A sign by the entrance to the arena reads “Please be aware that the following special effects may be in use during the performance:
Strobe Lighting
Pyrotechnics
Loud Bangs
Smoke Effects
Flame Effects”
This was not a gig for those of faint disposition. This was a gig which came with much anticipation, Rammstein's first UK dates for 5 years, I bought my ticket off the reputation of previous live shows featuring flame throwing guitars and front man Till Lindemann setting himself alight and jumping into the audience.
There's a lovely build up when going to a gig at Wembley, the distance from the train station to the venue, in its almost industrial estate bleakness gears you up for what lays ahead. I laughed crossing the piazza thing outside the arena, they were playing Tears for Fears' “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”. Indeed.
Once inside I can hear Combichrist's dire cacophony from outside the arena itself, I don't go in, a look at their website somewhat put me off.
Pint secured and snaking men's queue battled I wander in and take a spot, 15 minutes says the tannoy, ooh yeah. There's that great feeling of hope when a stage is cloaked in a black shroud. When you can see baby dolls feet hanging from the lighting rig. There is a pretty mixed crowd, whole families on outings, dads and their teenage sons, the two white haired men behind me who jump around and point, the leather clad Pole who pumps his fist like Kriss Akabusi and cloaks me once in the jaw with his pointy elbow and the headbanging meathead in front with the “Made in England” tattoo and the two young men who thrash around and shake as if possessed by demons eyes rolling in their sockets.
Lights go out, a roar erupts, nothing happens then something starts breaking through a wall, light pours through the hole, guitarist Richard Kruspe pick axes his way through a wall before swapping the pick for his guitar. Singer Till welds his way through, crash bang wallop, we're off. He stands at his mic a light emanating from his mouth.
During the gig he stalks the stage like a demon headmaster with a look of torturer about him, something about him reminds me of a feared maths teachers of mine from when I was 12, he commands the audience with a flick of the wrist. He stares demon-eyed, he sings, he chants, he roars and we adore. None of them would look far out of place in an S&M club, topless or leather clad with belt chains and boots.
The huge stage rig is all industrial bleakness, there's huge lights, fans, flashing crosses of their logo, lots of pyro, bangs and sparks, rockets. Its a vision of hell via cabaret. Rumours of a Haiti tribute gig are unconfirmed. I wonder if they might play Glastonbury at the same time as U2, out-noise and out-stage each other perhaps...
I'm not sure what the full set list was, truth is I only really started listening to them after buying the tickets, I'm here for the spectacle but I do enjoy the music, its big, operatic, loud and fun. They do play “Feuer Frei”, complete with flame throwers on their faces, “Du Hast” is a big sing-a-long with great pyro, “Ich Will” is evil sounding but magnificent. The babies I had seen earlier descend above the stage and have green lazers coming from their heads. A contraption appears on stage during “Pussy” and is unveiled as a phallic cannon which Till rides from one side of the stage to another as is showers the audience with foam. He thrusts his hips as he does so.
During one song, he has a flame throwing gun in one hand and a flare in the other, a hoodie clad young man appears on stage looking like an audience member, he gets set alight and runs around momentarily, it's set up but looks great, don't mess with the band or you'll get burnt. There's two encores, the second we are made to wait for more than the first but it is worth it. Till appears with large metal wings, they of course have flame throwers on the wing tips, and after sprouting large flames a number of small fireworks on them go off. It is all a lot of fun. Metal by way of cabaret.
Each piece is big, brash and stupendous. At times the smell of phosphorus is stronger than that of the sweat. You can feel the heat from the pyro flames.
During the first encore synthesiser Flake embarks on a trip above the audience in a blow up dingy, he is passed along on a sea of hands pointing the way he wants to go and miming rowing the boat, it's great. All bands should do this, and live music would go from strength to strength.
“We love this very much, thank you” the band look truly thankful to the audience, this is a shared experience. Someone throws a t-shirt on stage, Oliver Riedel, the bassist, who is topless puts it on, it's a Rammstein t-shirt. We are all in this together. The band members walk up onto the podiums on the side of the stage and cheer the crowd.
We may not have sung along, many did know all the words, but music is about feeling just as much as the meaning each song has. This was as much a show as a music concert, but when it is this fun, who cares.
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