Outside Event - Kraftwerk

On April 20th I attended the Kraftwerk concert at the Eagles Ballroom. The show I saw was a combination of sound, visual, and presentational elements. Kraftwerk is one of the pioneering bands of electronic music they focus on how to capture the sound of a certain subject. They began by creating their own instruments such as electronic drum pads and various sound boards for altering their electronic tone. They were considered to be minimalists and experimental especially back in the early 70s. Their music was a new idea at the time that many people were unfamiliar with. Their style of minimalism and creating a visual with music was evident in the song Aerodynamic. When this song was performed it had what one would visualize as a smooth, fast sound that wasn't being slowed down by anything. This idea was also strengthened with the visualizations that one of the members were controlling. They showed bikers pedaling keeping a low profile and minimal wind resistance. The visual part of Kraftwerk's show is also very interesting. While they perform they project video clips that they created in their studio, which one of the members controls during the show. They also replace themselves with robots for the song We are the Robots. At the end of the show they also changed outfits and had black suits that had a flourescent green grid covering them. It became hard to see the performers except for the grid that moved and their face. It was a great effect. The presentational aspect of the show also can't be overlooked. Kraftwerk is four members and they space themselves evenly in the center of the stage. Their images are at times silhouetted against the projections behind them or at the beginning of the show it was silhouetted against a curtain in front of them. The image of the four performers evenly spaced behind their workstations is what Kraftwerk developed as their symbol.