LIFAD Rehearsal – May 20, 2023
Rammstein kicked off their 2023 Europe Stadium Tour with their LIFAD Rehearsal on May 20, 2023. The show was, as always, spectacular. The band brought out some new (or, very old) elements, yet the concert still had all the trademarks of Rammstein’s previous stadium tour legs.
By Sez and KidArctica
Rammstein’s concerts in Vilnius are held in Vingio Parkas. Probably the first thing that comes to mind when talking about this location, is that it is huge. The stage is situated in the heart of what is the largest park of Vilnius, which is covering 162 hectares. While the area is idyllic and lush with lots of grass and trees, this also means that access to the stage involves a lot of walking (or, well, running).
From early morning, fans queued up outside the main gates to secure themselves good spots for the rehearsal. Unfortunately, the organisation left a lot to be desired. There were no barriers or lanes set up in advance. Furthermore, there was conflicting information circulating regarding which entrance to use.
In the end, the main entrance was used for all regular winners and companions. There were issues with safety and security, but in the end, fans were able to get into the venue – some more happy than others.
The concert area was fuller than expected. Feuerzone was packed, and some people even had to stand in the General Admission area.
At 8 pm, Abélard entered the B-stage. The piano duo opened for Rammstein during part of the 2022 Europe Stadium Tour, and they had made a few changes to their setlist:
- Rammlied
- Mein Herz brennt
- Mutter
- Engel
- Du riechst so gut
- Zeit
- Frühling in Paris
- Sonne
- Deutschland
- Du hast
Finally, around 9 pm, the familiar gong signalled that Rammstein were about to enter the stage. Accompanied by the cheers of ecstatic fans, Music for the Royal Fireworks started playing, though it was not followed by the usual explosion. Instead, a big, round light appeared on the centre screen. As the picture slowly zoomed out, it revealed that the light source was the iconic lit-up mouth of Till Lindemann, who descended slowly in the elevator.
The mouth lighting first appeared in the LIFAD era, and was commonly used on stage for their concert opener Rammlied. Well, guess what is back.
Saying a sad adieu to Armee der Tristen, it seems like Rammstein fans will now be greeted by Rammlied as the opener for this tour leg. While Till starts out in the elevator, the rest of the band, sans Schneider, are lifted up together on the hatch in the middle of the stage, before fanning out in the front, where they play most of the song.
The most spectacular part of this first song was not actually Till, but a band member that is often overlooked: Bassist Oliver Riedel entered the stage in a brand new costume that resembled that of an astronaut.
Christoph Schneider had altered his costume. While it had much of the same look as the two previous tours, with the trademark red criss-crossed suspenders, his new top was made of a different fabric, and it was more elaborate, with accentuated shoulders. The drummer had swapped out his red leggings for pants ending mid-calf.
Richard Z. Kruspe has made some changes to his outfit as well. He has added buttons to his white, fluffy coat, and for the last part of the set, he was wearing a vest similar to the one he wore during the LIFAD era, along with black and red sleeves. He had exchanged his knickers and high boots for long, black pants that go over his black shoes. There may have been some changes also to his opening look where he wore a black coat with a high-neck top. Any changes will probably be revealed by high-quality photos from tour photographer Jens Koch, or a guest photographer.
Till, Paul Landers, and Flake Lorenz seemed to wear the same outfits as last year.
After the surprising opener song, Rammstein had cut another Zeit track (Zick Zack), and went straight for Links 2-3-4. Then the band threw the fans a curve ball by bringing back Bestrafe mich for the first time since 2001. Another surprise followed, as Giftig made its live debut.
From there on, Rammstein went back to their familiar set list from the last year, with a few exceptions. Zeig dich was dropped, and its pyro effects had instead been transferred to Mein Herz brennt. Heirate mich was dropped entirely, which may be for the better for Till’s forehead.
For Sonne, there was less heat than normal as one of the flame jets in front of the stage malfunctioned, leading to the entire front row of flame jets getting disabled by the FFPX crew for the rest of the concert.
The band had chosen to utilise the B-stage more than before. After leaving the main stage, Till appeared alone with Abélard and performed Ohne dich, encouraging the fans to sing along with the chorus. The band then joined them for Engel before Flake, Oliver, Paul, and Schneider got in their boats and floated across the Feuerzone. At this point it became apparent why the venue was fuller than anticipated, as they likely wanted to rehears the boat rides as well (these were not rehearsed in Prague in 2022). Richard did not go back by boat.
After the boat rides, there were no big surprises. Although you could technically call it a surprise that the two guitarists did not play an extended outro for Ausländer, instead, they skipped the outro fully and went straight for Du riechst so gut.
Some of the people in front row also got a pleasant surprise when Paul decided to pay them a visit before Rammstein. The guitarist signed tickets, a Zeit booklet, and even some arms before he returned to the stage for the end of the set.
One of the most interesting choices Rammstein have made, is that they have omitted both the two Zeit singles that were expected, but not included in 2022 – Angst and Dicke Titten. Both have been highly anticipated by fans, and we expect many to be disappointed by this decision. During closed rehearsals, the band has played Angst, and they have also rehearsed a version of Bestrafe mich that started with an Angst intro that encouraged fans to clap along. This was not done in the LIFAD rehearsal.
Rammstein’s LIFAD rehearsal cannot be said to be new and groundbreaking in any way. Though the band has made some changes to make this tour feel like it’s fresher and not just a blueprint of the two former tours.
- Rammlied
- Links 2-3-4
- Bestrafe mich
- Giftig
- Sehnsucht
- Mein Herz brennt
- Puppe
- Zeit
- Deutschland RMX
- Deutschland
- Radio
- Mein Teil
- Du hast
- Sonne
- Ohne dich
(Piano Version with Abélard) - Engel
(Piano Version with Abélard) - Ausländer
- Du riechst so gut
- Pussy
- Rammstein
- Ich will
- Adieu
Sez and KidArctica are RammWiki editors. They have been part of the website for years, working in the background with edits and content. Surprisingly enough, both are avid Rammstein fans. The two of them, along with Admin, came up with the idea for the blog as well as doing concert reports. Fun fact: Sez started doing cardio just to be able to run faster to try and get to the front row.