So, just like me, you’re probably wondering “Who the eff are Tokio Hotel? And does anyone really care?” But I had heard from my friend that the band had sold out one night in Irving Plaza in 3 minutes AND I had read a lot about them on ohnotheydidnt.

I originally thought they were Japanese and in the same camp as Dir En Grey, but then found out that they were like some German gothic influenced boyband a la Kill Hannah… but teenagers. Before going, I met up with my friend Karen who lives across the street from Irving and she told me that kids were lined up since the morning and after their first NYC show the day before the kids were screaming like the boys coming out were NSYNC.

Screaming girl photos and live video after the jump!

Doors were at 6:30, but I didnt head over until nearly 8 and the band still wasnt on.. and there was no opener! But kids were there screaming their heads off, chanting “TOKIO HOTEL!”

When the band finally came out, it was utter deafening shrieking. Like, what the heck? I went walking around the audience to see what type of fans were there and it was girls of every race — but ALL about 13 years old. It was like these girls were too young to see NSYNC or Backstreet Boys and now is their chance… only these dudes are only 5 years older than them, German, and appear to be playing instruments.

It wasnt until about 5 minutes after they got on stage that I decided to take a look at the band… I was just so blown away by the kids freaking the eff out that I didnt even think “oh, time to see what all the fuss is about.” The singer had this crazy mane of hair that stood up in foot long spikes like sonic the hedge hog. He looked almost girlish, almost like Brian Molko from Placebo, almost like Tommy Lee circa the mid-80s, and almost of legal age.

They were great. I dont really remember any of their songs, but they played well and the singer engaged the crowd plenty despite the language barrier… but girls were EATING it up. Like, losing their minds and freaking out. I seriously have no idea how they know about this band. Are they part of this underground EuroDisney message board that talks exclusively about Bats Day?

At the end of the show I wanted to take a photo of the set list but encountered a group of teens battling it out with themselves and security guards over what was left of the set list. They were literally grabbing at the list and a towel with their teeth. It was exactly like watching zombies fight over a human.

Here’s me (in the glasses up front) with the band, Gurj Bassi, Karen Ruttner, Victoria DeSilverio, Trent Venegas (from PinkIsTheNewBlog.com), and some fans:

Here are some videos - Girls screaming…
More girls screaming…
Performance Footage

Yet even more girls screaming…

More performance footage

Even more performance footage w/ some girls screaming too…

The guy with the best hair:
Konichiwa!

Watch Tokio Hotel Videos
Info: Tokio Hotel

Tags: filmore, tokio hotel

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 at 7:18 pm and is filed under Live Shows, The Fillmore. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.