There was only one reason for me to go.
Rammstein.
The last time they were out here was in 2001 and I didn't get to BDO then. They haven't toured Australia by themselves since then either, so when they were announced as one of the headliners last year, I HAD to go. I didn't care about the cost or anything like that. Honestly, I'd be more than happy to pay $155 for a ticket just to see Rammstein. The other bands at BDO were a nice bonus for that price, especially The Bloody Beetroots.
So I travelled down to Melbourne to go to BDO with Clare. The predicted temperatures for the day kept on climbing - when I left NSW, they were saying the Sunday would be 30 degrees. By the day before BDO, it was for temps over 40. How delicious... But there was no way I was going to miss seeing them, come hell, high water, hot temperatures or men in camo bodysuits.
Hello ladies.
We decided we wouldn't get there first thing in the day and ended up getting there around midday. It actually wasn't unbearably hot, especially in the shade. And there was plenty of shade, which was brilliant. A lot of the stages were covered, there were random tents around the place, there were mister things everywhere (mmm) and best of all, rainbow slushees. Oh so good. But the lines for them were INSANE. Longer than the lines for the toilets. And we spent more time in line for one of the slushees than we did in the queue to get in to the Orange Stage.
But the frozen goodness was worth it.
Hello everyone.
We saw a good number of bands while not embracing the misters, shade-hopping and wandering from covered stage to covered stage area to see what was going on. And we kept seeing hipsters. Hipsters, hipsters everywhere and not a metalhead to be seen. Well, almost. But it was kind of disturbing. Most people looked like they'd raided Valley Girl via American Apparel and some kind of creepster Terry Richardson shoot on the way to BDO, too.
Let's just take a moment to lament the Melbourne hipster thing.
*silence*
Oh yes, we also kept seeing this ginger hipster guy EVERYWHERE. He was impressive in that he didn't take off his jacket once (or at least had it on every time we saw him). That's dedication to the cause when it's 40 degrees and there's a northerly blowing.
Hello ginger hipster dude!
There were pervistaches a-plenty, too. And lots of people getting excited about seeing Angus and Julia Stone. No comment about them and jet planes and Hottest 100s, because of that whole "If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything" thing.
Anyway.
After hours and hours, it was time to make our way over to the Orange Stage to make sure we got a good spot to see Rammstein. John Butler Trio were on before them on that stage. I'm not actually a fan of JB3, but they were actually really, really good live. There was a lot of energy in their show and it made you just want to dance.
John Butler Trio. Better than expected. A lot better.
It's funny, actually, how some bands are so much better live than they are on albums.
Anyway, when they finished up, people started to move away from the moshpit area in front of the stage and Clare and I joined the throng to be part of the lucky hundreds who would get up close to the stage for Rammstein. All of the shoving and pushing and craziness that was involved in that was nothing compared to the craziness once Rammstein actually started playing, but we'll get to that in a moment.
We managed to get to a relatively close position to the stage, which we were pretty happy with. Iggy Pop and The Stooges were playing on the Blue Stage. He got some people up on the stage to dance around with him, which was kinda cool.
Iggy Pop and The Stooges and dancers. Something for them to tell the grandkids.
But people around us were getting sick of them by the end of their set, which included a moment of Iggy pretending to hang himself on stage. He also kept dropping the f-bomb loads like it was still the 1970s and would shock more people than your gran. Anyway, it was good to see them live. I don't mind them, but not in big doses.
And we were there for Rammstein. The waiting? That was torture...
Torture, I tells you.
But the waiting - which has been a long, long wait with that 10 year gap between concerts in Australia - was soon over. And it was spectacular. As a guy behind us in the moshpit said, "I can die happy now having seen Rammstein."
The push by the crowd when the curtain and the flag went down was insane. Then with the moshing and people jumping around and dancing, Clare and I got separated with one of the many shoves from the crowd to get forward. And that actually worked just to make us get closer to the stage. It was worth all of that near death and sweating and shoving.
So, so amazing.
Rammstein's music live is even more incredible than it is on their albums. I suppose the added bonuses of the lights and pyrotechnics help with that, as they're incredible. Being so close, we could feel the heat from the flames, which was awesome. And there was a lot of flame.
Marshmallows, anyone?
*sigh*
All of the Rammstein guys are gorgeous, too. So that was a really nice bonus. I present my evidence thusly (apologies for the blur in some. It's surprisingly hard to take good photos while in a moshpit. Who would have known..?):
Mmm... Rammstein.
See? They're hot.
One of the most fun parts of it all was the cannon they used to spray foam over the crowd. There was some papery stuff fired over the crowd, too. I've got some of it somewhere in my diary. Should paste it in, actually. A little piece of Rammstein happiness that I can look at when putting in dates for work stuff.
Liebe Ist Für Alle Da!
And then it was over all too soon...
And they didn't do an encore, much to the disappointment of everyone there.
Once it was over and we were wandering around, I started noticing that my left foot actually hurt - someone must have stepped on it hard at one point and that I had a fair few bruises on my legs and arms. But it was worth it - a million times, it would be worth it.
Tool was on the Blue Stage after Rammstein finished. It was kind of unfortunate for them, because they looked kind of sad in comparison to the show Rammstein put on. The lights and video screen stuff Tool did was alright, but I think I've also moved beyond liking them. Although the 15-year-old inside me still kind of went, "Squee! Tool! I loved these guys in school!"
We decided to head off after that, although M.I.A and Grinderman were still on the bill. But it had been a long day and we had to get back. The sun was setting and the clouds were finally getting thick. It had been the most amazing day in my entire life. Nothing in life will ever compare to seeing Rammstein live. Not even marrying a billionaire for love.
Tool was on the Blue Stage after Rammstein finished. It was kind of unfortunate for them, because they looked kind of sad in comparison to the show Rammstein put on. The lights and video screen stuff Tool did was alright, but I think I've also moved beyond liking them. Although the 15-year-old inside me still kind of went, "Squee! Tool! I loved these guys in school!"
Tool.
We decided to head off after that, although M.I.A and Grinderman were still on the bill. But it had been a long day and we had to get back. The sun was setting and the clouds were finally getting thick. It had been the most amazing day in my entire life. Nothing in life will ever compare to seeing Rammstein live. Not even marrying a billionaire for love.
My only hope is that Rammstein will come back to Australia to do a tour of their own. And soon. Or else I'll just have to travel overseas to somewhere they're doing a tour and see them live again, because their live show? It's incredible.
