Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Who needs those eyebrows anyway? December 11th 2010 Rammstein show.



I have never been afraid of the dark consciousness. The dark passenger. The id. Being a graduate with a B. A. in Forensic Psychology, I actually welcomed the weird, wild and often sadistic parts of ones brains.I read about it,studied it and obsessed on it. For many years, I listened to Nine Inch Nails, delighting in the evil and twisted lyrics Trent chose to give me. But what I didn’t know, there was a German metal group that had evil lyrics, sadistic riffs, pulsating beats all done with a tad bit of dark humor.


The name conjures up the dark images of German debauchery. Du Hast. Ich Will. Sex.death. Rock & Roll.

And I loved every minute of it. But I wanted o see them live. Unfortunately, even though they were huge in Europe-they didn’t cross the pond. And of course, I wasn’t in any financial state to go see them. That is until they said they were coming to the Garden
THE GARDEN. Madison Square. Was I happy? Fuck I was ecstatic.
But I needed to get a ticket first and since there were tons of Rammstein fans worldwide that wanted to see them- I was in for a fight. But first, knowing how certain bands are- I joined the fanclub. I hoped there was a presale. There was no announcement of a presale so I tried my hand at getting a ticket. Unfortunately for me, every scalper in NY already had that idea and scooped up any good seat. I got something the 300 level. Seeing the glass half full-I was glad to be in the building. But much to my delight, Rammstein had something in store for its fans. There would be a lotto for better seats-and I won a pit ticket.

Rewind to 2008,the NIN Lights in the sky tour, I fought and clawed in every pit. I danced and sang. I tried to catch a tambourine. It was fun. That is, until dress girl opened her mouth. Some crazy bitch in a NIN inspired dress always managed to get in front of me. That means I needed to be early but not too early.


But the concert was in December and I knew that it was going to be cold. And it was. I arrived at 9:00 am to frigid 30 degrees and all I wanted to do was pass out in Penn station. But I didn’t. I looked in front of me and of course there was a bunch of extreme fans there since God knows when. My mind conjured up pictures of that dress girl and I shuddered. So instead of launching an all out assault- I made friends. The couple from Minnesota, the girls from Chicago, the kid from Chicago, the coworkers from Upstate, some locals including my favorite Armenian ever and of course my BFF Nicole- and with that we became the merry few. We chatted, sang, ate, hung out and held peoples places in line. I went to the bar for some drinks and came back warmer than ever.

Even MSG security was awesome- and I was surprised. 

Some camera crew came by and asked people questions- they asked me to sing Reise,Reise-and I got flustered. So flustered I managed to say “Something, Something-German German.” And then sang the chorus to Pussy. All I wanted to do was die, but I know that’s probably gonna be on the DVD so nyeh. I learned later that the whole thing was being taped for a DVD. Awesome?
We were herded into MSG like cattle and we ran into the pit where I took my place in front of the lead guitarist.

The lights when low and the dream began:


Set list:

Rammlied
Waidmanns Heil
Buckstabu
Weisses Fleisch
Feuer Frei!
Weiner Blut
Fruhling in Paris
Ich tu dir Weh
Du Riechst so Gut
Benzin
Links 234
Du Hast
Pussy
Encore:
Sonne
Haifisch
Ich Will
Second Encore
Engel
The dream was over as quick as it had become. At the end of it, I was toasted, exhausted, soaking wet and covered in confetti. I remember in my dream the Guitarist locking eyes with me the whole show and didn’t let go. 

Till who?

I saw the pussy cannon, the Fire Frei masks,the burning of the crew member during Benin, the Engel wings and the Weiner Blut dolls. And the lead singer gave us his gun during Wiedmanns Heil. I wasn’t afraid. 

The lead singer grabbed your hand and the band guided you on a narrow path that they had skillfully crafted and which was conceived and reared in Europe. It was hot up front. But I saw all that I had imagined a Rammstein show to be. Paul Landers, rhythm guitar, acted like a robot. 

Oliver Reidel, bassist, jammed so hard I didn’t think he was in Rammstein but in Pantera. Christoph Schneider, ascended to heaven on his platform with his drums and brought the audience with him. The Keyboardist, Christopher “Flake” Lorenz allowed himself to play the fool as he was tortured by Till and danced his heart out. 

My sweet, sexual and egotistical guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe, played and pranced around as to try to steal the spotlight. He did, in my heart and in my ears. 

And then there was Till Lindemann, the ringleader, who like no other has titillated and scared many a woman and man into giving him what he wants. He commands your attention. And you give it, willingly. Ignoring the well crafted lyrics of sadism, sexuality and even death. He wants you to hate him. He wants to rip you apart. Stick barb wire up your urethra. But does he ? No. And do you want it. Yes...

Like a woman falling for a serial killer, you ask for more.
The music swelled in my ears and in my heart…and then they were gone. So I let them go, thanking them for their music and their fire.
Please come back to NYC. Please come back to Amerika.

For Lanaia and Anne Marie. Even though, our paths have separated-I will always be grateful for showing me Rammstein. And sometimes, in the dark, I can still hear us laughing and singing along.

Also, for Nicole- who eventhough doesn't know Rammstein, went with me anyway and headbanged along with me.

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