Girl at the Rock Shows

We are in Rocktober mode right now. This means that there are far too many shows to pick from, and it’s getting harder and harder to know if I’ve made the right choice of where to spend my night. Although that is still in question when it comes to my Saturday night, I know that I experienced a once-in-a-lifetime experience of seeing a major superstar in an oddly intimate (for me) venue, and, regardless of my thoughts on the show, it truly was something special.

Kicking the night off at The Myth out in Maplewood, Minnesota, on Saturday night was the American-Austrian group Aesthetic Perfection. Started by Daniel Graves in 2000, Aesthetic Perfection has a very European vibe (which may explain the move from Los Angeles to Linz, Austria). Sonically, Aesthetic Perfection dabbles a line between an almost industrial-inspired rap-rock and a more dungeon darkness, all with this odd infectious energy behind it. Visually, this band tried their best to give the quickly growing (although never packed) audience something that would hold up against the following two acts to take the stage. Although it was an uphill battle, I feel like this group did their best to hold their own and definitely gave the audience something unique and memorable but, again, up against such strong other acts, I feel like Aesthetic Perfection didn’t quite catch me the way they may have as part of a different line-up.

Satanic doo-wop is a thing thanks to the next act to take the stage – Twin Temple. I swear, I’m not losing it, it’s really what this band does. The stage was set with enormous lit-up crosses and an offering table as the band took the stage wearing bright red cowboy-inspired 50s/60s fueled outfits. Vocalist Alexandra James instantly caught my eye with her large poodle skirt inspired get up and the big hair but, beyond the look, I feel like what this band is doing is truly unique. Their sound is super upbeat and fun. Thin Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison, but the twist comes into the lyrics. A lot of the themes of Twin Temple’s lyrics are Satanism, sex, love, and then some political thoughts. It’s the perfect amount of spice attached to an actually highly talented performance that would take to even hold a candle to what was to come.

One of my favorite parts of Twin Temple’s set was watching the reaction from the audience. Definitely an outlier on the line-up when it came to their sound, if you didn’t know what to expect, I totally understand the shock and that was the style of face I saw on most people around me. It was as if people didn’t know how to act. Did they mosh? Did they grab a partner and do-si-do? Rather than doing much of anything, the majority of the audience just stood there and tried to comprehend what was happening. Although I loved watching this electrifying and quirky group, my eyes were on the audience, and I loved watching them try to figure it out even more.

Now, on to the main attraction of the night- Till Lindemann. Till is the singer of the famed German band Rammstein. Rammstein is known for their over-the-top live performances that include loads of fire. I had the privilege of seeing Rammstein when they came through Minneapolis back in 2022. I didn’t write about it because I was there for fun, but I vividly remember the show. I’m not a massive fan of the music, as it’s dark and industrial and just doesn’t get my blood pumping like other styles, but I was absolutely taken aback by the sheer size and the theatrics of their live show. This is one of the main reasons I was at this show on Saturday night. If that’s what Till does as a band, what would he do as a solo act? It was that and the fact that, out of all of the shows on Till’s first-ever solo U.S. tour, The Myth show was easily one of (if not the) smallest venues listed. Who was I to say no to seeing this megastar on a more intimate stage?

At 6′ tall, Till Lindemann is genuinely a larger-than-life character. Add some red face paint, black lipstick, and a very bondage-esque red outfit, and you were left with a very intimidating man on stage that almost scared you into submission in a way. On top of Till’s almost sinister look, you had his backing band where each member seemed to come with the same sense of severity and command. Whether it was the gorgeous keyboardist or the almost clown-looking drummer with one of the most terrifying masks on that I have ever seen, everything about the visuals of this band was creepy, over the top, and oh-so-perfect.

The visuals of Till Lindemann’s set on Saturday night did not stop at the outfits and personas of the members. The visuals happening on the screen behind the band were a huge part of this performance, and if I’m being honest, I’m not sure I liked them. I totally understand pushing the envelope and putting people’s comfort levels in question, but there were many times when what was happening on the screen made me squirm. Whether it was the video of someone (I’m assuming it was Till) having their lips literally sewn shut or the abundance of female genitalia, it was honestly just a bit much for me, but that being said, I understand who this man is. I get his shtick, which is to push the boundaries as much as possible.

My question is when does pushing the limit go too far? Sure, throwing red cakes out into the audience was very cute, playful, and Steve Aoki-esque, but didn’t we, as a society, already cancel someone for throwing a bloody tampon out in the audience? Till and his band didn’t care and did it anyone. Albeit fake bloody tampons, there was just something a bit too “crying for attention” for me when it came to this part of the set. For an act mostly made up of females, many moments throughout Till’s set seemed to objectify women a bit too much for my comfort level. I mean, I haven’t even gotten into the fact that the keyboardist seemed to double as an exotic dancer, but I digress. Maybe I was reading into it all a bit wrong, maybe I just wasn’t the type of person that this set caters to– it could be a million things.

Let’s take all the boundary-pushing out of the equation. Sonically, Till’s sound was on point. His dark and brooding voice echoed throughout the venue as the band’s instrumentation highlighted and added to the ambiance. It was definitely giving German bondage bar vibes, but that’s exactly what you would expect from the frontman of Rammstein. Besides one cover of “Entre dos Tierras” (originally by Héroes del Silencio), Till seemed to play his solo songs. I may be wrong on that because, as mentioned, I’m not a huge Rammstein, but from what I recall, it was all of his original solo stuff. This definitely got the audience excited but it was also clear that I was not the only person at this show who was purely there because of seeing such a legend in such a small space. As the night was winding down, people started to chatter about whether or not we would get to hear some of Rammstein’s big hits. Although it never happened, I don’t think anyone went home on Saturday night disappointed.

I feel like I still have so much to say about the show. I haven’t even gotten into the weird vibes that Till gave off as he destroyed microphone stand after microphone stand and seemed to end every song by chucking his microphone at the ground. I probably should have talked a bit more about the woman who I spotted licking Till’s boot as he put his foot up on a railing at one point or when he and his keyboardist paraded through the audience as if he wasn’t this major superstar, but I feel like I’ve already kept you here longer than planned. On top of that, I have a busy day ahead of me, so I will stop before I get ahead of myself.

I’m not going to say that Saturday night with Till Lindemann is going to be one of my favorite shows of the year, but I will say that it was memorable.

Line Up:

Aesthetic Perfection

Twin Temple

Till Lindemann

Venue: The Myth

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 47

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 3 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None Spotted

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security – 2

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Aesthetic Perfection – 0

Twin Temple – 0

Till Lindemann – 0

Celebrity Sightings – Eric of VVOLF MASK

Overall Score – 7 out of 10

Show on Deck — Abhi the Nomad / Khary / Harrison Sands

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