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Lindemann in St. Petersburg & Helsinki

2.3.2020 St. Petersburg, Sibur Arena, Russia
Text: Julia Andreeva
Thanks to Volkov Pro for the photos (interactive gallery after set list)

Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann and Pain frontman Peter Tägtgren performed in Russian cities St. Petersburg, Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar and Novosibirsk. Concerts in Perm, Kazan and Voronezh were canceled due to outbreak of COVID19.

For the first time, Lindemann band gave concerts not only in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Fans in other Russian cities had the opportunity to watch Great and Terrible Lindemann for the first time. Provocative, sensual and daring, Lindemann’s show is everything you expect and more.
Lindemann stepped on stage dressed in a white suit. Playing hits such as Skills in Pills, Ladyboy, and songs from the new F & M album, the crowd is a mixture of tracks spanning the band’s career, with video vaginas, golden showers and bird feeders playing in the background. When the song “Fat” begins, cakes fly into the audience. After «Fish on» people wash the fish guts from their bodies and gather their belongings. Lindemann played a good set, a set that could delight people simply because it was the legendary Till, some other may not have liked all the excess shocking, but it was certainly unlikely to leave anyone indifferent. The main thing is to arouse emotion in the viewer, the rest is no longer important.

Set list
1. Skills In Pills
2. Ladyboy
3. Fat
4. Frau & Mann
5. Ich weiß es nicht
6. Allesfresser
7. Knebel
8. Home Sweet Home
9. Cowboy
10. Golden Shower
11. Blut
Wer weiß das schon [Reading Session]
12. Platz Eins
13. Praise Abort (Drago Baotic Outro)
14. Fish On
Encore
15. Ach so gern (Pain Version)
16. Gummi
17. Steh auf
Wer weiß das schon (Instrumental Version) [Outro]

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29.2.2020 Jäähalli (Ice Hall) Helsinki, Finland

text & photos: Melanie Kircher

This is a band that I have been waiting for to see live for a long time, as I love both main bands of the masterminds Peter and Till, Pain and Rammstein a lot, and Lindemann is just the perfect mixture of those two bands. We arrive when the first support Jadu is playing, and apruptly decide to rather stay in the hallway and have a drink and check the merchandise, as what we hear sounds awful, sorry to say that. The second support Aesthetic Perfection, however, sounds really good, and gets the crowd going. They play a sort of electronic dark pop, and slowly start to drag the folks inside the venue.

After a short sound check  Lindemann enter the stage, in white suits and white face paint, and the well known heavy stampeding sound with melodic elements, the clear signature of Peter Tägtgren, kicks in. In my opinion Tägtgren does not receive enough credit for his part in this project. Most reviews mention a Lindemann solo project, yet it was Peter who wrote all the music, played, recorded and produced it, Till created lyrics and vocals. Hence this is much more Pain with a Twist featuring Till Lindemann.

The lineup, by the way, is mostly from Pain, and I’m glad it’s Peter’s son Sebastian on the drums, as this kid is a hell of a drummer. Even though I know the lyrics are provoking and often below the belt, as we know it from Till, the videos that are shown behind the band on a large screen are not for the faint of heart. They leave no questions why this concert is strictly for adults, as a lot of naked women and genitals of both sexes are shown, which actually is a tad too much for my taste. If I want to watch porn, I watch porn (and there are actually scenes on the screen that belong into this category), but if I go to see a concert, I don’t want to see that much of this shoved into my face. So I try not to pay too much attention to the screen and focus on those really skilled musicians, and what those guys present is really a firework.

The crowd is going crazy right from the opener Skills in Pills. Both the band’s albums are evenly presented here, and the concert has a lot of extras, like during the song “Allesfresser” (Omnivore), they throw cream cakes into the crowd. Which means dessert comes before the main course, as during “Fish On”, dinner is served and raw fish thrown and sling-shot into the crowd. At that point I really appreciated my arena seat as I can’t enjoy getting cream and fruits in my face followed by a fish. But the crowd seems to enjoy it and after the show I see a girl presenting proudly a fish that she caught. A matter of taste obviously, in a double sense here.

What’s really cool is Peter and Till getting into some large bubble or dome, that is moving into the middle of the crowd, and folks are really going crazy seeing those two so close. But after “Fish On” the band leaves the stage, and on the screen you can read “If you want to hear more, stand up and scream” , to which the crowd just too happily complies. The band comes back for 3 more songs and “Steh Auf” is the last song of the night and of a whopping 17 song setlist. A really happy crowd leaves the venue into the night. It was definitely worth watching (the band, not the videos), and I gladly come back, if those guys decide to release another album and come back on another tour.

Setlist:

1 Skills in Pills
2 Ladyboy
3 Fat
4 Frau & Mann
5 Ich weiss es nicht
6 Allesfresser
7 Knebel
8 Home Sweet Home
9 Cowboy
10 Golden Shower
11 Blut
12 Platz Eins
13 Praise Abort
14 Fish On

Encore
15 Ach So Gern
16 Gummi
17 Steh Auf

GastmitarbeiterInnen / guest contributions

Regular guest contributors e.g. Melanie Kircher, Tatjana Tattis Murschel, Grit Kabiersch, Marina Minkler, Jasmine Frey, Maria Levin, Elvira Visser, Nina Ratavaara, John Wisniewski