Herchesfeld, Roeser, Luxembourg20th July 2019
Rammstein - Europe Stadium Tour 2019 - Support: Duo Jatekok
Eight years after the last concert in Luxembourg, the band led by Till Lindemann visited the Grand-Duchy again and delivered a great show on Saturday as part of their “Europe Stadium Tour”.
Luxembourg was once again too excited. When RAMMSTEIN announced their tour in November, the Grand Duchy was once again in a state of emergency. The anticipation was great, but there were also negative voices to hear. One week before the concert, the first complaint came. A representative of the “Democratic Party” (DP) did not only care about the safety of the visitors, but also about the well-being of flora and fauna during the event, where not only loud music, but also pyrotechnics are on the agenda. But the MEP quickly received an answer: In order to protect nature, the Ministry of the Environment had already drawn up rules that the organisers and participants in the event must follow.
But that was not the only concern of the Luxembourgers. A few days before the concert, the Consumer Protection Association (ULC) sent a letter criticising the organisers. The criticism was aimed at the high ticket prices and parking fees at the Herchesfeld venue, which in the eyes of the ULC were a “rip-off”. If visitors wanted to park there, they had to pay 20 euros. A concert ticket alone cost at least 100 euros. The director and concert organiser of “Den Atelier” explained that the organisation had no intention of enriching itself with these parking fees. Rather, they only covered the construction costs of the park area. And the organisers themselves had not prescribed the ticket prices. Much fuss for a single concert. But what would Luxembourg be without its “First World Problems”?
But enough gibberish for now. This is about the concert, isn’t it? An evening with RAMMSTEIN and only with RAMMSTEIN. Who thought to hear something else before the concert or to sing along to other songs between the bands was wrong. The concert in Luxembourg was the only one that RAMMSTEIN gave in the course of his current European tour on the open field, in other countries they made football stadiums their own. This was not possible here in the Grand-Duchy, and so for the RAMMSTEIN performance on Saturday the Herchesfeld near Roeser again had to serve as the venue for such a mega-event - by Luxembourg standards. Just as it had already done in the past for the Rock-a-Field-Festival or the gig of IRON MAIDEN in 2014. Already at 4pm the doors opened and the fans could distribute themselves on the area. Many hurried immediately and without much thinking in the front rows, others visited the Merchandise-Truck first or went to the food corner. Now it was all about waiting.
Duo Jatekok
Before the hot RAMMSTEIN show, the French DUO JATEKOK honoured the fans on the festival grounds at 8 pm. A classical piano duo which performed the arrangements of the ‘Klavier’ album. Yes, even the support band made the crowd happy with RAMMSTEIN songs. The two ladies, dressed in red, played finely and nuanced on their white grand pianos, the sound was in principle also well-disposed towards them - but a short, classical concert right before a metal band? A difficult undertaking, which many fans didn’t accept quite so euphorically and preferred to talk (or didn’t notice at all). The two French women really gave their best, but unfortunately they were not really noticed by the audience. Too bad! In any case, they deserved absolutely more attention.
Setlist
01. Klavier
02. Mein Herz brennt
03. Frühling in Paris
04. Engel
05. Du hast
06. Ohne dich
07. Seemann
08. Sonne
Rammstein
At 9.15 p.m., still in the daylight, the cheering became loud: RAMMSTEIN finally entered the stage with a huge bang! 18,000 enthusiastic fans were suddenly there with all their heart! With the song ‘Was ich liebe’ the six Berliners started, black smoke and the smell of fire rose into the air. But the enthusiasm of the people was limited in the beginning. The slow building up mid-tempo number was probably not the best beginning. At the latest with the next song ‘Links 2-3-4’ drums and guitar were stomping out of the speakers and the crowd head-banged happily. They could do that very well, because the sound was brutal, insanely loud and, as you would expect for a band of this kind, a bit louder than all the others. Without long hesitation the German band went on with the next song ‘Tattoo’. Again from the last and current album, but more popular with the fans. And the setlist continued like this: A new song is followed by an older one. It was to be expected that the new songs would be more thrilling live than on the record, but that almost all the songs were so well received by the fans and that many loudly roared the verses with singer Till was admirable.
With ‘Sehnsucht’ it went then briefly again back in the year 1997 to criticize the catholic church with ‘Zeig dich’ immediately afterwards. After ‘Mein Herz brennt’, it was again time for some pyrotechnics on stage and the first notes of the long awaited song ‘Puppe’ sounded. How will singer Till perform the chorus here? Will he also have this spark of madness in his voice live and can amaze the audience? Right at the beginning he pushed a huge buggy onto the stage, which he put in flames afterwards. The sound carried his voice into the back rows and everyone could hear how he spoke of evil deeds. The song could convince live in any case. The crowd roared the chorus with Till and celebrated it appropriately afterwards.
With ‘Heirate mich’ the band played a song which was played live before this tour in 2001. This pleased the audience very much which loudly sing along again. After that there was a little breather for the fans. Bassist Oliver Riedel and keyboarder Christian “Flake” Lorenz sat on stage, singer Till gave everything to perform this beautiful song. And then people should say that metal heads can’t be romantic! But then: The turning point! Electronic music was playing from the loudspeakers and you felt like you were in a club. Wait... are we still here at RAMMSTEIN? Why do LED stick figures dance on stage? Quite simple: What the people heard was the electro remix of the single ‘Deutschland’, which RAMMSTEIN guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe mixed together.
And then the “Scandal Song” follows with all the instruments. One or the other had perhaps a queasy feeling to sing along some verse loudly, but one had to look at it in the eye of art and with one’s very own, Rammstein-esque irony. With the more pop song ‘Radio’ almost everyone in the audience danced along. But enough of joy! It’s about to get somebody’s collar! For ‘Mein Teil’ Till unpacked the flamethrower in a butcher’s dress and roasted keyboarder Flake in a big cooking pot. Black confetti rain from cannons covered the area like ashes. The fans freaked out with excitement.
In general front man Till Lindemann sang his way through the whole set with a surprisingly strong voice, the band seemed motivated with every song and had a lot of fun. It was a pity that the band and the management almost completely renounced screens. So close-ups, costumes, Tills mimic and body language and all small details of the stage show were reserved for those who had fought their way in the first rows. Only in the second part of the show do a few projections take place. In the classics ‘Du Hast’ and ‘Sonne’ all (pyro) registers were finally pulled out. Flame throwers and fire fountains light up the sky above Roeser.
Those who had still not been touched by what was presented had now at least been touched by the heat of the flames. There were, one will hardly believe it, also quiet moments. The musicians gathered together with the supporting band DUO JATEKOK on a platform in the middle of their audience and sang quietly and almost carefully ‘Engel’ before they let themselves be carried back to the stage by a rubber dinghy. Afterwards the crowd could dance to ‘Ausländer’ again before it arrived with ‘Du riechst so gut’ and ‘Pussy’ towards the end.
But it’s not over yet! The band played the song ‘Rammstein’, which was last performed live in 2005, and then they burned the Herchesfeld again with ‘Ich Will’! Farewell fireworks included! Then a bow and the traditional kneeling before the fans. The band got into a gigantic elevator and went up into the night sky. A loud bang. It was over. As magically as they entered the stage, they also left it. That was an experience that definitely stays longer in memory.
Setlist
01. Was ich liebe
02. Links 2-3-4
03. Tattoo
04. Sehnsucht
05. Zeig dich
06. Mein Herz brennt
07. Puppe
08. Heirate mich
09. Diamant
10. Deutschland (Remix by Richard Z. Kruspe)
11. Deutschland
12. Radio
13. Mein Teil
14. Du hast
15. Sonne
16. Ohne dich
17. B-Stage: Engel (with Duo Jatekok) (piano version)
---
18. Ausländer
19. Du riechst so gut
20. Pussy
---
21. Rammstein
22. Ich will
Fan photos by Elena Arens, Marc Froehling, Marc Muller, Sandra Wolter & Ken Pletschet
Comments powered by CComment