In my last exciting entry, I told you about my recent visit to the House of Blues in Dallas, which I rather enjoyed and heartily endorse to you all. When I left you, we were waiting for the band (Tokio Hotel) to come on stage. And waiting. And waiting.
That’s the Tokio Hotel symbol up there on the curtain, by the way.
Ultimately, it was worth the wait, despite the fact that every time a song on the loudspeakers ended or someone moved behind the curtain on the stage, all the masses of crazed hormonal girls in the audience shrieked like they were going to die if they didn’t see Bill Kaulitz, and they probably would have if things had gone on much longer. But finally, at 9:15 or so, the curtain dropped and there they were, in all their young Teutonic glory!
Incidentally, I was able to rescue a few pictures from my sister’s camera phone, as you can see here. They’re not great, as you can also see, but they do show the band in action.
Tokio Hotel isn’t terribly well known in the US at the moment, being German and just now breaking out onto the international scene, but their fame is rapidly growing. I don’t think they’ll be playing small venues like the various HOBs across the country much longer. I happen to think they’re damned good, with a lot of catchy tunes — many of which have been skillfully translated from the originals into English. Whoever did that, good jorb! They also looked like they were having a good time and were quite energetic, even though this was the next-to-last stop on their US tour.
Of course, some of that good cheer might have been due to the facts that a) the tour was almost over, and b) a thousand young girls were screaming out their approval and asking if they could have their babies. A few young guys, too, but we won’t go there. In any case, they crowd was a pretty good mix — besides the girls, there were plenty of males, young kids, and older people there. Some were chaperones, of course, but not all. There were quite a few punks, and I know that quite a few people drove in for several hours to see the show. Once couple flew from in from Russia.
Quite a response for a quartet of kids that average about 19 years old — and have been playing together since 2001 (when the youngest members were 11). Their first single, “Durch den Monson” (“Through the Monsoon”) was released in 2005, when the lead singer and his brother were 15, and that album went platinum. So, obviously, they don’t suck — and unlike, say, Limp Bizkit, they’re actually melodic and you can understand what they’re singing.
I was introduced to these young gentlemen by my 20-year-old sister upon the release of their first English album earlier this year (she usually likes Finnish bands, but makes an exception for these guys). Like the American band Good Charlotte — another of her favorites — they’re fronted by twin bothers, and have been classified variously as punk or emo. Whatever the case, they rock, and in a very loud way. I guess I must be too old, because it was almost too loud — though the truth is, it was mostly the screaming girls that made it well-nigh unbearable.
I’m a little too young to remember Beatlemania, but this is what it must have been like. Though The Beatles probably didn’t throw towels and guitar picks and drumsticks into the audience, or splatter them with bottled water. Of course, the girls loved it. My sister got some of the drummer’s water on her shirt and says she’ll never wash that shirt again. Ooo-kay. Ultimately, the band did three encores and even sang a couple of their songs in German (which the diehard fans also had memorized).
Let’s just say that the show was awesome. Definitely worth what we spent, both in ticket and meal costs, but it’s not something I’d want to pay for terribly often. My recommendation is that if you have a little time free and don’t mind spending an average of $20 or more per person for a very good meal, at least visit the House of Blues for dinner. If you get a chance to see a concert while you’re there, so much the better. They’ve got plenty of up-and-coming acts along with older, established acts to keep you happy. Though the ticket prices vary from show to show, we paid an average of $27 each, plus some transaction fees, of course. Considering what some concert venues charge these days, that’s not so bad.
If you want to know more about the HOB and who’s playing there, just click on http://www.hob.com/venues/clubvenues/dallas/. The club is located at 2200 N. Lamar, in Dallas’ West End.