Dyrskueplads, Odense, Denmark, June 2 & June 3, 2023
Odense provided two days where the queueing experience went from the lowest low to one of the best of all time. Though the most surprising thing that happened in Denmark was a very unexpected set list change.
By KidArctica
Dyrskueplads in Odense is a huge field that covers about 112,500 square metres. The name can be translated into “the place where you can look at animals”, and one of the most famous events that takes place there, is an annual cattle show where visitors can interact with animals from all over Denmark.
This time, however, the main attraction was a of a different kind. Odense is the third largest city in Denmark after Copenhagen and Aarhus. The name of the city comes from Odin’s Vé, which means Odin’s Sanctuary, and the place was originally a sanctuary for the worshippers of the Norse god. For two days, if not worshippers, then at least fans of Rammstein invaded the city as the German sextet visited to play show four and five of their 2023 Europe Stadium Tour.
02.06.2023
Expectations were quite high in advance, as last year’s show in Aarhus had one of the best entrance organisations of 2023. Back then, only one lane was opened for the first queuers, who walked calmly into Ceres Park to claim their spots. Unfortunately, Dyrskuepladsen’s first day became possibly the worst queuing experience I have had so far.
As has become common now for Rammstein’s concerts, people show up early in hopes of securing a good spot along the barricade. Odense was no exception. In fact, more people than expected showed up early, and the fan organised numbering system was started. Unfortunately, the security guard said straight out that he didn’t give a shit (in Danish, but the translation is accurate enough).
A few things about the he Odense venue: The venue plan in itself was quite intimidating, to put it mildly. Entrance was at the total opposite of the stage, and the distance to get there was really long. Information online was that there would be one opening of gates at noon, then another area would open at 1400, then finally access to venue would happen at 1700. It was not clear where exactly each point of entry would be, apart from the first. Organising lines for one gate is daunting enough, but for three? A nightmare.
The first people who arrived did their best in at least making sure they got first in line for the first gate opening at noon. During this stage, we were let in from the gate by the street and into the first field area, where lanes were set up. With quite a bit of pushing and people trying to cut in line, we got to the front of the lanes (as we were not allowed to enter them). While the front people sat down for the next wait, people were so clumped up that it was actually hard for many to sit, which is really unnecessary when there is another long wait coming up.
We were told two lanes only would be Feuerzone, and this was where all food and drinks (plus of course blankets, chairs, and anything else) would need to go. At this point we tried to find out when exactly the entry would start, and while the security guards here were very friendly, they didn’t have all the information needed. First, we were told “in about one hour”. Then, maybe at five, but maybe a bit before that. Finally, merely 40-ish minutes before 2 pm, we were told they would open at 2 pm.
Cue stress of people getting rid of stuff and trying to reorganise. Security wanted people in two lines with one person behind the next, but with the messy entry to this first waiting area, everyone was so clumped up that it was impossible to get it done. People were still trying to cut in line, and major kudos to the security woman who would not have it, and immediately sent one woman back.
Then, five minutes before opening, we were told only ONE lane would be Feuerzone. Some of the first people who arrived jumped the fence to that lane, only to be told two minutes later that the second lane would ALSO be used for Feuerzone. Another lane change followed, the gates opened, and people got security checked, got their tickets scanned, and got their Feuerzone wristbands before racing to the next set of gates.
The last challenge was entry to the actual venue. Everyone streamed to the left side gates, as they were closer to where we entered. Meanwhile, the right side gates were totally empty. Our group split up, as traditionally, having two entrances means that one will for sure get to the stage before the other. This definitely held true for Odense as well.
As the final boss challenge, gates on both sides were opened at 5 pm. People were supposed to walk in behind the person leading. Of course, this didn’t happen. Centre gates were opened first, this was supposed to be General Admission only. Though when the sides were walked up and got close to the Feuerzone area, people from centre came running, pushing into the line of people going for Feuerzone, which of course caused the walking group to also start running. People were pushed. Some fell. Guards were not able to control the situation fully. And when the right side entered, entire barrier was full, and there were already three lines of people most places as the left side had arrived long before.
While I didn’t really WANT to write this long rant about how bad the entry was, I do because this entrance was a dangerous mess. With no good plan in place, there was bound to be a lot of pushing when people want to get ahead. Many were scared. People fell and could have gotten trampled or injured. I had friends who had to literally muscle up someone who had fallen and was in danger of being overran. A lot of people who came early, had no shot at all at a front row spot, since they ended up on the side that made it to the Feuerzone area long after the other. While security is in no way obligated to follow a fan-made queuing system, my experience is that if they do, people behave, because then they have everything to lose by not doing it. In my opinion, this is a win-win. Fans are happy, and security will have an easier time.
Rant over.
That said, security by the stage was awesome. They were helpful and friendly, shared candy with the people in the front row, and in general, they made the wait by the stage so much better.
At 8:15 pm, Abélard started their set. This was 15 minutes after the event schedule, however, it was most likely done because of the late sunset in Denmark. It was still very light when Rammstein came on stage around 9:20 pm, but to be frank, at that point, it doesn’t really matter so much, since the band’s appearance has a tendency to make you forget other nuisances and just enjoy.
Rammlied is still the band’s preferred opener. The last shows have started with the image of Till Lindemann‘s lit up mouth, which also seems to have become standard screen image for when the singer descends in the elevator. Rammstein has also kept the explosion as the main riff kicks in. However, there were extra explosions going off on the left side of the stage, almost hitting Paul Landers and Oliver Riedel, who seemed to turn around in surprise, but of course kept playing as the professionals they are. Soon after, a stage worker arrived with a fire extinguisher, most likely a CO2 one, and while no visible fire could be seen, it was used in between the stage floor and the outer stage walls.
The set continued without incident. Generally, the band seemed to be in a good mood, but perhaps a little unfocused at times. Oliver and Christoph Schneider, who are normally extremely tight in their playing, started too early during Radio after the last stop, which earned a playful glance from Paul, who, as usual, seemed to have a good time with the audience. Richard Z. Kruspe, who most often embodies the distanced rock star persona, engaged with the audience a lot more than usual, to the delight of his fans.
Rammstein’s set list for this concert was exactly the same as in Helsinki. Unfortunately, I cannot remember that many special details from this night. The band’s energy seemed good. Mein Teil interaction between the band members was playful. Till even moved a bit away from his cheat sheet during Angst. The crowd however, seemed a little more quiet than at other venues, but all in all, good times were had, and people seemed in good spirits as they left Dyrskueplads after the first of the two shows.
03.06.2023
After the rather disheartening first day of lining up, I decided that it wasn’t worth freezing for such a mess, and decided to get in a few hours of sleep in a bed before heading back to the venue. It seemed like most others had either thought the same, or perhaps they weren’t attending both days, because very few people had shown up. We started our numbering again just in case, and after a few hours of napping, I woke up to a very pleasant surprise.
Like the day before, fans had attempted to talk to the security staff, and this time, they had been open to our system. One fan in particular did a great job with organisation and communication with security, and a cut-off for numbering was made at the 55 people who had gotten a number at that time. When the first gate opened, those 55 people were allowed to enter the lanes, which were then closed off with security tape. Once these gate opened, we were taken through first, got our Feuerzone wristbands, and were shown a meeting spot where we then were to line up in numbered order a little before final gates. Finally, at 5 pm, we were walked all the way to the Feuerzone area and could take our spots before anyone else were let into the venue: No running, no pushing, just a lot of happy people.
It was absolutely amazing, and easily one of the very best entries I have ever experienced. Too bad the first day had to be so bad, but a huge thank you to Event Consult for making the second day so much better!
Abélard went on at 8:15 pm also the second night, which meant that Rammstein started playing at approximately 9:20 pm. Everything started as normal, with Rammlied, Links 2-3-4, and Bestrafe mich. Oliver seemed to have some issues with his cable at the start of the set, and at one time it looked like it fell out as bass sound disappeared briefly, but it appeared to be sorted out really quickly.
The set continued as normal until Sonne ended, and everyone expected the band to take a bow and head to the B-stage. This did not happen. Instead, the intro of Ausländer started, which prompted a series of ‘What the hell’ exclamations from my friend standing next to me – a series that didn’t end until the song did. I can only imagine how many confused faces the band must have seen as they played the song they normally play just after their boat ride.
Paul and Richard have not done the outro together this year. This time, they did – although instead of moving towards each other, they both stayed on their own sides while the other band members joined them at the front of the stage, Schneider even dancing a little, before they all took a bow together.
Perhaps the confusion was a contributing factor, though I don’t think this outro didn’t work as well as the regular bow after the massive pyro of Sonne. It is difficult to understand why the band wanted to change things up, a possible explanation could be that the outro itself used to be a highlight with the guitarist kisses, and that they wanted to use it for something else. I think that the version with Richard playing it alone was better, and that the song also worked better in its previous set list position, especially with the transition into Du riechst so gut.
Now, Du riechst so gut was the first song to be played as the band came back from the B-stage. A great moment was when even Flake Lorenz joined in on the collective “walk-and-headbang” part during the riff after the first chorus. Seeing all the band members (sans Schneider) move in sync is still ridiculously cool. Another highlight was Richard playing on his knees in front of Paul during Pussy, throwing another bone to the PaulChard fans.
The crowd felt more alive during Saturday’s concert. Apart from an annoyingly tall security guard that sadly was stationed just in front of me, the two Odense shows were generally quite good. I just wish that the entry the first day had been better. That would have removed so much stress and nuisance from the whole experience.
02.06.2023
- Rammlied
- Links 2-3-4
- Bestrafe mich
- Giftig
- Sehnsucht
- Mein Herz Brennt
- Puppe
- Angst
- 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
03.06.2023
- Rammlied
- Links 2-3-4
- Bestrafe mich
- Giftig
- Sehnsucht
- Mein Herz Brennt
- Puppe
- Angst
- Zeit
- Deutschland RMX
- Deutschland
- Radio
- Mein Teil
- Du hast
- Sonne
- Ausländer
- Ohne dich
(Piano version with Abélard) - Engel
(Piano version with Abélard) - Du riechst so gut
- Pussy
- Rammstein
- Ich will
- Adieu
KidArctica is a RammWiki editor and has been part of the website for years, working in the background with edits and content. Fun Fact: There may or may not be a reason why KidArctica notices bass details more than others.
