Die Roten Punkte: The Best Band In The World!

The first thing to really catch my eye and curiosity while flipping through the pages of Spoleto's 2010 preview program guide were the two goth/punk looking musicians in quintessential rock poses with smeared makeup and matching black and red outfits. That's all it took to spark my love affair with Die Roten Punkte.

Some Googling, some Twitter following, and a few Youtube videos later and I was hooked. The band, which is comprised of Otto and Astrid Rot, a "German" "brother and sister" duo, know how to rock. They barely know how to dance. They'll make you laugh your ass off. They're dysfunctional. But no matter how many ways they may be described, one thing is for sure: they'll make you get out of your seat and have some serious fun.

What I'm trying to say here is that they put on one of the most entertaining shows I've seen in quite some time, and if you go into it with the mentality that you're about to see a rock-comedy and not some serious punk show, then you're in for a real treat. Think of them as the punk-rock version of Spinal Tap, with the addition of hilarious German accents.

Walking into opening night in the Memminger Auditorium yesterday I had to chuckle to myself when I saw some older folks wandering in. The show is loud and profane, and I'm pretty sure that a lot of the older generation didn't understand or appreciate the banter between both Otto and Astrid on stage or their blunt interactions with the crowd. At one point, for example, an audience member began to fiddle with a cell phone at which point Astrid called out, "Check out this guy with the phone in the middle of a show. Are you a doctor? Or are you just a dickhead?! There are plenty of other options that you could be, but if someone pulls out a phone in the middle of a show you're just usually a doctor...or a dickhead."

The band plays songs about their lives and quite literally, what happens to them on a daily basis. So, naturally, some of their big hits include songs entitled, "I'm In A Band" "I Like to Rock" and "Best Band In The World." God forbid I forget to mention the gem of a song, written and performed by Astrid, called "Oh My God Yeah." The entire song consists of simply those four words, sung over and over again. The way she performs it is one part comedic gold and one part far to revealing of how she'd be in the sack.

I don't want to give too much away, but let me just say that I utterly adored every second of this show. If you've been on the fence about getting tickets to see Die Roten Punkte, you might as well just do yourself a favor and click purchase.

They have two more shows during their run at Spoleto - they'll be taking over the Memminger tonight at 11 p.m. and Saturday at 10 p.m.