Monday 31 January 2011

Big Day Out!

Yesterday I went to RAMMSTEIN the Big Day Out RAMMSTEIN and I saw a whole bunch of amazing RAMMSTEIN bands.

This included RAMMSTEIN!

Before Rammstein I also got to see:
  • Iggy and the Stooges - Iggy Pop is people jerky, aging skin over defiantly toned muscles. His crowd banter is a bit contrived but his performance was worth the wait.
  • John Butler Trio - I don't really listen to a lot of their stuff when I'm out in the wild but they have a great energy and are a lot of fun to see live.
  • Deftones - I'd been hanging out to see them play, enjoyed the set immensely but spent the whole time thinking 'Hitch up your pants, Chino, we can see you underpants. Your pants Chino, they're sagging at the back! PULL THEM UP!"
  • Birds of Tokyo - I had never heard any of their stuff before yesterday but all the people who went on about Ian Kenny's adorable dancing weren't wrong and they were decent to listen to as well.
  • Airbourne - The lead singer scaled the stage frame and played guitar from above the lighting rig before clambering back down and using his head as a beating stone to open a beer can. Enough said :-D
  • And probably some others whose names I've already forgotten...
And then it was Rammstein time.

I cannot stress enough how fantastic Rammstein were.

They were excellent.

I... just... wow.

The stage show, the pyrotechnics, the well-greased German men in leather, the musical perfection.

If I could only see one live concert over and over again for the rest of my life it'd be this one.

Stunning.

My favourite part was when they sang Pussy from Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da...


It was a... special... moment for all of us.

As hard as it was, I walked away partway through the Tool set because I'm seeing them next week at the sidewave and really wanted to catch some of the Grinderman set because Nick Cave has a voice made of sin, velvet and dark chocolate.

Grinderman was a nice way to finish off the night as my feet were caning and I ended up sitting on the grass under the stars and the odd bat with a gathering of other folks staring up in wonder at the group of bearded weirdies and enjoying the crowd around me enjoying the eccentricity.

The venue itself was bigger than I had expected which meant that you didn't hear any of the other acts when you were trying to hear the one you'd picked but which meant you had to make some tough calls during the day if you weren't able or willing to run from one end of the place to the other.
There were a lot more stalls and things than I'd expected which were completely wasted on me because not only did I somehow turn up looking like I was dressed to hitch-hike around Latin America*, I'd packed enough food and water to do just that.
Essentially I looked like a huge dork** but I had a GREAT time.


*Big I-have-come-to-bring-the-good-word-to-the-natives missionary's black hat, red singlet, white overshirt to fend off the sun, black jeans and boots.
**Not terribly uncommon for me to be fair.

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