I know it’s a bit late, but I couldn’t let myself not publishing a report about the concert Rammstein made last November 11th in Madrid.
5 years after the Reise Reise tour, the germans finally come back to Madrdi to present their new work: Liebe ist für Alle Da (Love is for everyone). 5 years of waiting which have been gratefully rewarded with this last show. This time in Palacio de los deportes de Madrid, more than 15000 people gathered to see the new Rammstein show.
Like a good fan, I would have gone there at 9am to wait in the line and get a good place near the stage, but as I couldn’t find anyone willing to do so, we went on a much more reasonable time and we still managed to get a good position thanks to the mess made when the organisers tried to rearrange the lines :P
And finally 8pm came and they opened the doors. We managed to get quite close to the stage, like 20 meters away, with barely room to breathe and starting to die of heat even before they started throwing fire. The show started with the guest artists Combichrist, a group which I didn’t know and I had heard many bad comments about them, but which in the end I quite liked. They are a group made by two drummers, a keyboard player and a singer. Really interesting, worth giving a try.
After the support band and a brief break to gather energies and breathe a little, the real show began.
In the very most darkness, we started to hear the background organs preparing us for what’s to come. Little by little, we start to see some light beams from the black background, to little by little discover that it’s Paul and Richard making way, axe in hand, through two walls of the stage.
The emotion starts to be felt in the people. Once Richard and Paul have made through the walls, we start to see how, in the middle of the stage, something starts sparking and burning. Till is making his way through a metal wall with a blowtorch. Some minutes after, Till appears, along with the two guitarists, in the stage. The show begins.
Rammlied
Wer wartet mit Besonnenheit
Der wird belohnt zur rechten Zeit
Nun, das Warten hat ein Ende
Leiht euer Ohr einer Legende
Who waits with patience is regarded at the right time. Now the wait has an end, leave your ears to a legend.
There can’t be a better line to start a concert with. After 5 years of waiting the show comes back, and it looks like the reward will be worth the wait. Till starts singing, dressed up with the “Metzgermeister” (master butcher) outfit and a strange collar of red feathers. Inside his mouth, a strong light shines making an amazing effect while he sings. We can already see part of the stage, very industrial although less elaborated than that of the previous tour.
The new band’s anthem was quite successful, and people shouted RAMM-STEIN when they had to. Although, it’s also true, many people didn’t know where to sing even when Till was telling it clearly.
B********
Keeping on with tracks from the new album, comes B******** (or Bückstabü). This song is one of my less favourites of the new album, although live I have to say it’s much better. The lyrics are easy, so people sang along. There was no remarkable performance.
Keine Lust
One of the best songs of Reise Reise, and the only one they played from that album. It was quite successful, and although the performance was not special at all, it was one of the best moments of the concert.
Feuer Frei!
A classic from Mutter that they couldn’t miss, with its compulsory performance with flame-throwing muzzles and a superb lights play. At the shout of “Bang! Bang!”, one of the best pyrotechnic plays of the whole concert which didn’t left anyone still. Without any news since their last shows, but why change it if it’s already perfect?
Weißes Fleisch
Incredible
This is one of my favourite Rammstein songs, and one of the first I started to like when I started listening to them. It’s also probably the last song I expected to hear in this tour, but surprisingly they’ve recovered it and played it again. Same performance as in the Sehnsucht tour, with the most pure “Live Aus Berlin” style (including Flake’s dance). One of the highest moments of the concert.
Wiener Blut
One of the most amazing songs of the show. It was (with Mehr, which fortunately they didn’t play) one of the songs I didn’t like from the new album, but after seeing it live it’s one of my favourites.
In the ceiling of the stage, we could see from the beginning some black tubes from which there were some small doll legs hanging. They come out to be baby dolls with lasers in the heads which during this song where hanging over the stage creating a really disturbing effect and a big WTF from the audience :P
During the first riffs of the song, people jumped and moshed like there was no tomorrow, for misfortune of the less tall people and other people who didn’t resist and started moving back from the crowd, leaving the stronger near the stage (natural selection).
The song is incredibly better when played live, and Flake made an amazing scratch during the last part of the song which really made the song improve.
As the final climax, the last riff of the song was not played by guitars, but made with exlposions. The babies which were hanging from the ceiling, exploded following the rythim of the last verse. One of the best ideas I’ve seen in a long time (together with the light inside the mouth) and whichi made the initial WTF turn into one of the greatest ideas they’ve ever had.
Frühling in Paris
There is always a calm after the storm. A bit slower song to recover strengths for the rest of the show. People sang along the French verses and nothing in German, for Till’s suprise (yeah Till, French is easier than German for us :P)
One of their best ballads, which even though being slow keeps the rythim and spirit of the band.
Ich tu dir weh
Other of the most incredible moments of the show. The censored song in Germany due to its sadomasochist content, was one of the strongest moments. The incredible light show had another of its best moments, and a superb pyrotechnical show.
Almost in the end of the song, Flake and Till start one of their typical fake fights, which usually end bad for Flake (as it couldn’t be other way). Thus, Flake ends up KO inside of a tub, and Till by his side with some kind of weird churn in his hand. Suddenly, Till starts rising in a platform, till standing up to 10 meters above the stage. There from the highs, Till starts spilling the content of the churn in the tub where Flake is supposed to be, happening to be fire and sparks which fall down from Till over Flake, creating many explosions when reaching the floor.
Look for the video in youtube or something, it’s really worth seeing
Liebe ist für alle da
One of the best songs of the new album, but probably the less impressive when played live. The song is hard to sing, so there was not either a lot of participation from the audience. Light show was quite good, but there was really nothing else to remark from the performance.
Benzin
The only song they played from Rosenrot (good choice, although we would have liked to hear Te quiero Puta) Till appears singing next to a petrol pump, and starts to throw flames with it. Everything quite typical, till someone from the audience climbs up to the stage (an specialist, obviously) and is burst into flames, after what starts running through the stage until the fire is extinguised. Amazing :P
Links 2-3-4, Du hast y Pussy
I will never forget this moment. The highest moment of the show, when I was about to die of suffocation of so much shouting and pushing. People was exhausted, and they didn’t shout that much in Links (what makes the song not so interesting, to tell the truth), but Till fulfilled our expectations and one of the Mutter anthems sounded like it had to.
Du Hast came without giving us some time for a break and recover strength after Links, and as it couldn’t be other way, everyone there sang till they ran out of voice. Till didn’t sing anything during the first part of the song, and there were a lot of pyrotechnics, as it has to.
And to round off, Pussy. The most “singable” song from their new album came when nobody there had air left in their lungs to sing anymore. Even thought, we gave it all to shout “You’ve got a pussy, I have a dick-ah”. In the climax of the song, Till appeared riding a giant cock-shaped cannon which trown foam over the audience.
First encore: Haifisch, Sonne, Ich Will
Thanks god there was a break after the Links-Du Hast-Pussy marathon, and the first encore came a bit more calmed. After making us call them a bit (not much, though) they came again with another of the songs from the new album, Haifisch, which is one of my favourites although it’s a bit weak for concerts. Nothing remarkable of the performance, apart for Flake still walking in his treadmill while playing keyboards.
Sonne and Ich Will didn’t bring any news either. Two of the biggest “must play” of Mutter, which couldn’t miss the show. The typical performance and light show was made and fe more. In the end of Ich Will, everything in the stage started to explode, being even too much of explosions after some minutes of continuous pyrotechnics.
Second encore: Seeman and Engel
One of the traditions in Rammstein shows, from the Sehnsucht tour, is playing Seeman in the end with its also traditional performance: Flake riding an air boat and sailing over the audience.
Carrying Flake in the boat was one of my dreams since I saw it in their first live DVD, and I could see it made truth as the boat started its trip right over me. I thought they really trusted the audience to safely carry Flake over their heads, but the truth is that a 3×3m heavy was running after him in case he fell off.
But Seeman wasn’t the end. They ended up with Engel, song which they had not played for a long time, and which was rescued for this tour. The truth is that after all the previous songs, Engel had few to give, but nothing better to close the show that one of the “Sehnsucht glores”.
I would give the show a mark of 10 out of 10. The tracklist and the performance, as well as the construction of the stage and the special effects were superb. I missed, thought, some more energy coming from Till, who barely moved in the stage and who sometimes looked like he wanted to finish the show and go sleep :P. Maybe it’s a matter of age, but even with that it was one of the best experiences I’ve had in the last years. Highly recommended.
For those who still haven’t listened to their new CD, you can listen to it in grooveshark here:
http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/playlist/Liebe+Ist+F+R+Alle+Da/20636072