It’s more fun to compute. Kraftwerk bring their Multimedia tour to Manchester – the first time the German pioneers have played the city in nearly ten years.
PRÄZISION
Seeing Kraftwerk is not like a typical gig. Walking into the room after the heat in Manchester, the room is quiet, almost polite anticipation, not too rowdy, not restless just a lot of people waiting for something they had been waiting for. It has been nearly a decade since Kraftwerk have been in Manchester and the wait was worth it.
The yellow outline of a single figure, flickers on the screen ten minutes before showtime. When the four take their place behind their consoles, the shift in the room is noticeable. Their set opens with Numbers, and the kind of precision only Kraftwerk can deliver; sharp synths, clean rhythms and visuals that move in perfect sync. The show is simple in layout, the four of them on stage, with striking visuals in the background. This is all that Kraftwerk have ever needed to hook you into the music.
Spacelab brings one of the most memorable visual moments of the night. The slow-moving shots of being in a spaceship viewing the world really hook the audience. As the spaceship descends closer to Earth, the crowd grow more excited as the spaceship zeroes in on Manchester. When the Spaceship finally reaches O2 Apollo, the whole place erupts. It broke the silence instantly and became one of the highlights of the night.
Tracks from the early eighties – Computer World and Home Computer – are great openers for the night with he crowd immediately and fully locked in, watching closely, bopping their head to the beat. The visuals for these songs matched the music perfectly; numbers and bright flashes of colours pulled straight from the era in which the tracks were born. Even those who aren’t die-hard fans, would struggle not to be pulled into music and the visuals.
DIE MENSCH-MASCHINE
As the night progresses, the shift changes once again. The energy lifts with the beats grow heavier and the visuals brighter. More people who were sitting at the back started getting up to dance, moving as freely as possible in the constraints of an all seated show. They let the rhythm take over without breaking the atmosphere Kraftwerk so carefully build.
Tracks like Man-Machine and Tour De France lifted the energy to a higher level than I did not think could be reached. With the visuals snapping into bold reds, silhouettes and fast-moving graphics that had the room’s full attention.
INFLUENCERS TAKING INFLUENCE
Trans Europe Express is a particular highlight. Throughout the night, the deep bass tones shake the foundations of the O2 Apollo, however when the trains featured in the song come sidling past and through the screen, they batter the ribs. It is another way in which Kraftwerk have reinvented themselves over the years. Whilst they have influenced countless bands and musicians, they clearly take notes from bands like The Chemical Brothers, Orbital and other acts of the genre in producing a sound that is as fresh as it has ever been.
Kraftwerk also pay tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto in a cover of his own Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence. Save for a thank you and an Auf Wiedersehen from Ralf Hütter, you don’t often hear the band interacting with the crowd from stage. To hear them sharing an anecdote of a departed friend is really lovely, and with the evening built on computers and robots, it offers a more humanistic side to proceedings.
BOING BOOM TSCHAK
By the time the final track, Musique Non Stop, is over, the whole room erupts with a round of applause. It is the loudest the crowd are all night after a song, such is the reverence for the band. People clap long after the last note is hit. Everyone in the venue knew an encore was coming, but the anticipation still built fast.
When Kraftwerk return for their encore, you could feel the audience’s excitement rising. Everyone in the room knew they were going to reappear for Robots but you could feel the relief when they came back on stage and took to their spots on stage. More and more people were standing up and dancing for this final song, which was a completely thumping success.
Stepping back outside into the heat, it felt like you were being dropped back into reality after spending two hours inside a world designed down to the last detail. These two nights in Manchester were a reminder of why Kraftwerk are one of the most influential names in electronic music.
Kraftwerk: Website