Live Review: Kraftwerk at Paramount Theatre 7/1/14

What I'm about to write sounds corny — let's just get it out of the way right now that I know that. I know the Kraftwerk catalog like the back of my hand, but, I have to say, despite this lifelong familiarity, seeing them live for the first time ever, and in 3-D, no less, I felt like I was experiencing their songs anew.

When I interviewed their founding member Ralf Hütter back in May, he explained that this how they had always wanted their music to be experienced: "The music and visuals, they are synchronized and operate in a live situation. That was an old dream of ours now, which has come true." And it's mind-blowing. And humbling. Here's a band who've been performing these songs for forty years now, and they still find new ways to present them.

This was my first time to see Kraftwerk, so bear with me. Apparently, they've performed in front of video projections of these images for a long time now, but this was my first time to experience the accompanying animation, and it really does make the songs resonate in a whole new way.

Their 1976 single "Radioactivity" took on a whole new heaviness, with Ralf singing the opening verses in Japanese, and changing the lyric to "Chernobyl, Harrisburg, Sellafield, Fukushima" as hazard symbols float eerily in front of you in 3-D. It was absolutely haunting.

And then for 1974's "Autobahn," the animation became as bright and cheerful as an old Atari driving game, with Volkswagen Bugs and BMWs gliding along the infamous speedway. It's like an 8-bit version of Emil Schult's original album cover painting. DJ Kevin Cole had a beautiful thought about how the cars represented the band, traveling down this road of the music business, and something something something. I kinda zoned out; I was too amused that the animated Volkswagen exited a road called "Ausfahrt" at the end of the clip.

I asked Ralf if they had animators commissioned for the clips, and he quickly replied, "We made them!"

Me: "Whaaaaat?!"Him: (simply, humbly) "Of course."

And, duh, OF COURSE. I've been a lifelong proponent of the D.I.Y. movement, and it never really occurred to me 'til that night: Kraftwerk are the kings of D.I.Y. Apparently back in the day, they'd create their own instruments. They built their famed Kling Klang studios. So, of course, they'd take nose to the grindstone and learn how to build 3-D animations of their old films. When their tour bus breaks down, I bet they climb out with wrenches and screwdrivers and get to work. When a seam in their 3-D jumpsuit frays, they whip out needle-and-thread and patch it on up. They're KRAFTWERK, dammit! They are the man machine!

And, animations aside, the band are still clearly having fun on stage. Sure, they could pre-record everything and just hang-out behind those giant podiums playing Candy Crush Saga, but no. These guys are recreating their classic songs in real-time for you. At the end of their show that night, each musician got a spotlight where they did a "solo" on their synthesizers, and it was nuts. In that aforementioned KEXP interview with Ralf, he humbly said they, "switch the switches, turn the knobs, pedal the pedals, fade the faders..." but to do it with such precision is incredible! And as each member of Kraftwerk took the spotlight for their bow, Ralf stood behind his podium, just beaming! It was absolutely adorable and heartwarming, and I couldn't help but beam with pride, too. How beautiful it is that the band continue to re-invent their music, and continue to challenge themselves with technology, forty years down the road. Whether it's a brand-new album, or just the next new vision of one of their old songs, I truly cannot wait to see what Kraftwerk does next.