Kraftwerk

This is odd.

Why would I write a review of this show for for free?

I mean, music journalism is a job. There's professionals that do it for a living. Yet songkick expect me to spend my time and creativity generating content for them to attract other users.

I suppose Songkick will then ask those unwitting victims to slave over a keyboard for no reward and perpetuate the culture of unpaid work that only serves to cheapen music criticism we should all cherish.

I will not take money out of the pocket and food off the table of journalists forced to scrape for what minimal pay they can from a dwindling base of music publications that are only just able to continue charging for their valuable insight.

I mean, who am I? No-one could place any value in a word of what I write. It would serve no purpose whatsoever for me to give my amateur opinion of a band about who millions of words have already been written when no-one has any context on which to base my thoughts. I could be a complete buffoon. I could like Crazy frog as much as Kraftwerk.

OK, here you are. I went to see Kraftwerk and Kraftwerk was good. There was some mistakes but they were still good.

There you are. Now lets see how that settles into the cannon of great criticism.

Lester Bangs will be spinning in his grave.

The show was fantastic. No opener, a 2+ hour set, lots of deep cuts, and a thoroughly entertaining performance.

As is to be expected, Kraftwerk are not particularly visually compelling as humans standing in front of synthesizer stands, but the rich 3D visuals on the screens in addition to the lights gave plenty to accompany the music.

After finishing the main set, Kraftwerk left the stage and the curtains closed for the obligatory encore fanfare... However, a nice curveball - when the curtains reopened, the members had been replaced by their red-and-grey robot counterparts for a brilliant novelty performance of one of their most well-known pieces, "Robots." After that, the members came back out and did a few more songs before winding down with a "jam" of sorts where each member got a minor solo segment before exiting the stage.

Only minor complaints: an annoying buzzing for the second half of the show in a speaker near me, but that is the Ryman's fault, not the band's. The merch was disappointing for a band with song strong visuals (no show poster, slim selection of t-shirts, no media at all). And finally, Autobahn is great, but an extended version just goes too damn long for a live setting.

However, it was a top-notch show, highly recommended.

When I saw these legends at a festival recently, I too saw the comparisons to Daft Punk. A seminal act formed in the 70s, they would certainly go on to influence dozens of electronic acts such as Daft Punk, Gary Numan, and OMD.

Seeing them live is such a feast for the eyes and ears. Having recently revamped their visual show, they had original avant-garde films playing in the background which astounded me. The four members stood still and mastered their electronic instruments as if they were from the planet Krypton and have graced us with their presence. Anyone with an interest in future design of artificial intelligence, should attend one of these shows!

Also, if you're a fan of Daft Punk, you might enjoy this show. The music inspired the crowd throughout and when “Man-Machine” was introduced the crowd went nuts. This music did not inspire dancing in the conventional sense, but the crowd moved and it clearly affected them. When I looked around, the crowd seemed to be enjoying this visual art show accompanied by the legendary act. It’s rare to attend a show where the visuals and music marry so well together, but Kraftwerk make it look easy.

Very impressed by the Kraftwerk Concerts at the Fondation Louis Vuitton as part of the 8 days set with one album per day. Every concert delivers and extensive 25+ titles playlist giving a 2h+ concert, covering all of the songs of the album for the given day (I saw « The Man Machine » and « Computer World ») and then a very strong set of the best of the band, with the best of Autobahn, Trans Europe Express , Radio Activity, Man Machine, Computer World, Techno Pop and Tour de France covered systematically. The very good 3D movies projected in the back of the band, obviously under their full artistic direction, make it a unique experience. Sound quality is exceptional, and a truly live feeling emerges despite the electronic nature of the music. Also, the songs are often customized for the location/audience, with for instance a fully french version of « Showroom Dummies » retitled « Les Mannequins ». It should be noted that about 70% of the sets are similar from one day to the next, so seeing more than one (or the full 8 days catalogue) is truly for fans only.

Tuesday 29 September 2015, the Olympia theater in Miami, FL, US.

3D show. Excellent show, quiet and respectful audience, almost no dancing, lots of video/pictures taken. Encore 1 ("der roboter") was very disappointing but appropriate in that it was basically "the robots" played over the PA while the mannequins rotated onstage.

Setlist:
"Numbers", "Computer World", "It's More Fun to Compute" / "Home Computer", "Computer Love", "Pocket Calculator", "The Man Machine", "Spacelab", "The Model", "Neon Lights", "Autobahn", "Airwaves", "Intermission/News", "Geiger Counter" / "Radioactivity" (2012 version), "Tour de France" / "Tour de France Étape 1" / "Tour de France Étape 2", "Trans-Europe Express" / "Metal on Metal" / "Abzug"

Encore 1: "The Robots"
Encore 2: "Planet of Visions", "Boing Boom Tschak" / "Techno Pop" / "Musique Non Stop"

Es war ein super Konzert und tolles Erlebnis. Auch die Arena in Wien war ein würdiger Veranstaltungsort mit einer geiler Atmosphäre und guter Stimmung, wenngleich offensichtlich nicht ganz ausverkauft. Aufgrund Sommerzeit wäre vielleicht 21.30 Uhr als Beginn besser gewesen. Die 3D Atmosphäre war bei eintretender Dunkelheit wesentlich besser. Was fehlte war eine Zugabe. Leider verabschiedeten sich die Akteure einzeln von der Bühne und kamen danach nicht nochmals zurück. Dennoch alles in allem eine tolle Vorstellung.

A magnificent income hall was a preludo to a fantastic 3d performance of Kraftwerk, 1 of the pioneers of modern music. Images seem to get over and through you, the music was astonishing as always. Goosebumps where present when "Radioactivity" came on, "Comet Melody 2" was also very catchy and housy and made you wanna dance ! The robots as 1 bis number was real hard techno, as were several other numbers, great !
This was a wonderfum concert, which we will never 4get !

It was as perfect a show as it was expected. I was seated where I booked. Local signalling was efficient. The stage well seen. The loudspeakers just as loud as necessary.
The band started off with both 3D screen effects and electronic music. They played their biggest hits one after the other, for my utmost enjoyment. After being recalled, they played 4 songs, ending up with a remarkable series of solos. It was simply grandiose and well organised.

The KRAFTWERK 3D show was just amazing! I would highly recommend that anyone that is anywhere near to one of these shows move heaven and earth to attend, they will not be disappointed! I saw them once ten years ago and was unsure on how they could top their previous work, but the addition of the 3D visuals just puts it over the top!

I heard my first Kraftwerk track when I was eleven years old.
After forty years of never being able to get a ticket for a show, thanks to Songkick I was lucky enough to get a ticket for Brighton.
All I can say is after a forty year wait......they did not disappoint.
I had so many spine tingling moments......a wonderful night.