Kraftwerk - 2014 New York

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• published: 24 Feb 2015
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Kraftwerk United Palace Theatre, New York, 1 April 2014 00:00 Vocoder 00:29 The Robots 07:56 Metropolis 13:11 Numbers / Computer World It's More Fun to Compute / Home Computer 25:50 Computer Love 30:43 The Man-Machine 36:05 Spacelab 41:34 The Model 45:16 Neon Lights 51:17 Autobahn 1:04:13 Tour de France 1:08:26 Tour de France (Étape 1) 1:13:52 Tour de France (Étape 2) 1:19:18 Airwaves 1:26:07 News 1:27:15 Geiger Counter / Radioactivity 1:34:03 Trans-Europe Express / Metal on Metal /Abzug 1:41:47 Boing Boom Tschak / Techno Pop / Musique Non Stop 1:55:05 Encore break 1:56:11 Aéro Dynamik 2:03:19 Planet of Visions Review & Pictures by Robert Altman http://consequenceofsound.net/2014/04/live-review-kraftwerk-3d-at-new-yorks-united-palace-theatre-41/ The music itself was familiar; Kraftwerk’s last album was Tour de France from 2003. But the sounds were definitely crisper than the analog originals. This lent an even more robotic feel to what was already mechanized music. The sense of the somewhat ominous ghost in the machine was even more evident with the newly revamped sounds. We have increasingly become the inhabitants of a world that was only just being hinted at when Kraftwerk began composing in Dusseldorf. So much of what at the time may have seemed futuristic has become all too true and real. “Radioactivity” became a homage to Chernobyl and Fukushima. “Computer World” seemed all to real in our post-Snowden Facebook/Twitter/Instagram-saturated lives. The visuals were appropriately low-tech despite the 3D projection. Many of the early computer graphics with wire-frame imagery seemed almost like a steam-punk approach. All in keeping with the handmade lo-fi aesthetic that Kraftwerk have always espoused. Kraftwerk themselves — Ralf Hütter, Fritz Hilpert, Henning Schmitz, and Falk Grieffenhagen — were all stationed behind futuristic-looking podiums. Their appearance in jumpsuits could morph from anonymous businessmen to robots. The duality of man and machine was undoubtedly no accident. In fact, one imagines very little room for accidents in a Kraftwerk show. Hütter, the lone remaining founding member of the group, acted as leader. He performed most of the spoken parts and vocals, once again adding a human touch. Subtle body movements and the occasional keyboard solo were the closest one got to a feeling of warmth and life from the rest of the group. Interactions between the musicians consisted of the rare sideways glance. Each member felt more like an isolated programmer in his cubicle than part of an organic whole, yet the music proved otherwise. At the end, each member did perform a keyboard improvisation before exiting the stage — the Kraftwerk version of a screaming guitar solo. Kraftwerk in Concert The most amazing aspect of the show was how unique it felt. Electronic minimalism has entered the mainstream of our musical consciousness. Yet the music of Kraftwerk still had a feel of a thing apart. They were truly ahead of their time both musically and visually. Their concert somehow brings out the humanity in us all by using the language of the machine in ways that other musicians don’t seem to have mastered. One wonders when, if ever, their music for the future will feel dated. We haven’t reached that point yet, and that is still incredible.