Venue: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL (4/6) I prefer the Allstate to the United Center. That being said, I’m not a fan of arenas, they’re too big and it puts a lot of distance between you and the artist. The energy is never very strong once it reaches the third tier.
The crowd (3/6): Something just wasn’t working in my section of the arena. The difficulty with such a big place is that it could have been a completely different experience elsewhere. But where I was there seemed to be this disconnect. I think part of it is a function of the language barrier. I sincerely doubt that many of the audience spoke any German (I don’t) and I think that makes connecting to the abundance a lot more difficult. It warmed back up significantly once Rammstin Played “Du Hast,” their biggest hit in the US. But the audience didn’t have the kind of energy I’d expect from such a vibrant show. I also think this was partly because they seemed to be paying more attention to recording the show than to enjoying it.
Opening act: Combichirst (4/6) I’m not really a big fan of Agrotech-- I find it tends to be shallow and repetitive as a genera. The sound is very cool, but I find the lyrics dull after a while. That being said, I found Combichirst to be an interesting act, very showy-- one of the drummers was playing with a pair of mourning stars. There weren’t very many instruments involved, but that’s partly the genera. The way the set was set up was also interesting as they had two percussionists and a synth. player set up to stay in sync roughly.
While I though the energy was very strong I don’t think the band itself has as much talent, it strikes me as the sort of music that teenagers listen to before they understand what industrial can really sound like. The front man was surprisingly articulate for a genre that favors grunts and screams over audible lyrics.
Having listened to them recorded and live now I find they are good lives but reordered they are quite off putting, they sound like Marylyn Manson’s kid brothers.
Main Act, Rammstein (3.5/6): Interesting show. Until last night I’d only heard about the kinds of things that go on at Rammstein show, including onstage simulated sodomy. I truthful was expecting ”worse“ than what I saw, but given that it was an all ages’ show I think they must have toned things down. The pyrotencics were unlike anything I’d ever seen. Most pyro heavy shows to see some explosions from the ceiling and floor, maybe the odd rocket, but nothing like this. People were set on fire both literally and figuratively by the theatrical, over the top style of the band. According to Wikipedia it’s partly to keep the fans engaged despite the language barrier.
While I felt there were some problems earlier in the show with the energy and connection to the audience I felt this tactic effective, because Rammstin is also a talented band within their genera. Industrial is not a genre known for its talent, so it is a very pleasant surprise to see a band that is articulate. Their precision wasn’t perfect on the guitar work, however I think that is partly the effect they were going for. The synthesizer work was very nice and the vocals were crystalline in their clarity.
The thing I missed was that the band was so caught up in the theatrical element, which is reason enough to see them perform, that there wasn’t a lot of effort put into working the crowd or connecting, there was too much reliance on the pyro. That being said an interesting thing happened.
The crowd was off, involved but something wasn’t quite catching until they played “Du Hast.” Suddenly there was a connection and the crowd woke like a sleeping giant. Most people knew something of the lyrics. I’m sure none of us knew exactly what we were saying but we knew the words. That seemed to be what both the band and the crowd needed to get themselves really moving.
That dissonance aside, the encore alone was worth the ticket price. I don’t think I’ll ever forget seeing “Engle” live. “Engle” is (if the translated lyrics are right) a song about not wanting to be an angel. Front man Till Lindemann appears in easily 10 foot long steel angle wings which shoot flames from their ends. It is phenomenal to see live. And that was just “Engle”. The show overall was gorgeous but could have used a little better energy.
No comments:
Post a Comment