No Rest for the Sick

OVO Arena Wembley – 12 December 2023

No matter if travelling on land or even crossing the big pond – fans take on a lot to see Till Lindemann band play live. And not only the fans, but also the band members take on hardships for this tour, as a nasty stomach virus followed the band to London. Nevertheless, everyone gave it their all and our guest reporters are all the more happy for it. “To play your heart out while being sick takes commitment and I, along with the fans, really appreciate the dedication. Thank you!” writes guest reporter Alicia.

by Viktor @sweetvenom_00 (Guest Reporter), Alicia Huizenga (Guest Reporter), Sez, and KidArctica

We are crossing over narrow waters onto everyone’s (or rather Sez’s) favourite European island for a concert in what is apparently “London’s most iconic concert and events venue” (or at least that’s what OVO Arena Wembley’s website says). Once again, the blog crew could not make the journey themselves, however not just one, but two guest reporters have been kind enough to share their written experiences with us! Let’s get right to the good stuff.

This is guest reporter Viktor’s report from London:

12th December 2023, OVO Arena Wembley, London: that is when and where the only Till Lindemann concert on the British Isles this tour took place. The venue can hold up to 12,500 people and has been used for both music and sports events for decades.

After the somewhat chaotic rush that comes with travelling on a peak-hour train and then on the London Underground, getting into the venue itself felt pleasantly easy and well-organised. Due to a recent rib injury (we’re talking bruised, not broken, I promise), I chose not to queue up early, so I can’t speak as to what the queuing experience was like. I also had to be strategic with where I stood, which ended up being quite far out to the side but surprisingly close to the stage, only about three or four rows back from the barrier. Not long after I got in, a member of security got the waiting crowd to come together and sing Happy Birthday for a friend of his.

At 8pm, Phantom Vision, the first opener, started playing. Their set warmed the crowd up nicely, and though many seemed unfamiliar with their music, whispers of “I’ll have to look them up later!” could be heard in the crowd. A quick set-up change later and it was time for Aesthetic Perfection, the second opener. Daniel Graves put his all into the 5-song set the same way he does for their headline shows. The crowd, clearly familiar with the band’s music, had great fun rocking out to their industrial-pop beats.

Only one more short break and a set-up change followed, and then the main event could begin. At 9:20pm, the Zunge intro announced the band’s arrival and the crowd erupted in cheers as Till Lindemann and his red-clad bunch stepped out onto the stage. The show kicked off brilliantly, and the energy remained high throughout, with everyone head-banging and singing/screaming along song after song.

The typical shenanigans of a Till Lindemann show that we’ve come to love were all there, too. Allesfresser signalled it was time for cake and, as usual, the band gleefully followed Till’s instructions as they delivered cake to the masses. Those (un)lucky enough to get caked only had to wait five songs before they could try and wash the cake off when the audience got sprayed with water during Blut. Fish On came not long after and with it the infamous fish cannon. Constance Day and Jes Paige donned latex gloves and assumed the roles of Till’s glamorous assistants, tasked with loading the fish cannon. A somewhat child-like joy could be felt from the stage and the audience both as everyone watched fish after fish soar through the air, higher and further than many would’ve thought possible.

Speaking of shenanigans: no microphones were safe from Till, as usual. Tonight’s destruction included the typical mic throwing and kicking over of mic stands, but one mic stand got special treatment when Till snapped its top part clean off before chucking it. Till also took his mischief a step further by picking up a floor monitor during Ich weiß es nicht, only to drop it back onto the stage a couple of seconds later.

In terms of audience reaction, English songs like Fat, Golden Shower, Praise Abort and Skills in Pills seemed to get a marginally louder response. Other crowd favourites were mostly the same as at the other show I’ve attended this year: Steh Auf, Sport frei and Ich hasse Kinder.

Platz Eins was also a special moment, thanks to its unusual staging compared to the rest of the show. Till and Constance made the crowd go wild as they walked through the standing area, while Emily Ruvidich and Jes rocked out together on stage and Danny Lohner raised up high on his platform.

Finally, Joe Letz deserves a special shout out for giving a killer performance despite feeling a bit under the weather from a stomach bug – a fact no one would be able to guess, had he not shared it on his Instagram stories.

Once the show was over, everyone left in high spirits. On the tube back towards central London, some of my fellow travellers even launched into their own rendition of Fat, and I realised that all the excitement made me completely forget about my aching ribs. All in all, an amazing experience.

This is guest reporter Alicia Huizenga’s report from London:

I want to start out by saying I’m a newer Rammstein fan. I’ve known and heard their hit songs Du Hast and Deutschland, but never really listened to them in their entirety. That all changed when Zeit was released and I heard Angst for the first time. That voice, the drums, the guitars and bass, and keyboard…..enough said, I was hooked. I listened to EVERYTHING Rammstein and got to see them live in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was the best concert I’ve ever been to.

Then I noticed that Till Lindemann did his own solo stuff and it captivated me. It was the same voice but the lyrics were more exotic and just downright captivating. I feel as if his solo stuff is his outlet to songs that don’t fit in the Rammstein mold. It’s a whole other world in the Rammstein universe. So that being said, I found out he was going to be at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Virginia, USA and I had to go. Bought a rockstar pass, got a hotel, and was ready to see him. Well, as we all know, he had to cancel and that festival turned out to be filled with chaos and being cancelled for the rest of the weekend. Well, now I had to go oversees and see him! I bought tickets for London and never looked back!

Let’s get to the concert. The anticipation was the worst part. I had standing tickets, but was given VIP tickets as well. The doors opened for us at 5:30, but we were not allowed to go to the floor or the seats until 6:10. They finally let us go, and I walked (very fast) to the stage. I was 3 people behind the rail on almost the middle, left side. Very happy with my spot!!

After 2 hours of waiting inside, the first band came on at 8:00. Phantom Vision was entertaining but just not my cup of tea. They made some people bang their heads and warmed us up for the next band. Aesthetic Perfection was better. They started at around 8:30. The lead singer was engaging, impressive, and fascinating. The songs had a great beat to them and the crowd was getting into them. But again, we were there for Till Lindemann and people were getting more and more excited.

Now it was time for the grand finale!! 9:00(ish) hit and I was ready to see the man and his band that I fell in love with.

Starting with Zunge was very smart. My interpretation of the song is about expressing yourself through words, in his case, his lyrics. He’s basically preparing us for what is to come in the show. Schweiss made me giggle because he would raise his right arm up and you could see the sweat in his armpits. Fat is pretty explainable. Personally, I really like this song because it shows love for other types of women. He explains that beauty is in every form. Altes Fleisch had an interesting background video of an older person peeling their skin off their face. I would have much preferred a different song, like Lecker, in its place, but it was still good.

Till Lindemann, Jes Paige, and Joe Letz by by Alicia Huizenga

Allesfresser was amazing. What can be better than the band taking turns with throwing cake into the crowd. It was exciting and fun. Golden Shower was entertaining with the unusual background video of a woman’s vagina. Tanzlehrerin was a great way for Jes Paige to show her amazing guitar skill. It was a nice change of pace for the concert as well. Ich weiß es nicht is a favorite for me. This song is heavy and makes you just want to jump up and down, even with all the cake at my feet.

Sport frei was something else. The background video of the band playing ping pong made me laugh out loud. I had no idea what was going to happen next with Blut. When the song started, we were all drenched in water. It was a huge surprise and kind of refreshing because it was getting warm in the venue. Then they sprayed more water! That mixed with the cake at my feet made the rest of the night very slippery. I feel kind of bad for the cleanup crew.

Praise Abort is another one of my favorites. The lyrics are catchy and it is easier to sing in English than German. Platz Eins was a great way for the bass player, Danny Lohner, to show his skill. Him being raised up was an added bonus. Till and Constance Day went around the crowd so that was a great way for people in the back and sides to get some close up views.

Fish On was a blast….literally. The fish was real and stinky. People were throwing fish back at the band and the stage crew would throw it back out. The fish cannon was a hilarious addition and I loved it. Gummi was filled with lots of energy and you can tell the band enjoys jamming to that song. Steh auf is another song that makes you jump up and bang your head, even in the slippery mess. After this song, the band came out and took a bow.

They came back out and started with Knebel. It’s such a beautiful song, when it starts slow with the acoustic guitar again and then it gets heavy. The background video is very interesting when you get to see some more of Till’s….well, you get the idea.

My favorite song is Ich hasse Kinder and to see it live was a dream come true. It’s what got me into Till’s solo creations. Singing the song word for word while he was singing live almost put tears in my eyes. Words can’t explain how beautiful it was.

Unfortunately, that meant we were also coming to the end of the show. Skills in Pills was the last song for the band to play. I found it interesting that they ended with this song but 3 years ago, they started with it. The little Till face on the pills added some humor to the song. Till changed the last part of the song by saying goodbye.

The band left the stage and then you could see them standing in the back in front of the screen with Till’s skull playing Home Sweet Home. They bowed to us and we all screamed for them.

This was a dream come true to see and so worth the plane ticket and hotel for the week. I’d do this again in a heartbeat. Oh and very, VERY happy the concert wasn’t cancelled. Joe Letz was very sick with a stomach virus that had been plaguing the band. You can tell at the end of the concert he was exhausted and ready to take a bath and sleep. To play your heart out while being sick takes commitment and I, along with the fans, really appreciate the dedication. Thank you!

12.12.2023