Comments on: Kraftwerk, Manchester Velodrome, July 2nd 2009

By: chris bullard

chris bullard — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:40:18 +0000

does anyone know if the manchester concert was filmed to come out on dvd?

By: 11V

11V — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:30:49 +0000

Fredrick: the new material coming soon has been coming for years – don’t hold your breath! Personally, I’d be happy if they never release another thing as I absolutely don’t want to see them do anything to dilute their significance.

Ricadus, thank you.

By: ricadus

ricadus — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:46:29 +0000

Nice picture of the TdF performance, with band/cyclists/video all included.

Have to say, that Stefan guy looks worryingly like Martin Clunes!

By: Fredrick Freekowtski

Fredrick Freekowtski — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:02:06 +0000

oh, its steve reich you’ve been talking about. i thought you were referring to some mysterious new kraftwerk material (wikipedia states there might be something coming “soon” – independent of “the catalogue” due later this year).

kraftwerk live in ‘81. man. i was -1 years old back then :) during their concert in germany, too, the plastic curtains were blown wide open by the wind right at the beginning of “the robots”. i don’t get why they play festivals at all. there’s not enough time for rehearsals and its not really their kind of crowd. anyways… since the three concerts in wolfsburg earlier this year were booked within hours, this was the only realistic chance for me to see them live. and despite small imperfections it still exceeded all my expectations (which were set high).

By: 11V

11V — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:22:51 +0000

Scott – I know what you mean, but if you’d been seated in those spaces I don’t think you would have seen the screens at all.

The Reich premiere was very enjoyable. Very rhythmic (surprise), but not rhythmic like you could dance to it with any ease. Began intense and halfway through slowed right down before returning to the theme at the end. I liked it a lot, but then I love all of Reich’s work from the earliest to the most recent compositions. Not a major work like Three Tales or Different Trains, but very enjoyable. Would like to hear it again.

By: 11V

11V — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:15:17 +0000

Fredrick: 3d show was great, but because we were seated to the side it wasn’t as great as it might otherwise have been. This was my fourth Kraftwerk gig (first was ‘81!) and I loved it. It was extra special because I came with my whole family and it was Amy and Gabriel’s first time to see them (best thing ever they said). There was one (now almost traditional) moment with the curtain not closing fully before the robots and the screen displays weren’t optimal, but the sound was brilliant and the little, ongoing tweaks to the Minimum Maximum template were a pleasure.

By: 11V

11V — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:11:27 +0000

Peter – that’s a bloody coincidence! Shame, we could have met up somewhere other than Covent Garden ;-) Next week, aye.

By: Fredrick Freekowtski

Fredrick Freekowtski — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:47:09 +0000

new reich piece?!??

By: scott

scott — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:45:31 +0000

I didn’t find out about this until after it had sold out – so I’m particularly annoyed that I can see empty seats in the background! Do tell us more – how was the new Reich piece?

By: Fredrick Freekowtski

Fredrick Freekowtski — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:45:16 +0000

how did you like the 3d show? i’ve seen them last month during southside festival in germany but unfortunately they skipped the 3d part. they also had some technical difficulties with the video display which made stefan pfaffe to constantly walk off and on stage for the first 15 minutes of the show (they got it running at last). i felt a bit sorry for the guys – error is not compatible with the kraftwerk concept. the show was a revelation nonetheless.