A Visual Feast

Entrance:
The entry was a sad sight. There was one line to get in (it appears all tickets were converted to standing GA) and doors opened 30 minutes before Aesthetic Perfection went on. As Aesthetic Perfection concluded their set, many people were still in line outside. Hopefully they weren’t too excited see Aesthetic Perfection…

Place/seat and view:
The view and sound was fantastic from an elevated position behind the mixing booth. No complaints.

Opener:
From what we saw of Aesthetic Perfection after the entry, they were full of energy as always. Never seen them phoning it in.

Band:
This was my first time seeing the new show with all the new elements, i.e. with the new risers, screens, water, etc. The production is impressive and feels like a scaled up evolution of previous tours. The band performed well, with good energy.

Music:
While I still wish that the setlist had been completely revamped for the new tour, it is still a strong collection of songs, and the new entries are incorporated well. In particular, the Schweiß, Altes Fleisch, Golden Shower, and Sport Frei run in the beginning of the set is a great rush of energy.

Favorite moment:
It’s difficult to pick a favorite moment from the show, but one element that stood out to me this time was the new drum-lights which are brought out for several songs. I found them particularly effective during Golden Shower as a cool visual, and an additional percussive punch. Honorable mention has to go to the Blut water effects, which were really cool to see from a dry area of the venue.

Total experience:
While it in no way compared to front row at Razzmatazz a few days prior, seeing the new show from behind the mixing booth was a fantastic experience. The vantage point let me take in the entirety of the production and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

KidArctica

Entrance:
The entrance for the Palacio Vistalegre concert seemed extremely badly planned. Aesthetic Perfection was set to go on stage at 2000, but the doors didn’t open until 1930, a mere half hour before that. Additionally, there seemed to be only one single entrance for everyone. This meant that it took forever to get people inside, and when the opener started, the line outside was still really long.

I think it is sad that so many people didn’t get to see Aesthetic Perfection’s set. Luckily, I have been to multiple shows this tour, but if this had been my only one, I would have been very disappointed to miss it.

Place/seat and view:
I was at a small platform directly behind the mixing booth. The view of the stage was great as the crowd was at a lower level.

Opener:
I missed a lot of the Aesthetic Perfection set, but what I saw of them was really good. While I have said it before and will probably say it many more times, the energy they bring to the stage makes them a fantastic live band. The humility of Daniel Graves also makes them the perfect opener – he knows what they are there for, and they do that job expertly while at the same time showcasing their own music in a great way. I believe and hope that the band will find many new fans over the course of the tour, and recommend anyone interested in their music to join the Aesthetic Perfection Discord server where both Daniel and Noizith hang out, too!

Band:
After the show at tiny Razzmatazz in Barcelona, Till Lindemann band brought it all to Madrid. The banner was back, the drum and keyboard risers were back, also the water for Blut, the cakes for Allesfresser, and the fish for Fish On. During Blut, I actually saw several umbrellas going up, which I have to admit I understand – that’s a LOT of water coming down!

This was the first time I have seen the new show from further away, and I have to admit that I was not really ready for how visually stunning it was. Up close, the risers can sometimes be blocking the view, but from afar, they made perfect sense as all the musicians got displayed so much better than if Joe Letz and Brynn Route had been hidden behind the others. Joe’s quirky and hard-hitting drumming drew attention again and again, and Brynn’s skill on the pole and as a contortionist is pretty crazy.

The two dancers, Andina and Lulu from The Sinderellas, also worked a lot better from further back. While it could sometimes be a little distracting with a dancer straight in front of you up close, they were more visually impactful when you can see the whole stage and the symmetry of their performance.

I had not expected how visually impactful I would find the concert to be. The lighting effects were stunning, both the lights and the lasers, and while I do think the smoke could be a bit too much at times (for example when they totally covered up Brynn’s pole performances), I really enjoyed taking in the visual feast.

The musicians themselves were fantastic on the small stage in Barcelona, but they didn’t hold back in Madrid either. I have mentioned before how contagious it is to see how much they enjoy playing together, and despite the big stage and me being quite far away from it, their energy came through at full force. The interactions between the band members seem so genuine and playful, and we are not even halfway into the European tour leg! Emily Ruvidich was brilliant, as usual, and it was wonderful to see Krissy Kaminski and Danny Lohner‘s synergy on stage left.

In Madrid, we also got to experience Till Lindemann with a temper! At the end of Skills in Pills, the vocalist suddenly blurted out ‘Fuck this shit! Fuck it!’ before he apologised and continued singing. What exactly caused the outburst is not 100% clear, but it was a wonderfully human moment!

Music:
From just behind the mixing booth, the sound was excellent. The best part for me was that for the first time, I actually heard the backing vocals clearly.

Favorite moment:
Apart from Till’s little outburst, my favourite moment was when the drum riser went up during Skills in Pills. Seeing Joe drum against the white back projection was really beautiful.

Total experience:
While I absolutely love being up front for the concerts, I have to admit that it was nice to have experienced it from further back as well. I got to enjoy the full visual production, which was really impactful. Many of the back projections I hadn’t even taken notice of until Madrid.

If I could choose, I would still pick being up close to get to feed off the energy of the band members and (hopefully!) give back some to them as well. But I certainly won’t mind being in the back again either – and then I know I won’t get drenched by water, covered in cake, or get a fish to my face!

8.5/10