Re: Rammstein concert
I WAS AT THE RAMMSTEIN CONCERT LAST NIGHT IT WAS INCREDIBLE I HAVE SEEN THEM IN THE FLESH I CAN DIE HAPPY NOW.
*ahem*
Now that I've gotten that out of my system, here's a more articulate account of my night.
Okay, so. cinemagoer1 (my sister Erin) and I went together. We bussed it down to Tacoma, which is a ways to go, but Mom dropped us off at the airport where we could catch a bus straight there. Thanks, Mom. We had some time to kill before the bus came, so we went into the airport to buy some snacks and magazines from a newstand/snackbar. When we came out, the 574 bus was at the bus terminal, so we had to hustle to get over there on time. Luckily we did, so we didn't have to wait 30 minutes for the next bus. I hate the Sunday bus schedule. It's like they think no one needs to go anywhere on Sundays. XP
When we got there, we stopped in at Freighthouse Square for some coffee (actually, Erin got coffee, I got an energy drink), then headed down the road to the Tacoma Dome. At first we were a bit unsure of where it was, as Tacoma is a hilly city and the Dome isn't very tall. But then we turned a corner and it was suddenly right there in front of us, so all was well. Before we found it, though, I figured we should just follow some people walking a ways in front of us who looked like metalheads, and this strategy did not let us down. I win.
The line wasn't terribly long when we got there, maybe about 30-50 people. It was about three hours before doors opened at 6:30, so Erin wanted to go kill time elsewhere. I wanted to wait in line so we could stay near the front, so she went back to Freighthouse Square to read her magazines while I stayed in line. It was raining off and on, and in the "off" periods it didn't stop, just slowed to a drizzle. I had an umbrella, though, and I was born and raised in Seattle. I can deal with a little rain. I passed the time talking with the trio in front of me - one of them had his mohawk dyed the colors of the German flag and red-black-gold shoelaces - and people-watching. I saw some pretty interesting people there, as well as your normal mix of concert-goers. I saw a guy in gothic mariachi garb waving German and Mexican flags on the same pole, a girl with a Hello Kitty hooded blanket, a guy wearing a green Zelda hoodie with a chibi Link on it, a guy wearing a System of a Down hoodie over a Bullet for My Valentine t-shirt (nice combo, dude), a whole gaggle of people hiding from the rain under a giant beach umbrella, a guy with his big fat gut hanging out from under his shirt (EW), and several girls (and a few guys) wearing clothing that was so not appropriate for standing out in the cold and rain in. Dummies
Freighthouse Square closed at 5:00, so Erin came back soon after that with food from Subway. She didn't know what kind of sandwich I'd want, so she got me one of their little pizzas. I couldn't complain about that. We waited the last 90 minutes together while the line just kept growing behind us. I'm glad I decided to wait in line, or we'd be quite a ways further back than we were. Oh, and regarding line position, I actually ended up closer to the front than I started, as the security guys split the line a little while after I got there and brought about half of us forward into a second line. Some people in what became the first line where all mad about that, but come on. You're still right near the front gate, and it's not like they moved you guys back. I thought them rather childish for bitching like they did. It didn't help anything.
Anyway, we eventually got inside - but not before being body-searched for weapons - and while Erin went to the refreshment stand for a Mike's Hard Lemonade, I made my way up toward the stage. I found a place about 20 feet or so back from the stage with a pretty good view of everything, coincidentally near the same two guys and girl I was talking with in line. Only one of them recognized my JTHM shirt, though, which had before been underneath my jacket. Sad. There was about ten feet of people behind me when Erin found her place, and she texted me and said I should probably come back to where she was, because if a mosh pit broke out it would be right where I was. I said I liked where I was, and she said she wasn't going to make me move if I didn't want to. After texting back and forth for a while, I asked if she had a good view, and she said yes. I told her to hold her hand up, and I'd make my way back to her. I saw her fist go up over the crowd, and then the lights went out. So much for finding her. >_<
Combichrist opened. I had heard of them before, but wasn't too familiar with them. They put on quite a show. Lyrically, they're pretty much your typical fuck-the-establishment angry-goth band, but it was still a good adrenaline rush. They were really into it, too, so they were fun to watch. The keyboardist was quite the headbanger. LOL.
There was a bit of a wait between Combichrist and Rammstein, as to be expected, so it was back to people-watching. There was some bitch near me who was talking like she was all that, which only prompted eye-rolling from me. To hear her talk, everything pissed her off, and she was going to beat up anyone who challenged her superiority. She was talking like she was some badass alpha female. Sorry, sweetie, but if you have to shout out how awesome you are, you really aren't. Oh, and every third word out of her mouth was a swear word. I'm no prude, but come on. Swearing like a sailor does not make you sound tough, dumbfuck.
Rammstein then comes on. I was all "FUCK YES," and then...MOSH PIT. When Combichrist was on, the pit was about four people away from me. I can handle that. I got a bit jostled sometimes, but no biggie. When Rammstein started up, the pit got about five times bigger, and I was right in the middle of it. There were times when I was practically off my feet, and my hair, which is quite long and was hanging loose, was almost yanked out of my skull more than once. I kept thinking "OMIGOD I'M GONNA FALL," but I don't see how I could have fallen, as I was so squished. When the first song ended and everyone was cheering, I shoved my way about 30 feet back out of the pit area to where people weren't trying to kill each other. I spent the rest of the show there. I was near the middle of the floor, left-to-right-wise, so I had a pretty good view of Till, Schneider, Ollie, and Flake. I didn't see Richard and Paul as much as I would have liked, as they were off to either side of the stage and there was often people in the way. I got to see them plenty, though. Erin was off towards the right side, and had to text me with "OH! MY! GOD! [Richard]'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!" Someone has a crush. *snork*
At one point these two tall guys shoved their way right in front of me (assholes!), but I managed to shimmy over to the left and continued enjoying the show. There were these two guys next to me with the awesomest mohawks ever. Fwee.
Here's the setlist, out of order as I'm looking at my CDs to remember it all:
"Weißes Fleisch"
"Du riechst so gut"
"Engel"
"Du hast" (well, duh)
"Links 2 3 4"
"Sonne"
"Ich will"
"Feuer frei!"
"Keine Lust"
"Benzin"
"Rammlied"
"Ich tu dir weh"
"Waidmanns Heil"
"Haifisch"
"B********" (yes, that's the song's title)
"Frühling in Paris"
"Wiener Blut"
"Pussy"
Flake did his twitchy little dance during "Weißes Fleisch." Hee. He also had his treadmill from the "Ich tu dir weh" video, and came out in the boat during "Haifisch." He came pretty close to where I was, too. Awesome.
During the "Engel" performance, Till had on this huge set of angel wings, which started burning halfway through the song. Wow. WAO. That was so incredibly cool. I loved that part. :D
Just before "Wiener Blut," the lights went out, and you could see a cluster of thin green beams of light descending from the ceiling. When the lights came back on and the song started, there were about two dozen baby dolls hanging by their necks above the stage, the beams of light coming from their eyes. Then near the end of the song there was this series of loud bangs, and it was the dolls exploding. That was morbid, but fucking awesome. And somehow, Erin missed the whole damned thing. She was too busy making googoo eyes at Richard, I guess. _-_
Oh yes, and during "Pussy," Till brought out a bubble cannon that looked like a big dick. At first I thought it was shooting some kind of dry fluff, but then I realized it was soap suds. Oy. And I thought the "Bück dich" performance from the late '90s was, er, explicit.
I had so much fun. The music was loud, the flames were hot, the explosions were deafening, and the crowd was going crazy. I was jumping up and down and screaming and singing along and throwing up the horns all night. I'm surprised I didn't come away hoarse, although my left ear is ringing. seleraleonhart says that's the sign of a good show, and damn is she right. I've seen my favorite band live, and I can die a happy woman now.
I think I spent about 10 hours straight on my feet yesterday, what with walking to the Dome, standing in line, waiting for the show to start, the show itself, etc. Much of that was spent bouncing up and down, too. My poor legs are killing me now, but it was all worth it. VIVA RAMMSTEIN.
We walked back to Freighthouse Square where Mom picked us up, and we went through a Jack In the Box drive-thru to get food for our empty tummies. It was a tasty end to an unforgettable day.
If you've read this far, I'm impressed. I know how a wall-of-text entry like this can be boring at times. It's been a while since I've written a post this long, though. Takes me back to my litanies regarding Fruits Basket and Kingdom Hearts II a few years ago. XD