From snivilisation Sent Mon, Jun 15th 1998, 18:34
From snivilisation Sent Mon, Jun 15th 1998, 18:34
Kraftwerk - June 10th - Chicago, IL
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By: Donald W. Thompson
Upon entering the Riviera Night Club, a smaller, more intimate theatre,
holding only around 2,200 people, you could feel the energy of the
people around you. As the it grew closer to concert time, some people
began to shout for Kraftwerk. 10 minutes later the lights dimmed, and
the curtains pulled back to expose the 4 men, all standing in the
middle of their equipment. They began dressed all in black, and the
first song they played was Numbers. Apart from their large workstation
and the lights on it, there were 4 video screens, all projecting a
myriad of numbers moving around one another. As they moved into their
second track, Computerworld, I was struck by the loud, tight bass.
Throughout the show they had the cleanest bass I had ever heard. After
Computerworld came Homecomputer, Man Machine, Tour De France, Autobahn,
The Model, a cool new track with lots of bass, Radioactivity, and
they finished up with Trans Europe Express. At the end the large video
screens displayed "Kling Klang Musik Film" and Ralf, Florian, Fritz,
and Henning walked off stage as the curtains closed.
The crowed roared for more, and they came back, but this time
they came closer to the end of the stage, each holding a little device
which they used to play Pocket Calculator. They each had different
parts, and they would hand the parts off to each other by pointing, or
making motions, and they each laughed along with the audience as they
did their part. It was great to see them up close, just playing and
having fun. After that the curtains closed and the left the stage
again, but the crowed waited and roared for more.
After a few minutes the curtains opened, but Kraftwerk wasn't
there, all you saw was the equipment, then the bass line kicked in, and
The Robots began to play. The video screens lit up with video of the
Robots, and halfway through the song, the screens went down to expose
the 4 robots, which looked exactly like the video, and the booklet for
The Mix. The robots did motions in tune with the song, and they were
covered in strobe lights, making it even more surreal. Once the track
ended the curtains closed again.
After 2 encores, you'd think they'd be done, but after 3
minutes, the curtains opened again, and the guys were suited up in the
suits with the bright green lines, and they sported the bright green
sunglasses. They played another cool new song, and the grand finale was
Music Non Stop, which had the crowd yelling, "Boing Boom Tschak.......
Peng!!" As the song came to a close, each member from right to left
took turns mixing the song and adding to it, after Florian, on the far
right, finished his little mix, he left the stage, leaving 3 members.
It went like this until no one was left on stage, and the curtains
closed, but the speakers continued to say "Music Non Stop" for about 5
minutes after they left.
Kraftwerk put on one of the most energetic, and beautiful shows
I've ever seen. They had great visuals, killer sound, and great stage
persona. They also played a great set of songs, lasting nearly 2 hours.
It's great to still they still love music and can perform beautifully
after all of these years. If Kraftwerk is touring anywhere near you, I
highly recommend attending, because it will be an experience you will
never forget.
TTYL,
Don Thompson
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