Tokio Hotel Rocks

Tokio Hotel Doesnt Wear Out Welcome
Tokio Hotel came and conquered the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville on Thursday, Aug. 7, but they didn’t stick around too long — at least not on stage. The kick-off show of their U.S. club tour clocked in at a little over an hour.

Maybe it was because their lead singer seemed to be suffering from a loss of his voice. By the time the band performed their hit “Monsoon,” with alternating German and English lyrics, he appeared done for the night.

Tokio Hotel is the music sensation from Germany fronted by 18-year-old twin brothers, singer Bill Kaulitz and guitarist Tom Kaulitz, rounded out by a drummer and bassist. They’re rapidly picking up fans here in the States, and Thursday’s sold-out show at Starland was preceded by fans lining up in the club’s parking lot since the early morning to see their heroes.

Glam-pop is the shorthand description for the music, mostly because of Bill Kaulitz’s androgynous-anime appearence. For the record, he wore black pants, a red short-sleeved shirt, suspenders and a black vest on stage. But the music is actually a tuneful exercise of mid-tempo guitar rock, not quite as adventurous as their lead singer’s look, but not so bland as to be dismissive. Lyrically, the group’s songs are full of self-affirmation and self-empowerment. For instance, “Don’t Jump” is an anti-suicide song.

As for their short show, no matter, the crowd was their’s on Thursday, and there was no grousing from audience members, 95 percent of whom were young females. Better not to wear out your welcome then become too familiar.