When one covers a gig, the evening begins at a venue’s box office, where the ticket and photo pass are picked up and any other important information is relayed. Wednesday night at the Fillmore Silver Spring, when I arrived to cover Till Lindemann on his current headlining tour, this additional information came in the form of signage posted at the box office, and the doors to the venue. It said, “Please be advised that this performance will involve exposure to certain foods containing the following ingredients, and potential allergens…” and listed the usual roundup, including shellfish. It was a reminder of what I already knew to be true—this show would be a visceral and wholly bonkers experience.
While Till Lindemann is most well-known as the front man for legendary German industrial metal band Rammstein, over the last decade or so, he’s also taken on solo work. In 2013, he paired up with Swedish multi-instrumentalist Peter Tägtgren to form Lindemann; when Tägtgren departed, Lindemann became a solo project. His latest solo album is Zunge, released last year.
I’m a Rammstein fan, so I looked forward to seeing this enigmatic frontman in the confines of a club, as opposed to the football stadiums where I caught the band a few times on their last US tour. I’ll get straight to the point. In 2024, humanity, with endless access to media and images from all dark corners of the planet, can be a tough crowd to shock. At the same time, we (ok some of us) work to make sure our fellow human beings feel comfortable and safe on the ride we all share through space. Till Lindemann defenestrates the idea of comfort, doing his best to provoke and shock his audience. He’s great at it. The music is good too.
At 9PM on the nose, Lindemann took the stage in a red uniform that was one part military, one part Berlin bondage club. Accompanied by his backing band—guitarists Jes Paige and Emily Ruvidich, bassist Danny Lohner, keyboardist Constance Day, and drummer Joe Letz—Lindemann launched into “Zunge,” from the latest album.
During their career, Rammstein has courted controversy through the subject matter of their songs, treating political themes and sex with frankness. Their live performances are considered among the very best in the industry—mind blowing spectacles featuring a massive stage and ample use of pyrotechnics. They are amazing.
Without the ability to strap flammables to himself and shoot fire from his back, Till Lindemann, as a solo performer, drills down on the taboos around sex. This show featured stunning performances of songs like “ Golden Shower,” “Blut,” and “Praise Abort.” You can imagine what those songs are about. A last-minute change in the rules for the night meant we photographers had to shoot from the side and back of the crowd. We had no photo pit access for Lindemann’s set and I had to rely on wide angle lenses for my shots. I suppose it’s just as well, as the images projected onto the stage’s backdrop were provocative and explicit throughout the night—we’re talking about close ups of female genitalia, and what appeared to be real acts of oral sex.
Lindemann’s backing band are top notch professionals and include a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer in Danny Lohner. They sound amazing, bringing the requisite intensity to the music, and they were in on the action. Keyboardist Day paused from her instruments to swing around a stripper’s pole throughout the show. Drummer Letz stood on a platform at the front of the stage, bent over and pulled objects from the g-string of his costume. He literally pulled objects from his ass to toss at the crowd. Bassist Lohner (of Nine Inch Nails fame) stood on a platform that lifted him high above the audience for a quick funky bass solo.
Cake was hurled at the audience. DEAD FISH WERE LAUNCHED INTO THE CROWD AND EVERYONE LOVED IT. While it was all unsettling, I couldn’t look away. I was too worried I’d miss something. When I finally had to excuse myself to use the ladies’ room mid-set, I came back to discover Lindemann and Day marching through the audience. The crowd gave him respectful distance, but he did stop for a quick twirl with a fan.
It was an intense, unbelievable, one-of-a-kind, and thoroughly entertaining performance I was glad I got to see. But Lindemann didn’t arrive alone at the Fillmore. Along for the debauchery on his North American tour are Aesthetic Perfection and Twin Temple.
The night got started a full 30 minutes ahead of the venue’s listed showtime when Austrian-American industrial pop band Aesthetic Perfection took the stage. Comprised of Daniel Graves on vocals, Brooke C on drums, and NOIZITH on guitar and keyboard, the band quickly got the night started, spending 30 minutes getting everyone’s energies up.
After a mere 15-minute turnover, Twin Temple took over the stage and treated the crowd to their unique brand of “Satanic doo-wop.” The husband-and-wife team of vocalist Alexandra James guitarist Zachary James’ traffic in vintage rock and roll with a Satanic twist. Kitted out in ’50s/’60s rock and roll style, they started the set with the presentation of skulls and unholy water. The songs are catchy and fun and takes on Satan, the occult, and loose morals, without taking any of it too seriously.
Till Lindemann’s North American tour wraps up in Los Angeles on October 14.
TWIN TEMPLE
AESTHETIC PERFECTION
