Review: TILL LINDEMANN Live In Brisbane!
Fire in the Disco!
Thursday 15th January 2026
Written by Tom Wilson
The lights go down, and the Fortitude throbs with trance music for several minutes before MELANCOLIA’s drummer emerges onstage looking like a member of local rockers WE THE HOLLOW in his white overalls and mask. He assumes his position on the throne as the pounding rhythms take us on a journey, before the rest of the band storm onstage in a flurry of white, their singer wearing a giant fur coat, and they plunge into a pummeling metalcore groove punctuated by shrieking vocals that wouldn’t be out of place on a black metal album.
There is so much energy onstage that you’d swear they were headlining, and the only thing more impressive than their musicianship is how much effort they’ve put into their stage clothes. They’re in the thick of it, about three songs in, when disaster strikes. The vocals are cut, and after a few seconds of confusion, the music stops, and we hear a fire alarm. The recent Swiss ski lodge fire is at the front of my mind, so I make sure I’ve got a nearby exit, but we don’t appear to be moving anywhere. After a short delay, venue staff take to the P.A. and let us know that they’re waiting for the fire department. The alarm is soon cancelled, but unfortunately it’s too late for MELANCOLIA, who have to sheepishly slink back onstage to apologise and pack down their gear, receiving many supportive cheers from the audience. It seems only appropriate that a member of German pyro fans RAMMSTEIN would have a fire alarm disrupt his show, but the crowd can tell that the band are disappointed and show them plenty of love. Poor buggers!
Through his main band, Till is known for two things: pyrotechnics and kinkiness. The indoor setting means he had to leave the pyro at home, but that left plenty of room in his luggage for kink, and it’s all on display when the band come onstage in what look like military BDSM outfits and launch into Fat, a song about the joys of big women. Usually appearing onstage with enough explosive firepower to level a city, tonight is a very different affair, with plenty of opportunities to get up close and personal with the man himself, who paces up and down the stage spraying the front row with geysers of water from between his teeth, face painted black and gold. Almost stealing the show is the person behind the kit tonight, who is part musician, part circus performer, and all amazing drummer. Sticks spend more time in the air than they do in hand, constantly appearing from an apparently inexhaustible quiver somewhere out of sight, and at one point they channel L7 and hurl a used tampon up into the balcony. A man dressed all in black with a motorbike helmet appears to be in the role of “abused underling” tonight, holding Till’s microphone and fetching the various stands and cymbals that get kicked offstage during each song. Sport frei sounds absolutely massive tonight, and crowd surfers start to tumble forward towards the stage. Golden Shower is absolutely hilarious, and for a magic moment the entire Fortitude is united in shouting the word “cunt”. During a break, a table is wheeled out onstage revealing an arsenal of cheesecakes, and the band members take turns hurling them into the audience. Later, a door flings open side stage, and Till walks out through the audience wearing a GoPro on his top hat that is broadcasting onstage, and you wouldn’t believe it, but some folks in the audience AREN’T on their phones. They’re using their eyes! Wild!
It comes time for the encore, and while we’ve already seen plenty of weird stuff tonight, it gets weirder. Androgynous drummer Joe Letz appears on all fours on a table wearing a horse mask, neighing and bucking wildly, while a crew member helps them deliver … a fish. It is hurled into the audience, and they crash into Fish On, before Ich hasse Kinder brings the night to a close – the band assembling along the back of the stage to take their final bows. A fitting end to an epic and surprising night.