Rammstein Odyssey Part 3: Das Konzert

Yes now we get to the good part! Get yourself a beer or something 'cause it's a long one.

Upon arriving at the venue, we waited in line for about 30-45 minutes, even ended up chillin' with a fellow Richmonder in the line. :) I was pretty anxious by this time and kept fiddling with my phone. Once we were inside we raided the merch booth, and I bought a tour shirt and hat, and Kenny bought a shirt as well but wouldn't wear it. I demanded that he do so, telling him I would not be seen at a Rammstein concert with someone who wasn't wearing proper attire. He put it on. Smart man.

So we had about an hour to kill once we got our seats. The show was slated to start at 8:00, but actually started at 8:30. I'd heard of this happening at previous shows, but as of yet I have no idea why. Anyway. I made this video before the show, cleverly titled "Killin' Time And Being Waaayy Too Excited." I love my phone but the audio sucks when I play back videos. Oh and I bought the most expensive Miller Lite of my life.

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic




The opening act was Joe Letz (of Combichrist), playing remixes of Rammstein songs to get us all hyped up (like I needed any more encouragement).

At 9:00, Rammstein made their entrance. They opened with "Sonne," (YAY! :D) and pretty much stuck to the songs that are on the Made In Germany album, except the didn't play "Mein Land" (saaad panda), and included "Sehnsucht," "Asche Zu Asche," and "Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen Sehen?" Even though we were in the lower concourse, we could feel the heat from the flames! The guy that sat in front of us had too much to drink. He kept "Woooo!"-ing at random intervals and being very dramatic. It was actually pretty funny.

Till's got a Rammstein flag, and Richard's holding the Maryland state flag.

The flame thrower masks during "Feuer Frei!"

Till "cooking" Flake during "Mein Teil." A regular flame thrower was not satisfactory enough, so he went and got a monster that had a fuel tank about the size of, well, I guess what looked like 2 fire extinguishers!

Flake in the boat during "Haifisch."

For "Engel," Till wore a pair of fucking huge, steel angel wings.

Which, not surprisingly, shot out flames.

At the end, Till thanked us and said we were "truly amazing." :)

I managed to snag a piece of confetti from when they performed "Amerika."

And finally, my merch.

All in all, it was a very epic experience. To see Rammstein after a very long wait was enough, but to see them on their "best of" tour made it even more special. Add to that sharing it with my BFF, along with epic touristy stuff (and Mohawks!), and you get an unforgettable memory. I can't wait to do it again, but next time we'll be in the pit. ;)

Rammstein Odyssey Part 2: Being Tourists

I got 4 hours of sleep the night before, having gone to bed somewhere around 11:30 p.m. and waking up at 3:30 a.m. I had to get up at 5:00. Given how long I've waited for this, I was thankful for having gotten that much sleep!


After filling up BFF's truck and getting some breakfast, we departed from RVA around 7:30 a.m. The journey north was uneventful; traffic wasn't an issue until we got near D.C. but what else is new. D.C. traffic is a clusterfuck all the time. We finally arrived in Baltimore around 11:30.

M&T Bank Stadium, where the Baltimore Ravens play, greeted us as we entered the city.

We couldn't check in at the hotel yet though (which was conveniently a block and a half away from the venue!), so we set out to be tourists and dominate the city like bosses.




The first thing we needed to do was EAT. We were both starving upon arrival, and found this lovely place called Tir Na Nog Irish Bar and Grill. We sat outside as we had PERFECT weather (72 and sunny), and enjoyed fish and chips and, naturally, a pint.

Once our stomachs were satisfied, we decided to rage onboard the USS Torsk, which was the last American naval vessel to sink an enemy warship in WWII.

At 6'6", Kenny had trouble getting through the sub.

I wanted to steer.

Sadly, we couldn't access the conning tower, so I was unable to get on the periscope and yell "Schneller! Schneeeelllleeerr!"

After wandering around for a bit more, we checked in and immediately set to work uploading our visual documentation onto Facepage...while rockin' out to Evile and Five Finger Death Punch. Yes, we prepped for a Rammstein concert with 5FDP. I do not regret this.

At about 5 p.m., we set out for dinner, which was appropriately at the Hard Rock Cafe. Next stop, 1st Mariner Arena!

Yet Another Adventure At 4476

Today I found out some unexpected news; it seems I'm being promoted to the modular team at work. "WTF is a modular? And why does it need a team?" you ask. A modular (or "mod"), is basically the way the merchandise is positioned on the shelf. A layout of where shit goes, if you will. Every so often, Home Office decides they want things displayed differently on the shelf. For example, I reset the mod each week when I put out the new release games and movies. And actually, we've just finished up the cereal aisle. Essentially, the Mod Team is a group of associates who handle re-doing the mods (re-arranging the stuff on the shelf to match the mod). When they're not doing that, they stock like err'body else.

So while I won't have any sort of authority, I will be getting a slight pay raise and best of all, their schedule is Sunday - Thursday. As of yet I don't know when this will go into effect, but nonetheless I look forward to it.

To be honest, I wasn't sure if this would be considered a promotion, since I've never received one (produce to electronics was a lateral transfer).
ME: So, just curious, did I just get promoted?
MANAGER R.: *nods* Mmm-hmm. But you know what that means right? You gotta do a good job you know.
ME: I haven't failed you yet. *confident grin*

In keeping with the spirit of epic-ness, FUCK YEAH SABATON! \m/