Rammstein

Music, Travel
by Jim McLennan

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
23rd September 2022

It has been more than ten years since I originally saw Rammstein, an event which still ranks at or near the top of the greatest concerts I have experienced. Mind you, it has been more than two years since this event was originally scheduled to take place: it was supposed to happen in September 2020, before things went a bit pear-shaped. For both reasons, calling this “eagerly anticipated” is likely an understatement, and probably plays into why I didn’t feel like it quite lived up to expectations. Oh, it was still good: certainly worth the 750-mile round trip. But not quite the life-altering experience, redefining the entire concept of a live show, which was the 2012 event.

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Duran Duran + Nile Rodgers & Chic

Music
by Jim McLennan

Footprint Center, Phoenix
7th September, 2022

Another band gets crossed off the bucket list – more likely theirs than mine. Though it has to be said, Simon Le Bon is looking very impressive for someone who will start collecting his old age pension next year, after a long career of unrestrained debauchery. Well, I’m assuming there was debauchery involved. I’d be quite disappointed if he and his colleagues had spent the last forty years leading a monk-like life of aesthetic restraint and celibacy. Especially since, going by the audience at this event, I suspect quite a few women would still be willing to die on that particular hill. Maybe some men too. I don’t judge.

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