this was one of the best shows i have ever seen. they must have brought their own extra speakers, because i don’t think the eagles is equipped for surround sound. it was awesome having multi-dimensional sound for a show like this. the crazy bleeps and kraftwerkian bloops that were playing before the show were made much more awesome since i was being assaulted by them in 360 degrees.
“numbers” was fucking IMMENSE.
glorious
i m no good at setlists, but here’s what i can remember off hand they played. (basically a shortened version of the Minimum-Maximum cd/dvd) in no particular order:
man-machine
the robots
numbers
trans Europe express
show room dummies
vitamin
home computer
computer love
computer world
music non stop
autobahn
planet of visions
the model
neon lights
tour de france
radioactivity
elektrokardiogram
aerodynamik
it’s more fun to compute
i personally would have loved to hear more (telephone call, pocket calculator, space lab, metropolis, etc. basically the whole radioactivity album haha) but to have seen, as a friend of mine put it, “the most esteemed of robots” was just fucking awesome. it sounded so good. i highly recommend seeing them, if you ever have the means.
Nice. I’m a big Kraftwerk fan. Computer World is my favorite album by them.
Was that the Minneapolis show? If so, I posted the set list on New Wave Outpost earlier today:
Man Machine
Planet Of Visions
Numbers
Computerworld
Tour De France
Vitamin
Autobahn
Computerlove
The Model
Neonlicht
Showroom Dummies
Radioactivity
Trans Europa Express
Robots
Elektrokardiogramm
Aerodynamik
Musique Non Stop
There’s also a not-so-favorable review of the show here:
wow, that really was a not -so -positive review. i disagree whole heartedly, onviously heh.
i saw them in milwaukee, at the eagles ballroom. they played a 2hour set with classics that spanned their entire career! i didn’t think it was possible for any band to do that!! [angelic]
‘Numbers’ and ‘computer world’ are crackin songs. Ive never seen Kraftwerk live but my brother has and said they were amazing. Thats a good set list too.
park west. yeah. thanks. i couldn’t remember the name. it was awesome. especially when the 'dog lady" walked down an aisle with a hat that had a wingspan of about 6 feet just to see and impress the germans.(dog lady was a student of the art institute)
park west. yeah. thanks. i couldn’t remember the name. it was awesome. especially when the 'dog lady" walked down an aisle with a hat that had a wingspan of about 6 feet just to see and impress the germans.(dog lady was a student of the art institute)
I’ve seen some really great and unusual shows at the Park West over the years. The Residents, Tom Waits. Even played there myself a couple of times.
I was at the Kraftwerk show you mention too. Sat in one of the booths in the center as I remember. Great show.
Yeah, I personally love and and all KW live recordings from the Computer World era. Their sound (and their equipment) had evolved to the point where it was a perfect blend of fat analog sound, early electro-funk but still a trace of their cold Teutonic clinical sound of the 70s. I prefer the live '81 version of Numbers over the more recent interpretations of it, for example.
The Electric Cafe album IMO is also an overlooked gem. Had it come out 2-3 years earlier, everyone would have hailed it as a revolutionary piece. I’m not too fond of their most recent album (TDF Soundtrack), as they’ve become too digital and over-produced.
Any everyone on this board, especially if you are a Paul Barker/Squarepusher/Richard D. James/Cevin Key fan, would be wise to check out Ralf & Florian’s pre-KW release “Tonefloat”, released as Organisation. The first 2 KW albums (KW1 & KW2) are pretty solid but a bit too Krautrockish and meandering. They really hit their stride with “Ralf & FLorian” from '73, as you can see the first hints of their funkier, rhyythmically groovier sound.
autobahn probably influenced every pop musician working today.
and every german version of their records–man machine, etc. you really can’t go wrong. kraftwerk is the very solid backbone of…name any band you care about. as rigid as they look, they waved everyone in.
one of those influential bands. and they just kept going.
i particularly hated computerworld when it came out. it has aged very well.
and tour de france still gets stuck in my head when i hear it.
if i wanted to get started with kraftwerk… where should i start. i don’t need “wierd” i need good.
Try ‘Minimum/Maximum’ (I think thats what its called), a 2 disc live compilation from shows a few years ago. Contains songs from a good range of their work. Its a great album (particularly 2nd disc) & fantastic quality. You can pick it up on dvd also.
Either Minimum-Maximum OR “The Mix” if you want a greatest hits remixed sort of compilation.
Otherwise, I’d recommend starting with the first “modern” KW album, Autobahn, and progressing from there. At any rate, TEE, Man-Machine, Computer World and (to a lesser extent) Electric Cafe are the definitive KW albums and should not be missed.
Autobahn is a sort of relaxed, meandering electro-hippie album with a few freaky electronic moments. Radioactivity is pretty subdued and minimalistic with lots of subtle sounds that will take several listens to recognize. TEE is IMO the most influential KW album, as you hear the earliest bits of 1980s-style “industrial” metallic sounds, and it’s the first KW album that I could say has a real groove to it. Showroom Dummies from that album is an overrated gem.
My list (from best to worst IMO, although there is no “worst” KW album)
Required:
-TEE
-CW
-Electric Cafe/Man-Machine (basically a tie–EC is funkier but MM is more influential)
-Tonefloat
Worth getting if you like the above:
-Ralf & Florian
-Autobahn
-The Mix
-Minimum Maximum
For true fans only:
-Radioactivity
-KW1
-KW2
-TDF Soundtracks
For anyone who likes Electric Cafe, I can highly recommend both the Yamo “Time Pie” album and Karl Bartos’ Elektric Music “Esperanto” album. Esperanto, in particular, sounds like the album KW would have made in the early 90s had Barton been allowed to take them in a poppier/house direction. Both it and TIme Pie are very good if not excellent albums in their own right. Also, the recent released, officially sanctioned by KW covers album “8-Bit Operators” is sort of hit or miss but is still pretty enjoyable.
No Florian on tour, and someone on another forum recalled reading an interview where Florian said he hated Bush so much, he refused to tour the U.S. Whether that’s true, who knows…
yeah, i noticed this at the show. some real tall guy seemed to be the replacement.
i got into kraftwerk while working at a used record store. a friend and i would always put in the weirdest looking/named records to laugh at generally ridicule in our search for weird ass music. (oh god, that’s how we found out about welle erdball too, “NYNTANDO SCHOCK!” haha) and we came upon electric cafe, and although hilarious to us at the time, we left it on the whole day, and ended up looking for more kraftwerk to listen to in our spare time. so i’d mebbe suggest electric cafe as a starting point. the man machine i listen to a lot. it’s a short record, but i love every track on this disc.
the album that got me into them to the point of d/l’ing live shows and reading the wikkipedia page and finding interviews shit was minimum/maximum, though. it has most of what you need to hear from kraftwerk to get a good judge of them throughout their career, and also has, imho, some of the best “mixes” or “arrangements” of the songs on it. (although i am currently enjoying some live shows i found on dime from '76 and '81. there is a soundboard boot from 81 i think it fucking great. thanks to hkklife for piquing my interest)
