Kraftwerk in St.Paul/Minneapolis 4.19.08

[Kingston Crim]

It was a pleasant surprise last Friday morning, when I discovered that Kraftwerk would be performing about a half-hour drive from me that next night, on the first stop on a very short 4-city U.S. tour.

Being the synth enthusiast that I have been since the 1970's, I could hardly pass this up. They're just one of those bands I never expected I would be able to see in my lifetime. When I happened to mention the concert this afternoon in the Chat box, at least one other esteemed Moon listener asked me to report back on it... so while it's still fresh in my mind, a few impressions.

Not having seen Kraftwerk before, it was hard to know exactly what to expect, yet somehow it was very much what I expected. They lived up to their reputation of starting their concerts at precisely the time stated on your ticket. They started at 8:00 sharp. (I checked my cell phone.)

Prior to the start of the show, the sound began from nowhere, almost imperceptible at first, and gradually one realizes that something has started. A low rumble, various bleeps and blurps of sound, gradually demanding your attention. When the curtains parted, there were the four of them, identically dressed at four identical keyboard workstations with Vaio laptops open. Their first piece was "Man Machine", and at first it hard to tell if these men on stage were really doing anything and the sound could have just been from a high-end mixed CD through a premium house sound system. (I was reminded again of what subwoofers are all about...)

As the concert progressed, yes you could tell that they were actually "performing" the music and not just miming to the recording. Yes, I'm sure much of it was sequenced but you really got to realize that this was, in fact truly a live performance.

They played many of their famous songs... Computerworld, The Model, Trans-Europe Express, Radioactivity, Neon Lights, We Are The Robots, and yes they played Autobahn (the shorter version).

It really wouldn't have been much to look at (sustained for an entire concert) if it weren't for the always compelling and tightly integrated super-wide screen video projected behind them. It added a lot of drama to the music... I especially liked the sequences behind "Tour de France" and also when the projection was basically a real-time analyzer of the music being played. Great uses of graphics and film.

All in all, a good show... I'm glad I went and was lucky enough to catch these original pioneers of synth-rock, who really developed the sounds and laid a foundation for a lot of the current music going on now.

[lotus]

Thank you for your report on that gig, Kingston. As I told you yesterday, I did not know that they still exist..

[Sintetista]

Great, nice. Next thing close to being there is reading the report.

THX

Keep on sinthetizing

[prickly]

As far as I know (legends, rumors, whatever) in the late 80s they had played shows in London and in Berlin...at the same time...