Kraftwerk / Minimum Maximum DVD
Minimum Maximum was released earlier this year as a double CD concert recording from the group’s last world tour (see my review). A double DVD with the same setlist is now available and I’ve finally snagged a copy after countless e-mails and phone calls to EMI over the last few months. Was it worth the effort? Yes. On a personal level, I’d have loved to have taken Ames and Gabes along to the two concerts I attended, but given that they’re so young, that wasn’t possible. This is the next best thing and Kraftwerk are currently still their favourite group. I’m certainly savouring their enthusiasm for as long as it lasts. First impressions of the DVD? It’s not a great piece of cinematic art in the way that, say, Jonathan Demme’s Talking Heads film, Stop Making Sense is. The inclusion of the audience in Minimum Maximum – mostly in silhouette form, heads bobbing, arms aloft in front of the stage – is striking and points to a further deliberate rebalancing of the Man/Machine equation (something I first noted in the above review). There are also some very beautiful moments, particularly the Neon Lights section, though the robot sequence isn’t as dramatic as it was in real life. Four middle-aged men stood almost motionless at their podiums wouldn’t appear to make for striking drama, but their indefatigable presence proves enduringly fascinating.
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