Got a Bite in Vienna

Entrance:
Our day had started well, the journey went perfectly and we were lucky enough to get a hotel room right next to the Wiener Stadthalle. This allowed us to easily observe the situation on site and ensured we weren’t stressed.

Entry went smoothly, security measures were increased but everything went very quickly and everyone at the drink stands and at the entrance to the front of the stage was very friendly and accommodating and everything went really without any problems.

Place/seat and view:
We had great standing room in the front of stage area and were standing in the second/third row slightly to the left of the stage. We had a great view of everything and were really looking forward to the show. It was a bit too hot and stuffy in the front area, the ventilation in other venues was usually better, but that didn’t dampen our spirits.

Opener:
The atmosphere in the hall was already very good during Aesthetic Perfection, many people here in Austria know the band, so Daniel Graves had no trouble getting the masses to sing along, clap and dance. This set the stage perfectly for Till Lindemann‘s show, and the anticipation grew by the minute.

Band:
When Till took to the stage with his band and dancers, the hall erupted. Everyone immediately joined in the singing and went wild. The atmosphere on stage was energetic and captivating, the band delivered 100%, the dancers gave their all for the crowd, and Till was in a good mood and ready for jokes.

Compared to Munich, there was cake and real fish here, plus a champagne shower—the full works. The fish must have smelled so awful that Till briefly had trouble suppressing a gag while continuing to sing. Meanwhile, Joe Letz went completely wild throwing pie, even hitting the crowd way back.

Music:
Occasionally the sound in the hall wasn’t quite perfect and Till was a little too quiet, but as a true professional he covered it up skillfully with his grimaces and fooling around, so it didn’t really disrupt the course of the show.

Favorite moment:
The ride through the hall on the ball during Platz eins was perfect once again, the crowd was thrilled, and Till gave it his all for the fans. Even when walking through the front row afterwards, he was in a very good mood and interacted with the fans.

Total experience:
My conclusion about this concert is: Power, power, power.

It seems like the whole band really enjoyed themselves in Vienna and had a blast rocking out with the crowd.

I personally had some goosebump moments; Till’s voice during Übers Meer is incredibly powerful and strong, simply wow. Thanks for the great moments and memories!

KidArctica

Entrance:
Protesters had found their way to Wiener Stadthalle, but the many people who had lined up for the Till Lindemann concert seemed unfazed. There were multiple entrances into the venue, and the actual entry was the most elaborate I have seen so far this tour.

First, visitors were patted down by security guards, and bags were checked. Then, everyone was scanned by a handheld metal detector. Once you got through that, your ticket got scanned, and you were let into the main hall. From there, you needed to go through another ticket check on your appropriate side of the arena. This turned out to be an issue for some of the band guests, as they had tickets for the opposite side of their initial entrance, and had to walk all the way around the hall to be let in.

The final boss of the entry game was the ticket check for the front of house. It turned out that in order to pass this check, you were forced to put your jacket in the wardrobe. At the start, there was a little congestion at this point, as people who went there had to be told to go to the wardrobe, turn around and then stand in line for that, before they could come back, get their wristband, and be let in.

While all of this was pretty well organised, with so many hurdles to get through, some of those who had waited the longest, didn’t make it to the front. Then again, there is never a guarantee for that no matter how long you wait.

Place:
While on the topic of waiting, the actual wait inside the hall was quite short. I had a spot in the third row on the far right side of the stage. My view of Brynn Route and Emily Ruvidich was excellent, but my view of the others was quite often blocked. That said, Brynn and Emily are both great to watch, and I did see the others occasionally as well. It’s always lovely when Danny Lohner and Krissy Kaminski visit the right side!

Joe Letz is stuck behind his (pretty sick looking!) drum kit most of the time, but that’s the fate of being a drummer, I guess. I do wish they would put a little more light on him, though. His drumming style is a true spectacle, and both Joe and the audience would have deserved more light especially when he puts on his pony mask.

Opener:
While originally from the US, Daniel Graves from Aesthetic Perfection lives in Austria. Drummer Mike Schopf is Austrian, even from Vienna, so the band definitely has its ties to the country. When he asked the crowd how many actually knew who they were, the cheering was louder than at other shows – so loud that he estimated it to be around 50 (which I would say is quite an underestimation, but what do I know!)

While he spoke English to the crowd at the start, it was really nice to also see Daniel address the audience in German. This time, Monochrome had made its way back on the set list, which was really nice, as I had only caught it live once before. The chorus is pompous and really catchy, it is a proper power ballad. I like how it brings something very different to their set by taking the tempo down a bit.

Band:
According to reports, the previous concert in Nuremberg had been really good, with Till in a playful mood. In Vienna, the vocalist was very expressive and flirted with the audience from the beginning. This in itself is nothing new, as press photographers have often had access for the first few songs, but it didn’t feel forced, it seemed more genuine, which is always awesome.

As usual, Till went about kicking microphones off the stage. As he kicked the stand with multiple microphones, the light beam at the front of the stage also fell down. This initiated a process where a lot of people ended up working to get them back on stage, which took several songs.

Throughout the show, Till did his “stare intensely at someone in the crowd while singing”, he sat down on the sides of the stage, he sucked his thumb – he just seemed to have fun. During Fish On, he was properly rewarded. On the right side of the stage he got a bite: He fished up a bra from the audience and played with that for a while, swinging it around before taking it with him.

Maybe inspired by this, he took a fish in his mouth really early after Danny and Joe’s fish birth sequence – so early that when he finally got rid of it, he spit and gagged for a long time…

There was a subtle change made to how the risers were operated in Vienna. Earlier, they often went both up and down during a song, but this time, they seemed to stay up longer, which was nice. If they keep this change for more shows, I would love to see even more pole moves from Brynn when her riser is in the air – that would be an excellent time for her to really shine!

Emily, Krissy, and Danny’s interactions on the “floor” of the stage were lovely, as usual. And as for Danny, I was throroughly thrilled to see that he took his jacket off already at Platz eins. He never did it that early before! Thank you, Danny! I love it!

I guess some people may wonder why I am “obsessed” by Danny’s costume, and I cannot explain it other than that I felt like that while the others had their costumes change throughout the show, him keeping the same one gave me some feeling of – unfulfillment? Now that he takes his jacket off, it is different for me, like the full band has reached their final stage of evolution. I realise that this may sound stupid to some people, but hey, that’s just how I feel about it, and I find it stupidly (hah) satisfying that he does it.

Music:
There were a few musical mishaps in Vienna. Music fell out for a short while, Till was out of sync during a verse and butchered some lyrics, the bass playing was a little out of sync during the solo – but it didn’t detract from the overall experience for me. Those things are what make the live experiences so special, those moments when you know that there are human beings performing on the stage.

Speaking about the Platz eins bass solo – it was actually changed in Vienna. There was a new part added to it, with a different riff, which was really cool to hear. I love how the band keeps evolving their show.

Favorite moment:
Du hast kein Herz is my favourite song of the set, and having jacket-less (haha) Danny and Emily rock out right in front of me during the song was a fantastic moment.

Total experience:
It has become increasingly difficult for me to rate the shows. They all have their own charm and their memorable moments. The Vienna show will not be the one I will remember the most after this tour, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good show – it just means that there are some shows that are so special (Barcelona, anyone?) that they are difficult to top no matter.

All in all I enjoyed the concert and had a good time, and that’s the most important thing, I think!

8/10