Concert Review: Rammstein (Rosemont, IL - Allstate Arena - May 10, 2011)

It's been a while since I can say I've been so excited for a concert that I'm actually nervous beforehand.  But again, we are talking about a band that is acclaimed as being the best live band in the world right now.  I'm referring to, of course, none other than Germany's premiere industrial metal band, Rammstein. 

The atmosphere of the concert, though, began way before my friend and I made it to the Allstate Arena just outside Chicago.  Drunken grunts of "Rammstein" being yelled just about every other sentence, people acting like they know how to speak German, and just more drunken jibberish were mere samples of my experience on the train and bus rides there.  Don't even get me started on how crazy it got when we actually got into the arena.  Surprisingly, there was an unusual abundance of people in costumes.  This isn't to say I wasn't expecting this, but I was thinking more leather type outfits.  The outfits that I did see there were more along the lines of something you'd see at a Slipknot concert (hell, I even saw a girl dressed up as Rainbow Brite).

Read the rest of the review after the break.     


So after arriving at the venue, making it through near strip-search security, and scouting the overpriced merch and food, I was finally ready to enjoy the evening that was about to unfold.  The opener, Combichrist, had about a half an hour set, which was enough.  I didn't necessarily have a beef with there actual music, I just had a beef with one of their two drummers.  The dude was seriously throwing away one of his drumsticks at least a good five times every song.  I'm all for showmanship, but there's also a fine line where excessive use of a certain "trick" becomes annoying.  That dude definitely crossed it.  But hey, it was only a half an hour.

Onto the reason we were all there, Rammstein.  I won't go into details about everything, as the videos below will speak for themselves, but I can tell you without a doubt that they live up to their hype as being the best live band around right now, and use enough pyrotechnics to put any Fourth of July celebration to shame.  If you've never seen Rammstein live, I would make sure to put it on your bucket list.  Even if you're not necessarily a fan of their music, the show alone will be enough to impress you.

These clips aren't from the Chicago show but they were from a few nights before so they will demonstrate very vividly what I witnessed the other night.

An intro where they break through walls?  Yup.....Rammstein's got it.




Fire-breathing?  Yup.....Rammstein's got it.



Setting somebody on fire?  Yup.....Rammstein's got it.




Mechanical angel wings that shoot fire?  Uh Yup.....Rammstein's got it.


I think I've made my point here.

-Mick