Tokio Hotel plays The Viper Room in LA - the "secret" gig..

The Viper Room is an iconic nightclub on the Sunset Strip in LA 


(photo source @tokiohotel)

From its website - http://shop.viperroom.com/about.html

"The Story 
In the 1940’s 8852 Sunset Boulevard was the location of jazz bar the Melody Room, a reputed gangster gambling den and 'Vapor Room" owned by Mobster Bugsy Siegel. It became Filthy Mc Nasty in the 60s and then The Central in the 70s. The Central was part of the Sunset strip 70s music scene and it operated there until struggling to survive in the early 1990s.
In 1993, at the suggestion of friend and musician Chuck Weiss, Johnny bought The Central. He renamed it The Viper Room, a name inspired by musician /actor Tom Waits and "after a group of pot-­‐smoking musicians who called themselves Vipers”. Depp has stated in interviews that he open the place to hear good music and host his friends "without having to suffer the bad taste of others”.  Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played the opening show at the Viper Room on August 14, 1993. The venue became an instant A-­‐list magnet, with constant appearances by music legends."


(photo source @TheViperRoom)

That sets the scene and highlights just how big a deal it was when Tokio Hotel played a invitation only "secret" gig on Thursday 15.1.15, prompting Diffuser fm to headline its review "Tokio Hotel Invade Los Angeles with secret Viper Room show". 




By all accounts, the capacity crowd, invited through email application to DeCodeLtd thoroughly enjoyed the set of 
Louder Than Love, Girl Got A Gun, Never Let You Down, Love Who Loves You Back and a finale of Automatic. 





(photo credit/source @DannyDekaul1)


















(photo source Corbis)




(photo source diffuser.fm)

Fan reaction











with DeCodeLtd rounding off the evening 



Heres a snippet of the performance the fans were treated to  





As Tokio Hotel posted on their Twitter.. 



and the Diffuser.fm review.. ?



"Tokio Hotel have been steadily making inroads in the states over the last decade, transitioning from rising German superstars to doing English-language albums that have captured the ears of more and more fans. On Thursday night (Jan. 15) in Los Angeles, the band got an up-close look at the fruits of their labor with a secret show at the Viper Room for their fans.
The line for the intimate club gig sprawled around both sides of the building, as fans first had the chance to take part in a meet-and-greet as the band signed items, took photos and hung out with their followers in the L.A. area. After the meet-and-greet, a DJ pumped tunes inside the venue until the band took the stage for a brief, more stripped-back performance.
The group played a no frills set as Tom Kaulitz, Georg Listing and Gustav Schafer were seated throughout, playing a mix of electric and acoustic instruments. The show began with frontman Bill Kaulitz singing the well-received ‘Girl Got a Gun,’ an upbeat tongue-twisty favorite from their recent ‘Kings of Suburbia’ album. ‘Louder Than Love,’ the mid-tempo closer from their most recent disc, followed, with Bill Kaulitz imploring the Viper Room crowd to raise their hands.
Another newer track, ‘Never Let You Down,’ showed some of Kaulitz’s range, with the singer delivering his vocals with Chris Isaak-like smoothness. The band’s current single, ‘Love Who Loves You Back,’ got the biggest response of the evening, with the audience clapping along and enjoying every second of the tune. Tokio Hotel finished out the night with one of their first singles to catch U.S. listeners’ attention, ‘Automatic,’ which initially appeared on the ‘Humanoid’ album.
With the Los Angeles show now complete, the band will turn their focus to international dates, which can be found here. In the meantime, check out our photo gallery from Tokio Hotel’s Viper Room show below: