Brixton Academy 20/03/04¹

Kraftwerk bear some similarity to Haley's Comet. Both

appear infrequently, though at least one can predict just

when Haley's comet will appear. Kraftwerk, however, are

irregular and prone to cancellation. This show is the last of

their first genuine Tour since they played a series of dates

in 1993 in support of their re-mixed greatest hits package

'The Mix', when having played a series of dates in England

they promptly sacked one band member and retreated to their
Dusseldorf studio for the best part of a decade, cancelling a

world tour into the bargain².

The publicity had said that Kraftwerk would be on stage at

12.30, and with typical precision at

precisely 12.30 a robotic voice intones,

with an impeccable Germanic accent, that we should welcome

'the man machine, Kraftwerk' Back lit by blood red lights,

four silhouettes appear on the curtains, apparent giants that
tower over the audience. The giant on the right (as always,

it is Florian Schneider standing in his familiar position)

raises a hand and lowers it slowly and the band start the

show with their signature message of intent, Man

Machine as the curtains roll back, revealing, to some

surprise that Kraftwerk are actually only normal men and not

giants at all.

It is immediately obvious that the ten years since they

last toured have not been wasted. The stage set, which was,

to all intents and purposes, the entirety of the Kilng Klang

studio simply uprooted from Dusseldorf and placed on stage,

has been radically altered and the four members of the band

now stand behind consoles that appear to be little bigger

than a desk-top. Gone are the neon tubes that supported the
stage set, replaced by a solid plinth of light. Gone are the

three giant television screens replaced by three screens that

stretch the entire width and height of the stage, showing

either one image or three, depending on the whim of the

band.

Also gone are the semi-militaristic jump suits of the last

tour, replaced by a much more classic Kraftwerk image of four

men in suits, apparently relaxed as they do whatever it is

that Kraftwerk do on stage. It is impossible to tell what any

member of the band is actually doing, or indeed if they are

actually doing anything. The signs that this is a band

enjoying themselves are minute, but they are there - Florian

Schneider, a notorious hater of touring can be seen throwing
some very Kraftwerk-like rock shapes during traditional

encore, Pocket Calculator, and throughout the show

Rolf Hutter is to be seen actually moving a leg in time with

the rhythms of the music.

And what thundering rhythms they are. The Academy has

recently upgraded it's sound system, and it would seem that

the German quartet are intent on ensuring that it is up to

scratch. It is certainly the first time that I have felt the

Academy physically shake, and the gut wrenching bass and the

sheer crowding of the venue (very few bands actually sell out

the Academy and have all 4,700 ticket holders stand in the

main hall) claimed at least one casualty as Strangelittlegirl
had to retreat to the bar. The band however, have proved

their point - they as much as anybody are responsible for the

present sound of techno, and despite their apparent age, they

can mix it with the best of them. To prove the point, they

follow Man Machine with their highly controversial

Expo 2000, in its remixed form, its refrain informing

us that 'Detroit, Germany/So techno'.

The show continues with clockwork precision, though it is

now noticeable that Rolf Hutter, handling all vocals, as

always, is actually using a hand held microphone, yet another

sign that this is actually a band enjoying themselves. During

the next two hours, they mix a back catalogue that most bands

would kill for with tracks from last years 'Tour De France

Soundtracks' demonstrating with some ease that, despite

criticisms of that album when it was released, many of its

tracks stand comparison to the best of Kraftwerk's oeuvre -
Vitamin and Elektro Kardiogram in particular

slot comfortably into the show and look set to become

permanent features in the set. Aerodynamic, with its

backdrop of cycling also seems a natural fit, concerned as it

is with the ultimate man-machine synthesis, cycling.

And even in presenting that immaculate, pristine back

catalogue, Kraftwerk show a sly and often undervalued sense

of humour. Autobahn, the song that started it all some

thirty years ago, begins with its trademark ignition sounds,

only this car has an engine fault and has to be re-started

several times. During the encores (there are three), the

bands ties suddenly light up in time with the music, adding

their own lights to an already impressive show. And of

course, as the band leave the stage and are replaced by their

robotic counter-parts, the video screens spell out the words

'We are charging our batteries/And now we're full of

energy'. The robots themselves appear to enjoy their

moment in the spotlight and are considerably more energetic

than their flesh and bone counter-parts.

For the final encore, the band don uv sensitive suits that

match the graphed background of the videos. As gimmicks go it

is an effective one, and lends the band an air of

other-worldliness as they launch into the final song,

Music Non Stop. Schneider is first to leave the stage

and, in turn, long time studio hands Henning Schmidt and

Fritz Hilpert are both given solos before they leave the

stage in turn. Rolf
Hutter, as always is the last to leave the stage, wishing the

audience 'Good Night and Good Morning' (it is by now

nearly 2.45 am) and then he, too, is gone.

It is a night of triumph for Kraftwerk. Technically, it is

hard to fault the show, and musically they remain as potent

as they ever were. They are no longer perhaps the band that

the rest of the world is trying to catch up with, though one

wonders if that was ever a realistic ambition, for while all

others were looking forward to a future they could not grasp,

Kraftwerk were always looking back at a future that had never

been³. Just as the rest of the world has caught

up with the sound of the future, Kraftwerk have sidestepped

the race and
revealed that all along the future they were looking at was

one that doesn't really exist, except in our imaginations.

The real future is far too prosaic and dull for the likes of

Kraftwerk.

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