15 January 2026 – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane – words and pictures by Bec Harbour
Looking at the number of faces painted with black hollowed-out eyes, leather gear and platform boots in the line that snaked down the Valley Mall, there must have been a lot of commuters passing by wondering what the hell was going on. For those in the know, tonight was the opening show for Till Lindemann, the solo tour for the front man of German industrial band Rammstein.
Tonight’s show opened with Melancholia, an industrial goth/deathcore band from Melbourne. Unfortunately for them, with the sheer amount of stage smoke accumulating, the Fortitude Music Hall’s fire alarms went off around the second or third song. The couple of songs that I did hear sounded pretty good. Hopefully they will get the opportunity to play Brisbane again and I can check them out properly.
Melancholia – FMH – photos by Bec Harbour
With half the crowd outside and not being allowed back in while the firies checked the alarm system, there was a longer-than-usual intermission. When the half of the crowd filed back in, you could feel the atmosphere sharpen with anticipation. With Rammstein on indefinite hiatus at the moment, this was the closest that we were all going to get to a Rammstein show.
With all the pomp and ceremony allowed, the intro of ‘Mein Welt’ kicked off the set, with the band appearing through the still pretty dense smoke on stage in slick black leather and military caps, and Lindemann appearing in a gold-embellished leather jacket and massive platform boots – the crowd went nuts with horns up all over the venue.
Next up was ‘Fat’, then ‘Und Die Engel Singen’, ‘Schweiss’ and ‘Altes Fleisch’, during which Lindemann boomed out “BRISBANE!!! How are you!!” to much applause. He also kicked over a particular mic stand twice during this run of songs, sending a roadie in a helmet scurrying about to rectify the situation, as well as ditching his main mic into the pit at the front of the stage. Crew were kept busy retrieving mics for the set.
Till Lindemann – FMH – photos by Bec Harbour
Anyone who has seen Rammstein live knows what a spectacle they are, with fire, smoke and lots of props that are not safe for work. The set for Lindemann’s solo show was sparse, and the band and Lindemann were the central focus tonight. They certainly entertained with gyrations and backbends, coming out onto the platforms at the front of the stage to engage with the front row and generally performing like a hybrid burlesque/circus. There was never NOT something going on.
For ‘Golden Shower’, the lights turned “piss” yellow and the gothic keys morphed into chunky guitars, while the keys player did an appropriate dance to match the lyrics (look them up if you are curious), and a refrain of what rhymes with blunt wrapped the song. The roadies were on the job again with ‘Sport Frie’, with mic stands and any surplus mics going over the edge of the stage into the pit again. They probably breathed a sigh of relief with the next song, ‘Tanzlehrerin’, a more sedate acoustic-led affair with much of the band vacating the stage. The Brisbane crowd loved this song and roared with approval.
Till Lindemann – FMH – photos by Bec Harbour
On through ‘Blut’, then ‘Allefresser’, a darkwave goth-sounding tune, significant for the close of the song where the audience had “cake” and tampons thrown at them, as well as being showered in prosecco by the band. The show went on with ‘Prostitution’ and ‘Praise Abort’, then ‘Platz 1’, where Lindemann jumped into the crowd with the video feed following his movements through the audience. The main set rounded out with ‘Du Hast Kein Herz’ and ‘Skills In Pills’.
Interestingly, quite a number of people left before the encore, but for those who stayed, there was some more spectacle. They ran through ‘Ubers Meer’ and ‘Knebel’ and then got to ‘Fish On’, where the drummer donned a horse mask and seemed to be farting fish out. The evening concluded with ‘Ich Hasse Kinder’ and the band all standing on the risers and bowing to the crowd.
Till Lindemann – FMH – photos by Bec Harbour
For a crowd that a lot of would have seen Rammstein live, this might have seemed a tame show and maybe a bit like a very strange circus. For those who have never seen the full-on spectacle of a Rammstein show, this might be the closest you are going to get. Till Lindemann has a mesmerising stage presence and held the audience in thrall without actually having to do much. If you are considering going to the other shows on the tour and have not bought your ticket yet, I would say go get that ticket — you will not regret it.
