From: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org (idealcopy-digest) To: idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Subject: idealcopy-digest V8 #34 Reply-To: idealcopy@smoe.org Sender: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk idealcopy-digest Monday, February 7 2005 Volume 08 : Number 034 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [idealcopy] OT: Rammstein noch einmal ["Keith Knight" Subject: [idealcopy] OT: Rammstein noch einmal At the risk of resurrecting 'this remarkably poor thread' (copyright P Rabjohn) I saw Rammstein last night and here's what I thought: We arrive (after a recordbreaking Brixton Academy queue) midway through Apocalyptica's set. A Finnish band, they comprise a drummer and four cellists. Which in itself is something I've not seen before and it's actually rather good. The cellos roles are parcelled up so that there are rhythm cellos and lead cellos and although the latter are still played with bows the effect is of a heavy rock lead guitar. Two of the (all male) band have very long hair and there's a fine moment when they are hunched over the cellos, hair flying in true Quo fashion. They do some Metallica and some classical stuff finishing with Grieg's Hall of the Mountain King at breakneck pace. Not half bad. After a decent wait half a dozen men wander on dressed - oh no - in brown shirts and ties. But although they line up and receive applause they are only the roadies. In a Wire-esque moment they have torches which they shine around the stage. Then the curtain falls and Rammstein are revealed atop a huge stage set which looks like something from Robot Wars or Tony Hawks Pro Skater 4. They are dressed in a variety of costumes including - oh no, again - a German army helmet. The guitarists are transported down to the stage by a Spinal Tap style hoist and the rest of the band - bar the drummer, who stays up on the set all night - join them. Meanwhile a fierce musical attack is being pumped out, very much in the hard rock vein encouraging planning a foot forward and rocking over it. German lyrics are barked out by a singer - Till Lindemann - who looks like Ricky Gervais essaying Alec Baldwin and is dressed in a leather version of industrial lederhosen. As the gig progresses I initially find myself somewhat disappointed that my hope for some sort of occupation of Laibach / Test Dept territory isn't going to happen - this is industrial noise but firmly in a heavy rock idiom distinguished mainly by its being sung in German. The band are certainly proficient but it's not really doing anything much for me. But that's only half the story because what's happening on stage is getting pretty entertaining. A couple of songs in the guitarists and singer get flamethowers attached to their heads and they proceed to blow out flame which - standing about a third of the way back - you can feel. Then the keyboard player (the one with the helmet - an irritating figure who occupies a role similar to that of Johnny Fingers in the Boomtown Rats) is wheeled on in a cauldron, dragged by Lindemann. Both are drenched in fake blood and this is clearly a song about the Germans who went to trial for eating each other. At the end Lindemann wields a flamethrower at the occupied cauldron which sends out a terrifying jet of flame. I recall the Butthole Surfers getting into trouble in London for having a much smaller flame than this in the late 80s. The spectacle continues all night. This is less a rock gig than a show - - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with metal music. It is obviously synchronised to the nth degree - there is too much flame around for any improvisation. There's a really impressive moment at the end of the set when - as We all Live in Amerika comes to an end - red, white and blue tickertape explodes into the air and is superbly illuminated in the lights. It's a beautiful image. And I warm more to the music, possibly because as the set progresses they play what must be their 'hits' some of which are almost poppy. The crowd are enthusiastic (lots of devil horn fingers aloft) and by the end I leave reasonably satisfied that I've got enough bang for my buck. Are they politically dodgy? Aside from the brownshirts and the helmet which made me feel the worst at the start there was nothing else in the show that was suspect. I suppose a German metal band is always likely to flirt with some illicit imagery but I doubt that there's anything too dark behind it. Would idealcopyists like it? Well, only if you have a heavy rock gene somewhere in your DNA. But if you have and want some spectacle from a gig it's pretty much the business I'd have thought. Another the Keith ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 12:51:03 EST From: PaulRabjohn@aol.com Subject: [idealcopy] neu/githead.......... ..........sounds like a pretty good night out and a chance for an idealcopy massive get-together. who's going then? p ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 18:41:41 -0000 From: "Keith Knight" Subject: RE: [idealcopy] neu/githead.......... Me. Ordered my ticket yesterday. Another the Keith - -----Original Message----- From: owner-idealcopy@smoe.org [mailto:owner-idealcopy@smoe.org] On Behalf Of PaulRabjohn@aol.com Sent: 06 February 2005 17:51 To: idealcopy@smoe.org Subject: [idealcopy] neu/githead.......... ..........sounds like a pretty good night out and a chance for an idealcopy massive get-together. who's going then? p ------------------------------ End of idealcopy-digest V8 #34 ******************************