05/18/2004   English German

  Edition # 50  
San Francisco, 05-18-2004


Figure [1]: The four immobile power workers in minimalism.

The four not-so-young Germans, who remained musically faithful but switched consistently to laptops instead of giant computers, still play their electronic compositions like robots. Hardly anyone moves behind their standing desk. Otherwise the stage is empty. Gigantic video projections in the background. In the penultimate stage setting, suddenly it is not the Kraftwerker themselves on stage, but gracefully moving robots! Musically, most of it is pre-programmed, but when the Kraftwerkers are on stage, they vary enough details live so that each concert is a little different.

Figure [2]: Kraftwerk concert in San Francisco

The audience was an interesting mix of German residents of San Francisco, top-league computer hackers (I recognized Brian Behlendorf) and black DJ types.

I'm touched to think that I still have her record "Trans Europa Express" from 1977 as a vinyl disc, which is sitting in a moving box in an attic near Augsburg!

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