Early in their recent set at The Anthem in DC, German electronic quartet Kraftwerk studiously performed a hypnotic rendition of their composition “Spacelab,” which appears on the 1978 album The Man-Machine. The accompanying visual to the instrumental track followed a UFO as it circled the earth and swooped into Washington, DC.
In a thrilling movement of customization, the video spacecraft crossed the National Mall and then landed in front of The Anthem, alighting at the very music venue where Kraftwerk were now appearing, complete with their name on the concert hall’s marquee.
The audience cheered the clever animation, but Kraftwerk truly had everyone’s rapt attention from the very start of the show, when the four men walked solemnly to their stark synthesizer stations and proceeded to play “Numbers” and “Computer World” — two massively iconic synthpop numbers from the brilliant mind of Kraftwerk leader and original composer Ralf Hütter. At The Anthem on March 16, Hütter stood warmly if stoically at stage right, adorned with a headset into which he sang, “Interpol and Deutsche Bank, FBI and Scotland Yard.”
Throughout the night, Kraftwerk smartly and simply presented catchy and inventive songs from across the definitive eight-album set known as The Catalogue. Nothing went to waste in the concert, which ingeniously carried the audience away on pleasing synth melodies. While the performance was part of a tour marking 50 years of 1974’s Autobahn, I would say The Man-Machine was the star of the show. After the aforementioned “Spacelab,” Kraftwerk later played the album’s title track, as well as “The Model” before kicking off their very danceworthy encore with “The Robots.”
There is a sophisticated economy of beats and words even in “The Model,” perhaps the most traditional of Kraftwerk songs with its orthodox pop verse structure and subject matter. And Kraftwerk knew how to keep the audience grooving, and groove we did.
Watch the official music video for “The Model” by Kraftwerk on YouTube:
Kraftwerk maintained a consistent order where you feel you are witnessing the same phenomenon throughout the 21st century incarnation of the band, but the group also injected vivid imagination into its performance. Hütter, the remaining founder of the band after the passing of Florian Schneider in 2020, ran a tight ship at The Anthem. Each member of the band wore matching outfits that lit up as part of the electronic circuit that ran between men and synthesizers. Accompanying Hütter were Henning Schmitz, who has been a member of the band since 1991. And interestingly, Kraftwerk has now moved Falk Grieffenhagen, formerly live video technician, to electronic percussion and hired new live video technician Georg Bongartz as a totally new member in 2023.
All four men came together in electronic excellence at The Anthem. And again while the four were dispassionate on stage, they displayed their inventiveness through the sound and vision of the Kraftwerk multimedia show. The closing medley that began with “Boing Boom Tschak” from 1986’s Electric Café. The live visions brought the song to life, and the gents nicely brought everything together with the blend of “Boing Boom Tschak,” “Techno Pop,” and “Musique Non Stop” to wrap the encore.
Kraftwerk were in top form, and the show was a smash. It moved right by; two hours seemed to pass in a blink! And I personally enjoyed this show much better than the 3-D show that Hütter and his bandmates toured throughout the 2010s. Kraftwerk have a full USA tour through April 24, when they close out in Dallas, and I highly recommend you catch them live!
Here are some photos of Kraftwerk performing at The Anthem on March 16, 2025. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.
