REVIEW: KRAFTWERK @ ADELAIDE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE

One of the 20th century’s most influential groups gave Adelaide a (probable) farewell concert to remember.

Words by David Knight

Image by Lauri Jean

Kraftwerk is one of the few musical acts where you know popular music would sound vastly different if it wasn’t for their pioneering work. This was made abundantly clear when they visited Adelaide on a Tuesday night (December 12) to perform a greatest hit set that not only paved the way for electronic and club music but transformed popular music.

For a touch over two hours, the godfathers of techno, electro, IDM, synth pop – and basically every electronic music genre that has exploded since the ‘80s – barely moved behind their consoles as they let their beats and visuals do the work to transfix a pretty much packed-out Entertainment Centre Theatre crowd.

Looking like visiting economics professors sucked into Tron with their flashing LED suits, Kraftwerk hit the stage right on time – after 10 minutes of ambient soundscapes – to take their positions behind four consoles that wouldn’t look out of place on the Starship Enterprise if it was given a minimal makeover by Apple designers.

Led by co-founder Ralf Hütter (the only original member on stage) on vocals and synths with long-time touring members Henning Schmitz and Falk Grieffenhagen with relatively new member on visuals, Georg Bongartz.

They began with a bang with the unforgettable "eins, zwei, drei" of 'Numbers from Computer World', a record that sounds as fresh as it did in 1981 and unbelievably came out two years before techno was invented by the Belleville Three in Detroit. 'Numbers' is a club classic (it was memorably mashed with Whitney Houston by Richard X for 'I Want to Dance with Numbers') and sublimely merged into 'Computer World 2' from the same album.

Kraftwerk’s album art is as famous as their music. Think Autobahn’s minimal blue and white logo design, the mannequin group photo of Trans-Europe Express, the Soviet Union propaganda vibe of The Man Machine and the early home computer of Computer World.

Their visuals and art are vital to the Kraftwerk experience, they drive home the themes and the satire. The concert visuals were a feast for the eyes as the mostly early ‘80s computer graphics influenced by their album covers and music videos flashed on the large screen behind them (it could also be quite amusing as the flying saucer during Spacelab did a fly-by over Adelaide before landing at the front of the Entertainment Centre).

'The Man Machine' hit as hard as any track you’d hear at 3am in a techno club as the bass rippled through your body while classics such as 'Computer Love' and 'The Model' sounded as fresh as ever and the ground-breaking 'Autobahn' and 'Trans-Europe Express' suite drove home how incredibly influential and timeless their best work is.

There is no group like Kraftwerk. And there never will be. As Hütter left the stage with his hand on his heart after an incredibly entertaining two-hour history lesson, it was the perfect way to thank the 77-year-old for his work with the late Florian Schneider and their many Kraftwerk collaborators for changing music forever.

Rating: 4.5/5