Oberhausen Germany 2001

Limp Bizkit, 12th June 2001 at the “Arena” Oberhausen (Germany)

It’s been more than 2 years since I've seen Limp playing live, but I still remember the intense atmosphere and energy of the concert. But lets start at the beginning - God smack were the opening act as they faced 12 000 mainly Limp fans in the sold out Arena. They weren't that well known at the time in Germany and although they put up a really good performance, they didn't manage to reach everyone in the hall. When they left the stage about 45 minutes later Sully, the lead singer, pointed to the people in the mosh pit and said: 'YOU were a great audience, but I bet YOU motherfuckers (pointing at the people seated) who didn't even care to stand up will be on your feet the second Limp Bizkit comes on stage". And well, what can I say - he was absolutely right!

After a pause of about 30 minutes (that seemed to last longer than the 3,5 hours standing in line outside the hall earlier) finally the 'Intro” of Chocolate Starfish rang out and a dark silhouette (DJ Lethal) could be seen behind the curtains. Fred was the last to come on-stage just as “Intro” stopped and “Hot Dog” began. You cant imagine the energy buzz that went throw the crowd - absolutely everybody stood up and there was no holding back while Limp played song after song. I cant recall the complete set list, but there were mostly songs from Chocolate starfish and a few from Significant Other. The only one from 3 Dollar was as usual “Faith”. Twice Fred picked people from the audience to come on-stage with him. At first it was a very lucky girl, who he sang “The One” to. She took lots of close up pics of Fred, got a hug from him and left the stage with a big grin. During “My Way” he picked a young boy who he also tried to talk to, but unfortunately he couldn't speak English. He still got a red cap from Fred though and possibly will tell his grandchildren about this experience.

Other songs I remember them playing were: Re-arranged, Nookie, Break-stuff, Boiler, Take a look around, Full Nelson, Just like this. With each song the band managed to make the crowd go wilder and really everyone was singing (or rather screaming) the words with them. Wes had his famous black body paint on and moved around like a madman. The only thing you could see of John though were his drumsticks - the guy is too damn small to make out behind his drums!!! You could just feel how the band loved to be on-stage and exchanging energy with the audience. And Fred - well to me he is just one of the best front men there is. He always manages to bond with the crowd, he really gets them going and seems to enjoy every second of it.

The part that stood out for me though was when the lights were dimmed and Fred suddenly disappeared from the stage, only to reappear a little later at the other side of the hall. He was crouching on some black box and singing “I will for you” by Jane's Addiction. I was only about 10 meters away from him, facing him and yes, OF COURSE he sang that song to me and me alone :D

The concert ended after about 90 minutes with “Rollin”, lots of pyrotechnics and yes, the bizkettes doing their thing. I remember I was a little disappointed at the time that they didn't do any encores, but honestly I was “finished” and had no voice left, so maybe it was better they didn't. It surely was the best concert I've seen, and I cant wait to see limpbizkit again when they come to Germany next time.

(Note: the pics added aren't mine, as I didn't have a cam with me, credits go to flipbizkit.de)

Thanks to Mellix Germany