Last time Kraftwerk came to Perth, it was 2003 at the Big Day Out. I didn’t go because… it was on a Sunday and I was still religious. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Fortunately Zeus saw me kicking myself and blessed me with bootleg MP3s of the show.
Well, last Sunday, Kraftwerk was back in Perth for Global Gathering. And where was I? Front and center, bitchez.
Before the show, I was talking to some other festival-goers. Everyone was 18 or so, and it struck me that all these younger people were here watching a concert headlined by a bunch of 60-year-olds. Of course, Kraftwerk are the elder statesmen of electronic music, and they’ve been hugely influential. But for an old fart like me, easily double the age of 90% of the people in the audience (and someone who’s been listening to Kraftwerk for 25 years), it was gratifying to see that the influence of my early heroes has grown and not diminished.
For another 80s moment, consider also that Mark Ronson’s crew finished their set with their version of the Smiths’ “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before”, and was very well received.
But back to the ‘Werk. It’s strange to watch Kraftwerk live. As sequenced as the show must be, one wonders what it is they’re doing up there. They stay in one place the entire time busily focused on their Sony Vaio’s (ugh). Occasionally a foot will tap or a mouse will click. Ralf (on the far left) sings. Other than that, the band gives very little indication that anything’s going on. Yet Ralf says that everything’s being done live and in real time. And in fact the band did have to suspend their Melbourne performance as Fritz was having heart trouble before the show, which suggests that they couldn’t have sent a robot to do his part.
It’s part of their act. They approach the making of music in a very workmanlike way. The ask very little of the audience, no requests to put your motherfuckin’ hands in the air, no jumping around, or any of that nonsense. And the audience gets to enjoy the music in their own way. Which they did. The crowd was really soaking up the hypnotic beats, enjoying the music as much as being in the presence of these techno pioneers.
Ms Perfect said it best: It’s like being able to say that you saw Mozart. I don’t think this is an overblown comparison. These men changed music forever, and it was a pleasure to see them at last, doing their thing in their own perfect way.
26 November 2008 at 3:13 pm
Daniel, If that photo were plastered across a t-shirt, I could see you wearing it in 1984. It screams Daniel. Bet you had fun. Kinda wish I could have been there. Heading over the pass today. Hope you have a faux-rific turkey day.