Roadtrip to RAMMSTEIN!

So it only took me 11+ years to secure a floor ticket to one of my favourite bands of all time, and let's just say it was nothing short of AMAZING.  Whether you understand what they are saying or even don't listen to their music, almost everyone has heard of the over the top performances by Germany's RAMMSTEIN!

I knew (as soon as the tour was announced) that I would be making a road trip to either Montreal or Detroit to check out their 2012 North American tour.  My crew and I ultimately decided to hit up the show across the border (since Montreal's tickets went like wildfire!).


(Killer decal on the side of a vehicle as we enter the Palace)

So, lets talk about intro for the show.  No opening act...just a DJ.  The lights went and the crowd starts to scream.  I decide to hang by the sound board (why not since it's the best place to listen to them), at least for the opening piece.  The DJ (not really sure who he was) kicked off the festivities with a dub-step/remix of various Rammstein tunes and ultimately just getting people pumped up for the show.  I (personally) thought it was a nice touch since Rammstein tend to use electronica in their show quite a bit (thanks to Flake).

(*Sound quality is horrible.  I wasn't expecting much anyway from a cell phone :-\*)

OK, no more bullshit.  Rammstein makes their appearance at the top of the arena, walking through the crowd with flags and uniforms in full.  While this is happening, a massive suspending bridge starts to lower over our heads, ultimately for the band to walk across and get to their main stage performance.



You get the nervous feeling when you know shit is going to go down but don't know how and when?  Yeah, that happened...but not for long.  I finally decided, 'OK, enough is enough.  Time to see what this show is really about'.  So I make a b-line right for the mosh pit.  Needless to say I was one of the smallest guys there but wasn't going to let some docker boot punks throw me around.


("Bang Bang!")

I think this is where I decided the crowd wasn't into it enough and got my buddy to toss me up for some good ol crowd surfing!  Let's just say Keine Lust sounds and looks 1000% better when you're above everyone else and about 2.5 feet away from the band.  Other fans followed suit and were hoisted up to get the energy going.

- Sonne
- Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen Sehen?
- Keine Lust
- Sehnsucht
- Asche Zu Asche
- Feuer Frei!
- Mutter
- Mein Teil
- Du Riechst So Gut
- Links 2-3-4
- Du hast
- Haifisch

Right about here we see some idiot hanging from the bridge (have no idea why he thought it was a cool idea, considering that's an extra 200lbs on an already suspending bridge) getting ripped down by security.  Toodles to him! haha


(Couldn't have a better spot in the house during their second stage show)

Rammstein proceeded (in chains) to the sound board/second stage where you got to see a very intimate set of the following:

B-Stage:
- Bück Dich (preceded by "Bück Dich" remix … more)
- Mann Gegen Mann
- Ohne Dich

And if those two sets weren't enough, the boys came back up for two killer encore sets and busting out as much pyro and lights the venue could handle.  Every single person in the arena could feel the heat from this set and always screaming for more.

Encore:
- Mein Herz Brennt
- Amerika
- Ich Will


(Flake riding the wave and directing traffic while on his lifeboat)

Encore 2:
- Engel
- Pussy

Overall, as cliche as it sounds...I could die happy now after a 4 hour trek down the highway and a 20 song non-stop pounding set that would leave most people in seizure mode (between the strobes and the pounding bass).  Great set boys, I hope we meet again for another battle soon!

(Photo take by John Flatt)


For those interested in checking out more photos from the show, you can see them via AFGM Facebook.  Once again, I apologize to those looking for some good quality photos.  Since they had a camera blackout restriction, my crew and I did what we could :-)