Alea's Rehearsal Report

For those new to LILT, Rammstein invited me to attend the MiG rehearsal show in Berlin on October 31, but I live in New Zealand and am in the middle of a divorce, so I was unable to attend myself. Rammstein's people very kindly allowed me to send a representative in my place, to act as correspondent for LILT, and I sent Alea.

Alea is an American in Germany, a self-taught fluent in the tongue, and a Rammstein fan of the nicest kind. She is a very talented musician and singer in her own right, and has always struck me as a generous and kind woman, so she was my first and only choice. She has written up her experiences of that night, and I'm very pleased to share them with you here:

I decided not to get there 3 hours early again. In Mannheim 2010, my first and only concert before this, even this extensive head start had been to no avail as there had already been hundreds of people who'd been camping out much longer than I was willing to sacrifice on this beautiful autumn Monday afternoon. In Mannheim there had been over 1000 fans and when the mosh pit began, my frail, small self was pushed away from my 3-hours-long-awaited 5th-row spot. I could no longer see anything on stage, only arms with their phones held high over a mass of black heads. Somehow it was even louder than in front and the echo of the hall turned the LIFAD songs into a smear of white noise. My experience in Mannheim had been just less than a complete disappointment. So in Berlin I decided to take my time and just see what would happen. When I set off on the tram towards Pankow around nightfall, I had only an extra hour until the doors officially opened. That turned out to be perfect since it was an invite-only rehearsal, so the guest list must have been no more than 250 people.

It was a warm All Hallows Eve in the quiet neighborhood of Wilhelmsruh. Children painted as bloody ghouls carrying lanterns strolled the cobblestone streets which were covered in dry golden leaves. As I walked towards Black Box Music I spotted a car with a large Rammstein sticker and suddenly the excitement hit me. In front of the venue there were only around 30 people, clad in black and Rammstein apparel. I couldn't believe it; I was one of the first there. The entrance was taped off and a couple stood conversing with a security guard in front of the tape. After about 10 minutes, he let the couple in. Following right behind them with a group of eager fans from the Czech Republic, I made it maybe fifth in line through the doors. They had let us in far before the official door opening.

Security was very thorough. They did not allow any electronic devices whatsoever. They warned that even the attempt to bring electronics into the stage area was punishable by law. They had us check our coats, inspected IDs, ran us through a metal detector and searched us down with detector wands. Finally we each received a Rammstein armband and walked into the hall. At around 6x30 meters standing room, the rehearsal venue was astoundingly small compared to the exhibition halls and airplane hangars they usually preform in. It was practically empty when I entered, so I positioned myself front row center and waited for the fun.

The stage set-up was the same as on the Liebe ist für alle da tour with a few slight changes. It was a tall stage of about 2 meters made of rust painted metal and grates with an elevated platform in the center for the drum kit and keyboard. The drums sported the plus sign “R+” logo and the door to the ramp of the off-stage area beneath them was a grate, also in the shape of a plus sign. To the right and left of the grate, spinning fans with blades would later serve as extremely cool lights. Across the top of the stage hung the huge turbine- and plus sign-shaped light fixtures. Behind them, the backdrop was a net-like curtain with wave shaped grooves and further back another layer, creating a hollow space divided into rotund sections like a cellular structure. This looked great later while illuminated in various colored light.

The fans around me were friendly and we held each other's front row places while getting drinks. Time drew on, but as no one had a phone and barely anyone a watch, we would ask what time it was, look down at our armbanded wrists and exclaim “Rammstein!”

Nearing the begin, a man came out on stage with a microphone and announced in German and English that this, being a rehearsal, would not be completely finished and that there was a B stage planned for the tour which would be simulated here on stage right. He also mentioned that due to the size of the venue, they would have to tone down the pyro effects to some extent.

A short time after, the lights finally went out. A hauntingly sweet synth melody and the dim glow of green lights filled the hall, accompanied by a steady, pounding beating and much cheering and clapping. The pounding grew louder and more powerful by the minute, the synth swelled. Above the stage, a door opened and the dark figures of the 6 musicians began to walk in single file down the staircase to the dimly glowing stage, one (Oliver) holding a torch. As the beat pounded on, he lit two bowls of flammable liquid on either side of the stage and they took up their positions. The pounding music came to a climax and then suddenly everything lit up and the music fell into the counting of “Sonne”. When the entire audience joined in screaming “AUS!”, all went dark save for a spotlight on Till who grinned smirkly and said in German, “Na, you faggots?” Then the crashing riff of Sonne began and much knee-pounding ensued.

The band members were dressed for the most part as they had been on the LIFAD Tour. Richard was wearing a long black coat with shiny buttons and red cuffs. Paul had a simple dark get-up, a sleeveless black vest and a round collar around his neck. Till had tall boots with spikes all up the sides and unevenly tied red laces, a black vest-like shirt with a mesh pattern and pants with straps. He was splattered with (hopefully) paint and he had the appearance of being dripping wet. Flake was wearing his full body chrome suit and walking on a tread mill with his profile to the audience. Oliver was dressed like a medieval watchman with a leather cap over a sleeveless vest. Christoph was already topless, and the rest of the costumes seemed to diminish in layers with every song. Richard dropped his coat for the next song, Amerika, revealing a vest and red and black sleeves. Eventually half of them were topless and in the end, Flake continued only in boxer shorts.

They continued to play (I don't remember the exact order of the songs) Keine Lust, Sehnsucht, Asche zu Asche, Ohne Dich Links 2,3,4, Wollt ihr das Bett in Flammen sehen. They played wonderfully and seemed to be having a great time. Even their older work sounded fresher and seemed to tear the very walls down. They smiled at each other and made a lot of eye contact with the audience as well. For Du Hast, the fire began. It flew from the bottom of the stage in hot columns. They sported fire-breathing masks for Feuer Frei!, played Mutter doused in blue light with a varied synthesizer solo. For Mein Teil, the band was let out on all fours led by the “mistress” - Christoph in a wig. Till wore his blood splattered butcher outfit with the machete and chef hat and revealed Flake in a steaming pot, out from which he was then lifted at the end of the song. At one point, Till spoke into the microphone and said, “Okay so pretend Flake is in his boat now” and Flake proceeded to “air row” around the stage, laughing. When they played Ich will, everyone's voices rang out with the audience-included lyrics. The crew set up the “B stage”. Bück dich was the usual live performance, it began with Richard on the keyboard playing the rythmic calling to the audience and Till undid the seat of Flake's pants to reveal his naked butt. Till sprayed the audience with his strap-on hose. The “semen” smelled slightly of liquorice. They played Mann gegen Mann which was a blast live and Pussy without the foam cannon. They took a few minutes break. Everything they had played so far had been simply magical and I had been waiting my whole life to hear them play Mein Herz brennt, so I screamed it out into the darkness. As if it had worked, the slow strings began and red light filled the stage. I was overjoyed, they played beautifully. The stage was littered with silver confetti. For Engel, Till came out with his majestic metal wings and the ammunition vest. The wings spouted fire. A ring hanging above the stage was lit near the end of Engel and sprinkled the whole stage with a rain of sparks. At some point, Richard and Paul came up front and danced around, playing all the while. They lifted their instruments above their heads, behind their backs, laughing and playing. Till had been very talkative in the concert, although against the music you couldn't always hear what he was saying. It was a great show and after just under two hours, the stings of Ohne Dich played softly and they took bows. Richard threw some picks into the audience and Schneider distributed a few completely splintered drum sticks.

As they left the stage and the lights came back on, we filed out of the arena and into another entrance along side the bar to retrieve our coats. Through the windows by the line, we looked through to the bar, where the VIP and after-party goers drank and danced. We waved.

The concert was amazing and I was drenched in sweat from head to toe. My nose was full of ash and blood from having head-banged nearly the whole time up in the flames and my face felt burnt. I couldn't stop grinning. I played Rammstein on my music player to try and reinforce my bliss, but the album recordings sounded like plastic compared to the bone-shattering performance I'd just seen.

I hope that Rammstein will be just as cheerful on the upcoming tour as they were for this rehearsal. They were simply splendid and it seems even Till has gotten over his “stage fright”.

I hope you can read this and feel the same thing I did while I was there.

Wonderful!

I'd like to thank Alea for this article. It's detailed, coherent, and exactly what I had hoped for. Brilliant!

If you have anything you wish to say to Alea you may email me at lilt at rammstein dot me, or post to the comments here. I will make sure she reads any and all feedback and correspondence.

As a note, I have heard that the 'semen' sprayed during Büch Dich is Pernod mixed with water. Pernod is a clear, colourless liquor, which becomes milky on contact with water, and it is flavoured with aniseed. That explains the licorice smell Alea remarked.