Kraftwerk in Randers

I drove into the cozy Danish town of Randers with a few hours to spare before the show. As evening settled over the streets, I made my way to Værket, where everyone entering the venue was handed a pair of 3D glasses. It felt less like walking into a concert and more like volunteering for a scientific experiment.

After a trip hop set by Tosca and a selection of tracks from DJ Mike Salta, the anticipation became almost tangible. This was one of Kraftwerk’s first tours to incorporate 3D visuals, and nobody really knew what to expect. Given the band’s reputation for precision, expectations were understandably high.

Kraftwerk in Randers, Denmark.

Then the lights went down. The curtain lifted, revealing the four Germans standing exactly where everyone expected them to be. Ralf Hütter occupied his familiar position to the left, flanked by three perfectly aligned minions bandmates, each standing almost unnaturally still behind their consoles. If any band has managed to turn minimal movement into an art form, it’s Kraftwerk.

They opened with “The Man-Machine”, hardly a surprising choice, but then again, some songs never need an excuse.

Kraftwerk in Randers, Denmark.

The concert unfolded with the mechanical precision that has defined Kraftwerk for decades. Every sound, every image and every movement felt meticulously calculated. It wasn’t until the encore that the long-awaited 3D effects truly came into their own. First came the iconic robots marching toward the audience, followed by the glowing wireframe suits floating through the room. The effect was occasionally entertaining, although the technology still felt more like a fascinating preview than a fully realized experience.

Tschernobyl. Harrisburgh. Sellafield. Hiroshima.

Then again, perhaps that’s beside the point. Kraftwerk have spent more than four decades perfecting the art of doing almost everything exactly the same, while somehow remaining decades ahead of everyone else. Seeing them embrace new technology, even cautiously, felt strangely refreshing.

Some bands reinvent themselves every few years. Kraftwerk simply updates the operating system.