to the popularity of the band. My wife has a friend who owns a production company in California, and is in the know if you wish, and he's never even heard of Rammstein. Now, you take everything that's been said under consideration and it's not really surprising the venues didn't sell out.
Now, concerts sell out when a band is popular. When is a band popular? When the songs are being played on the radio stations and on TV. The media decides which band is popular. All you have to do is look at some of what's being offered. There are so many mediocre bands and singers out there that are successful due to the media hype. Keep in mind too, and those who've lived in both the US and Europe know, the US is a lot more conservative than Europe. So, if you just base it on what you see at a concert, yea, no surprise there. It is pretty obvious to me that Rammstein does not care much about political correctness if you wish, never have. Do you think you would ever see the original Pussy video on American TV? Well, in Germany they even advertised it on TV. Not so in the US.
I do know this. With the LIFAD and MIG tour they surely must have added quite a few new fans. It also made them a bit more current in the US. As long as they don't stay away for many years so they get forgotten again I would venture to say that the next US tour (if there will be another one) will see better ticket sales.
As to the concert in Houston which we attended. It was about 85 to 90% sold out. Really, only behind the secondary stage it was pretty much empty. That may even be partly due to the setup itself. However, it rocked big time. I saw some comments that stated that the crowd was not much into it. Well, I am inclined to say that's not true. There were many songs the majority sang along. We were hard to hear for sure since the music was extremely loud. My right ear was gone half way through Sonne. Now, the crowd was not as animated as they usually are at a concert in Europe, but I think there were quite a few newbies (as in seeing them live) like me in the crowd. There were times when I caught myself just standing there with an open mouth drooling. LOL The band was appreciative for sure and gosh you could tell how exhausted they were when they lined up to say good bye.
By now we know that the tour was a success financially, which leads me to believe that they would come back. In the end it is about making money too, right? Hopefully I get to go home (Germany) when they're on tour there and catch them live where every fan sings along. From what I saw online the best concerts are in Germany, England and France. Either way, we all have quite a few things to look forward to regarding new releases, just hope it includes another visit to the US.
A few thoughts to all the comments I've read, Really, you all have a point. True some venues were not sold out, as a matter of fact, most were not. I attribute that to poor advertising for the most part. But I also think that Rammstein in particular is somewhat of a niche band because of their type of music, singing in German only, and of course their live show which once more moderate folks check it out is (let's say) shocking to the casual music fan. I guess I can describe it based on the reaction of some of my friends, some of which who came to the show, and then some who did not after they checked them out.
Some quotes: "Why would I want to see a band I cannot understand." "That's nuts, he's raping the guy on stage with a dildo." "That looks like fun, I want to check it out." "Awesome, look at all the fire."
You can guess which ones came with me and my wife to see them. These are true statements btw, and I can only say this, after the concert back at work we were telling about what we saw and experienced and just about everyone who didn't go regretted it. As to the popularity of the band. My wife has a friend who owns a production company in California, and is in the know if you wish, and he's never even heard of Rammstein. Now, you take everything that's been said under consideration and it's not really surprising the venues didn't sell out.
Now, concerts sell out when a band is popular. When is a band popular? When the songs are being played on the radio stations and on TV. The media decides which band is popular. All you have to do is look at some of what's being offered. There are so many mediocre bands and singers out there that are successful due to the media hype. Keep in mind too, and those who've lived in both the US and Europe know, the US is a lot more conservative than Europe. So, if you just base it on what you see at a concert, yea, no surprise there. It is pretty obvious to me that Rammstein does not care much about political correctness if you wish, never have. Do you think you would ever see the original Pussy video on American TV? Well, in Germany they even advertised it on TV. Not so in the US.
I do know this. With the LIFAD and MIG tour they surely must have added quite a few new fans. It also made them a bit more current in the US. As long as they don't stay away for many years so they get forgotten again I would venture to say that the next US tour (if there will be another one) will see better ticket sales.
As to the concert in Houston which we attended. It was about 85 to 90% sold out. Really, only behind the secondary stage it was pretty much empty. That may even be partly due to the setup itself. However, it rocked big time. I saw some comments that stated that the crowd was not much into it. Well, I am inclined to say that's not true. There were many songs the majority sang along. We were hard to hear for sure since the music was extremely loud. My right ear was gone half way through Sonne. Now, the crowd was not as animated as they usually are at a concert in Europe, but I think there were quite a few newbies (as in seeing them live) like me in the crowd. There were times when I caught myself just standing there with an open mouth drooling. LOL The band was appreciative for sure and gosh you could tell how exhausted they were when they lined up to say good bye.
By now we know that the tour was a success financially, which leads me to believe that they would come back. In the end it is about making money too, right? Hopefully I get to go home (Germany) when they're on tour there and catch them live where every fan sings along. From what I saw online the best concerts are in Germany, England and France. Either way, we all have quite a few things to look forward to regarding new releases, just hope it includes another visit to the US.
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