| After
seeing these guys during the Computer World Tour in the early 80’s I waited
patiently for 23 years for them to return, and boy what a night it was.
I remember what a huge impression the Computer World Tour was for me, I
was only 11 years old at the time and the stage was jam packed with equipment.
But now we are in the 21st century, and the new stage set up fits the times
perfectly. The stripped down stage gave the whole show a clean, ultramodern
feel with the four guys seemingly floating and flying through the images
projected behind them. |
| The
venue was quite large, it’s used for a hockey team, and when the lights
were up it seemed a little too empty. But as soon as the lights were out
and the smooth and beautiful synthetic chorus “the man machine, machine,
machine…" began, the place suddenly became huge, you felt as if you
were floating in space, particularly during "Expo 2000". |
| The
crowd was very enthusiastic and just like in 81, very mixed. There were
families with their children, punk rockers, nerds, raver kids and people
even older than me there! The Kraftwerk guys barely moved a muscle the whole
show, especially Florian who at times seemed like a statue (or a showroom
dummy), but of course you wouldn't want it any other way. The music sounded
great, the visuals were perfect and the stoic stance of the band just fit
the mood perfectly. It was particularly funny to me when their robots hit
the stage and robot-Florian was much more animated than its human counterpart!
It's always strange to see a crowd cheering wildly for these synthetic beings,
I guess one day they can continue touring when the members of the band have
passed on, but judging from the shape they're in (those "grid" suits hide
nothing). I think they've got plenty of tours still in them. |
| Just
about everyone whose written a review listed the songs, so I won't go through
them but highlights for me included a great rendition of "Numbers" and "Computer
World", a fantastic interplay of visuals and sound during "Trans Europe
Express" and an absolutly amazing version of "Radioactivity" which tops
every version I've ever heard. |
| I've
heard many criticisms about how Kraftwerk used to be innovators and now
everyone has caught up to them, but in terms of presentation they are definitly
leading the way. The crowd response proves how much respect people have
for them, they are truly the pioneers of electronic music...MUSIC NON STOP! |
|
Review
by Robert Fantinatto - Canada
|
|
| First,
I should say I live just north of New York City, so for me Toronto represented
about a nine hour drive in each direction, but I decided to put sanity aside
and try to see them anyway. I couldn't find reasonably priced Montreal tickets,
so I bought one for Toronto. The distances were comparable. "You're so close,
but far away." My drive to Toronto was uneventful. It was my first time
in Canada. It's funny, there have been exactly two times that I have left
the USA, and both of those times there was a Kraftwerk concert at the far
end. (The other was a trip to London for Tribal Gathering in 1997). Finding
the Ricoh Coliseum was a little tricky, and I was surprised that no one
I asked ever heard of it. |
| The
venue was just below the CN Tower, a tall needle type structure which is
the pinnacle of the Toronto skyline. I drove past this imposing, technical
looking structure just as "Radio Stars" (from Radioactivity) was
playing in the car. It was quite eerie. The sounds seemed to come from the
tower. I was disappointed there was no large Kraftwerk marquee or any acknowledgement
of the event outside the building. Just a sign with an arrow indicating
"Enter here for today's event" I walked around to see if I could see further
evidence of Kling Klang Produkt ouside the venue, such as a tour bus, a
truck, or a generator such as that which accompanied their 1998 USA concerts.
There was nothing to be found. There was a police car parked outside the
staff entrance. I started to head back to the front doors. |
| I
had no intentions to go backstage or attempt a brush with my long time favourite
musical workers. Indeed today I had promised myself I was going to just
enjoy the show from a seat (not even standing up front) and then leave at
the end like all the normal concertgoers. This was a contrast to my intense
curiosity at the 1998 New York concert, where waiting a few hours by the
stage door at least led me to see Florian and get Fritz's autograph on my
ticket stub. So imagine how much fate tempted me when I walked past a rusty
metal door propped open slightly by a brick. With great hesitation I decided
to pop inside and see what could be seen. I was now standing in a large
dim room somewhere behind the stage. It was filled with disassembled stadium
seats and other debris. However taped up to some of the walls were little
colored cards with Kraftwerk font computer print and arrows, such as Wardrobe
this way, Catering this way, Stage this way. They seemed to be color coded.
I thought about taking one but they were taped down pretty well and I didn't
want to make noise. It was quiet, but I heard voices and saw some crew members
at the end of the hallway. I thought they saw me, but they took no notice
for some reason. It may have been because I was dressed entirely in black.
My heart pounded as I explored just a bit further. Ahead was the back of
the stage and lots of road cases. I wanted to explore but I didn't know
what I was hoping to see. I wouldn't expect Ralf or Florian to look upon
my visit very favorably. I was really beginning to fear getting caught,
and the thought of getting arrested and missing the concert after my long
journey was too much. I'm sorry to tell you I completely wimped out at this
point and went back outside. I would have to be content with my private
two minute self tour of the backstage area. |
| I
was back on line in the front, and the doors opened about 7:20, 20 minutes
late. We were frisked upon entry but I am sure I could have concealed my
camera somewhere discreetly on my person had I brought it. There were clearly
dozens of others who did bring cameras in. I was looking to buy some memorabilia,
but there were only a few t-shirts for sale ($30 Canadian) and no program
booklet. I was disappointed. I got to my seat. It was off to the right side,
but at a good height and not very far away considering the size of the arena.
The crowd was mostly male, perhaps about 10 percent female. There was one
man in his 30s who brought his son and daughter, aged around 9-12. As the
concert went on I kept thinking about what these youngsters must have been
thinking of the show. I was probably one of the older audience members (I
am 41). I didn't see anyone who looked older than I am. |
| Around
8:20 the "melting tones" began over the PA and everyone rushed in from the
concession area. As the lights went out the red outline motif from "The
Man Machine" appeared on the curtains to wild applause. The curtains
opened and so began another masterful performance of the Kraftwerk 2004
Tour. I spotted some empty seats in the front row of my section and moved
down to occupy one. Score one free seat upgrade. There were easily a few
hundred empty seats. |
| We
all have heard the set list and detailed descriptions of the audio and visual
experiences that were to unfold, so I will just say "ditto" to all that's
been said. It seems the performance I saw matched the descriptions of previous
ones very closely. The sound was loud, but not too bad from my vantage point.
It sounded rather good, with thundering bass drum and shimmering high end.
There were no problems or mistakes during the show that I could detect.
For me, the highlights of the evening were those that harkened back to the
older songs and images, such as the red shadow motif from 1978, and especially
the reedition of "Neon Lights". I was totally consumed with the
authenticity they applied to their performance of this tune. Maybe Kling
Klang sat in a dark studio somewhere in Düsseldorf, but all the musical
goodness of that track was faithfully reproduced from the Sony Vaios. As
Ralf concluded the song's final synth solo, I cheered with appreciation
not only for their excellent rendition of the song, but for the feat of
capturing all their sound in such a streamlined equipment lineup. There
was nothing substandard about their sound. It was as warm and expressive
as I have ever heard. |
| I
was also impressed by the drum treatments given to the old songs such as
"Autobahn" and "The Model". Each had just the right
balance of punch and top end sizzle. These songs still sound great today.
Of the new songs, "Vitamin" was great, with the new video to go
with it, and so was "Aerodynamik". In "Elektrokardiogramm",
I noticed Ralf was playing a new chord progression which was slightly different
and better than on the version they released on TDFS. I can't recall exactly
what was different, but it really improved the song. I look forward to hearing
some of the recordings of this week's concerts if any surface. Then I can
get a better handle on what has changed. |
| The
first half of "Radioactivity" was performed close to the original
style from 1975 for the first verse before breaking into the dance treatment
they gave it for "The Mix". It was fabulous to hear it played
in the older way for a change. The audience seemed frozen in amazement as
the concert progressed. Very few heads were bopping, and only one or two
on the floor were dancing. That changed during the "Numbers/Computer
World" encore. By this point, the audience was reacting more to the
irresistable beats. Even some of the security guards were dancing by then.
"Pocket Calculator" was well received. I miss the days when they
played that song at the front of the stage and let the audience members
press some of the special keys. During "The Robots", there was
a distinct look of amazement on nearly every face as they watched the four
robotic performers on stage. There was lots of energy by the final encore,
and the wireframe suits were well received. |
| In
general, it was every bit as enjoyable as I expected. As the curtain closed
the lights came up, and everyone began to leave. It was 10:45. I didn't
listen to any music in the car on the way back to my hotel, because I didn't
want to disturb the audio impressions I had just been supplied with. I went
right to bed to rest up for the long car ride home the next morning. It
was neat to think about being in the same city as Kraftwerk for at least
several more hours. This concluded my fourth Kraftwerk concert (1981 NYC,
1997 Tribal, 1998 NYC being the first 3). If Kraftwerk are ever playing
within nine hours of me, I would see them again in an instant. I look forward
to hear more stories from this tour. |
|
Review
by Joe Schepis - USA
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