For the opening night of their 27-date North American 3D Tour, German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk spent two-and-a-quarter hours immersing their fans in a sonically and visually stimulating experience at The Pageant. In fact, the award-winning group brought their own PA system that included a smaller setup hung high in the center of the room to give a 3D effect to their sound. Four projectors played throughout the concert, creating well-timed and mesmerizing effects.
Upon entering the venue, each attendee was gifted a pair of Kraftwerk 3D glasses, and it became apparent why as soon as the music started. Several minutes of atmospheric sounds began promptly at 8 p.m., followed by founding member Ralf Hütter, Fritz Hilpert, Henning Schmitz, and Falk Grieffenhagen finally greeting the near-capacity crowd by heading to their respective keyboards to launch into a medley of “Numbers,” “Computer World,” and “Computer World 2” as numbers swirled and bounced across a giant screen and appeared to leap out at those wearing the glasses.
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One song flowed flawlessly into the next as constant visuals (both 3D and 2D) filled the screen. Lighting shifted from neon green to bright white to yellow to red along with the lined grid on the matching black jumpsuits worn by each member. Hütter, Hilpert, Schmitz, and Grieffenhagen themselves barely moved and rarely glanced up from their keyboards. The only audible words spoken came from Hütter, who occasionally added soft vocals to some of the songs.
But fans know that Kraftwerk doesn’t come to them to wax poetic and work the crowd. They come to entrance and entertain, and the crowd, made up of all ages and a wide variety of musical tastes, remained eerily quiet except for occasional shouts of excitement and applause, especially toward the end of the night when robots made an appearance during “The Robots/Robotronik.” The crowd also made their appreciation known during “Spacelab,” when the video playing showed a UFO flying by the Arch and eventually landing outside The Pageant. Other favorites during the night included “The Man-Machine,” an 8-minute version of “Autobahn,” “Tour de France,” and “Neon Lights.”
The North American leg of Kraftwerk’s 3D Tour continues through July 10 with stops in Memphis, Nashville, and Chicago, among many others.
Click here for the night’s full setlist, or check out more photos from Carrie Zukoski.
