Photo by optionthis.
I should begin this post by saying that this isn’t the account of my impressions as a member of the audience. I wasn’t in Coachella, I didn’t see Kraftwerk perform live. I did, however, obtain a recording of the concert thanks to the series of tubes we call the Internet and this is what I think of it:
Kraftwerk played their fourth US show for 2008 on April the 26th at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Florian Schneider was absent, just like he had been for the rest of the tour, and the set list was a variation of that used in the tours before and after the release of Minimum-Maximum.
Set list: (Intro) / 1. The Man-Machine / 2. Planet Of Visions / 3. Numbers / 4. Computer World / 5. Tour De France / 6. Vitamin / 7. Autobahn / 8. Computer Love / 9. Showroom Dummies / 10. Radioactivity / 11. Trans Europe Express / 12. Metal On Metal / 13. The Robots / 14. Boing Boom Tschak + Music Non Stop
This time around, there is much less material from Tour De France Soundtracks (only the eponymous track and Vitamin), which is a shame, while the rest of the list is pretty similar to that of the previous tour. The usual thematic duos were there (tracks 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, 11/12, 14) and also present were Showroom Dummies and Computer Love, which have made a welcome return since 2006.
What struck me the most when I first listened to this concert was how quickly it was over. Everything somehow seems more concise, or, as I realised after listening more closely, abbreviated. It could be due to time restrictions, or the slightly faster tempo that is apparent on some of the tracks, or even Florian’s absence; most of the songs have also been rearranged, which results in different song structure. For example, Computer Love sounds very much like a rearranged version of the rendition found in The Mix. On average, each track is around one minute shorter than the Minimum-Maximum version. The sound is the standard sound of the recent tours with a few variations, so no major changes have been made there.
The Man-Machine sounds cold, without much enthusiasm or spirit, even for a quartet of robots. Defragmentation is probably in order. The KW sound and feel does come through to the ears of an avid listener, but I doubt anyone who approaches this music for the first time will find much interest in this particular performance. That is not to say of course that the concert is entirely without its merits; the alterations in sound and structure are interesting to any fan and, hey, this is another KW live. Unremarkable when compared to the dozens of amazing KW lives, but worth a listen or two.
Photo by yamchild.
Eugene Renfield, a friend and Kraftwerk listener, has kindly provided a second opinion:
On first listen, Coachella was disappointing; aurally vague (irrespective of the bootleg), hesitantly performed. But repeat listening revealed much nuance to appreciate in that diffuse soundscape: the Kraftwerk frisson somehow still crept in. And although little of it sounded special in any way, their unique musical qualities were still there to admire - with or without Florian Schneider in the lineup.
Trust another KW fan to smash your review with his minimalistic, three-sentence-long assessment of the concert.
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