Tokio Hotel- Welcome to Humanoid City Tour, concert review.

‘Tokio Hotel!’, ‘Tokio Hotel!’, ‘Tokio Hotel!’. That chant can be heard for miles around, as thousands of voices all strike up, shouting the same 2 words over and over, louder and louder. It’s like a magic trick; saying those words will conjure up the grand prize. And for the thousands of people packed into this huge arena in Milan, there is nothing better. Tonight, there are teeming crowds of girls and boys, age varying from youngsters aged 12 all the way into their 20’s and even 30’s. Some have brought homemade signs displaying the famous black and white band logo; signs bestowing praises and heartfelt confessions, like one girl waving a sign that reads ‘ ‘. Already you can see the faces of the four band members, as half of the people at least, have the image of Bill, Tom, Georg and Gustav printed upon their shirts as a symbol of their love and support. The endless screams rise in pitch as the lights go out and an electronic voice booms out ‘Tokio Hotel- Humanoid’. Reminding everyone of who they are here to see. As if they could forget. The opening chords of a guitar, cause the crowd to go wild, and under the glare of strobe lights, Tom Kaulitz, lead guitarist steps onto the stage to the sound of elated fan girls feverish screams. Half of the arena is in ecstasy, as their favourite member strums hard on his guitar, whilst the other half are still waiting for their heartthrob to appear. Just as twin brothers Bill and Tom Kaulitz always say, it is easy to tell who belongs in which category, as Tom’s motley crue are dressed in casual clothes and know exactly what they would like to do to Tom; some holding huge banners with indiscreet proposals written on them, in the hope that Tom will choose them for one of his famous one night stands. Whilst on the other side of the spectrum, Bill’s girls are somewhat more refined, as they gather in an army of leather and black eyeliner, their nails done to perfection, as is his requirement. But there are still a sufficient number of screams for bassist Georg Listing and drummer Gustav Schafer, and it is clear that they are very much an important part of this band.

Through the smoke, what looks like a giant, metal egg appears and as they get into the opening song ‘Noise’, the first track from their new album ‘Humanoid’, the sound of lead singer Bill Kaulitz’s voice can be heard, an English song streaked with a German accent, a voice that every fan seems to love and know so well. As the smoke clears, the screams become almost ridiculous, as Bill steps out of the egg, clad in black leather pants and a glittery jacket, complete with dark sunglasses which add to the whole effect. Instantly, the arena is filled with the sound of every single person in the room singing along in unison. Screams are heard yet again as Bill removes his glasses and stares at the crowd, flashing one of his drop dead smiles. It‘s a promising start, and it gets even better as the band play their second and third songs ‘Human Connect to Human’, another of their new songs, and then ’Breakaway’, an old favourite from their previous English album titled ’Scream’. This is appropriate now, as it seems this is what Tokio Hotel fans do best, and they can hardly contain themselves when Bill draws the audience in; holding up the microphone and getting them to sing the words instead of himself, mouthing the words along with them. It is clear that Bill has an instant connection with all his fan girls and boys, as after 3 songs, he stops and with a big grin on his face yells’ What’s up Milano?’ listening to the reply of a thousand screams, as the crowd roars back at him. He pleases the audience further still, when he calls out ‘Ciao a tutti?’ meaning ’Hello everybody’ in Italian. It is heart-warming that he has taken the time to learn a simple greeting in order to speak to his fans in their own language, and this warms the crowd up even more as he welcomes everyone to their ‘Humanoid City’ and starts into the next song.

And as the night goes on, both the band and crowd of fans still seem full of energy as they play track after track; a mixture of refreshingly new and classically old. It doesn’t seem to matter which song they play, the audience knows every single word. The band keep them hooked with a variety of surprises and effects, such as Bill rising on stage on a matte black motorbike, and Gustav’s impressive drum riser, not to mention the many costume changes, in which Bill switches from an array of glitter, to flashing blue lights, sparkly studs and for the grand finale, finishes up in a black and white concoction with wires trailing; all adding to the humanoid, alien-like theme. The stage is alive with multi coloured flashes, rising fire and animated screens and also something they have never yet used before; an effects keyboard played by bassist Georg Listing. It is clear that the band have put a lot of thought and preparation into making this one of the greatest Tokio Hotel experiences of all time. And by all the throat-damagingly loud screams and expressions of joy plastered onto every single face in the sweat-drenched arena, it is fair to say they have succeeded.

After playing a different rendition of their new song ‘Screamin’; mixing it together with their most popular English song ‘Monsoon’, Bill then steps to the front of the stage, smiling broadly at all his adoring fans and with the sad words ‘Every beautiful night has an end’ you can almost feel the pain in the room, as fans exchange anxious glances with each other, so desperate to stay on this planet and not return to dull reality. With a blast of thank you’s, the band play their newest single ‘Dark Side of the Sun’ and then scamper off, plunging the stage into darkness and leaving fans in a state of confusion. But in true Tokio Hotel style, they soon return and the audience chokes up as just Bill and Tom play an emotional version of ‘Zoom into me’, leaving passionate fans with tears streaming down their cheeks. As the song nears the end, the fans gasp in surprise as the piano bursts into flames, and Bill gives yet another of his cheeky grins; so obviously proud of what they’ve done tonight. The fans know the night is almost over, but they still give everything they’ve got as Bill encourages them to ‘Use every last bit of energy’ and they chant along to ‘Monsoon’, the famous song that started their success in English speaking countries. Dressed down now in the simple all in one leather suit, with a sleeveless denim jacket, Bill bounces around as though he’s only just begun; sweat pouring down his face, just like everybody else in the room. The band always praise their fans for their unbelievable energy, and they don’t disappoint tonight. Gustav, the quiet and lovable drummer is left alone onstage, and anyone who has ever experienced a Tokio Hotel concert before, knows that this is all part of the routine, as he stands at the front of the stage and waves his arms like an orchestra conductor, to the enthusiastic chants of ‘Gustav!, Gustav!’ echoing all around. Then he gets the crowd to fling their arms back and forth and claps them for it; blowing them kisses, before the stage is black once more.

Now for the final moment. The silence is broken, as the bars of the final song start up loud and clear, and the cheering begins again, as the band are lit up on the stage; Bill in his ultimate alien outfit. The audience belt out the words to ‘Forever Now’, knowing this is the very last song and determined to give it all they have. Tokio Hotel do the same, and as the end chorus is coming up, Bill interjects, shouting ‘Grazie Milan!’. Amongst the noise of his fellow band mates instruments, he yells out a thank you, leaving the crowd with ‘See you next time. We love you guys!’ and I am sure there were many declarations of love thrown right back at him in that moment. The huge metal egg surrounds the band, and Bill sings the last words as the egg closes, and the band disappear, for real this time, as the stage is drenched in darkness; bringing everyone back to hard reality.