May's concert to die for: KRAFTWERK!!!!!!!!

unbelievable! techno/synthesizer/electro/modern rock/keyboard/trance/dance pioneers Kraftwerk, one of the most influential bands in the history of music, are coming to the 9:30 Club in Washington DC on May 30 and May 31... 9:30 club shows as of late have been selling out quickly and consistently so these tickets must be snapped up... Kraftwerk rarely gets out of Germany... a ton of music wouldn't exist without these innovators... much music from the late 1970s and early 1980s that ended up influencing entire generations of musicians is hard to envision without these german krautrockers... for example, David Bowie's pioneering "Station to Station" released in 1976 (the title track is definetly a rip on "Autobahn".. instead of car and highway noises Bowie uses trains..) - its open to debate wether Kraftwerk returned the "favor" with the train themed "Trans Europa Express" in 1977- and the so called Eno triology (my favorite Bowie album "Low"), or Joy Division ("Love will tear us apart") and their successor New Order (the entire "Power Corruption and Lies" album revolves around kraftwerkian synths..)..New Order's lead singer and guitarist Bernard Sumner went so far as to recruit Kraftwerk's Karl Bartos for his 1990s side project the aptly named Electronic..of course, early 80s synth bands such as depeche mode and erasure owe a big dept to krafwerk (vince clarke was critical to both)... Depeche Mode should pay Kraftwerk royalties on their first few albums..

lest i give the impression kraftwerk is only about synths, kraftwerk's early albums "autobahn" and "trance europe express" (a concept album about europe) explored an emerging "european" identity on the title tracks and "europe endless"

the all music guide sums up their reach:

During the mid-'70s, Germany's Kraftwerk established the sonic blueprint followed by an extraordinary number of artists in the decades to come. From the British new romantic movement to hip-hop to techno, the group's self-described "robot pop" — hypnotically minimal, obliquely rhythmic music performed solely via electronic means — resonates in virtually every new development to impact the contemporary pop scene of the late- 20th century, and as pioneers of the electronic music form, their enduring influence cannot be overstated.

check out wikipedia's entry on kraftwerk here

Anyhow, this is exciting- the story from the Pitchfork Media site:


Kraftwerk Announce Tour of U.S., Europe

Rob Kleckner reports:
Kraftwerk have announced a brief U.S. tour beginning next month. In what will be their first U.S. appearances since a stop in Miami last November, the tour will begin in Washington D.C. on May 30. There will be six dates in the U.S., followed by a longer tour throughout Europe, including a number of the major European festivals. Something about seeing Kraftwerk at a place called the Kalemegdan Fortress sounds incredibly awesome-- or frightening. Either way, here's the schedule:

05-30 Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club
05-31 Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club
06-01 New York, NY - Hammerstein
06-02 Detroit, MI - State Theatre
06-04 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
06-06 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
06-11 Venice, Italy - Biennale Palagalileo
06-13 Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro - Kalemegdan Fortress
06-14 Sofia, Bulgaria - Palace of Culture
06-16 Skopje, Macedonia - Skopsko Lizgaliste
06-17 Thessaloniki, Greece - Theatro Gis
06-18 Athens, Greece - Lycabettus
06-20 Istanbul, Turkey - Rock Istanbul festival
06-30 Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter festival
07-03 Belfort, France - Eurockeennes
07-04 Montreux, France - Montreux Jazz Festival

* Pitchfork Review: Kraftwerk: Tour de France Soundtracks
* Kraftwerk: http://www.kraftwerk.com/