Live Report: Kraftwerk prove they are still ahead of their time at Bord Gáis Energy Theatre

For over five decades, German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk have shaped the sound and aesthetic of modern music, influencing everything from synth-pop to techno. Bringing their Multimedia Tour to Dublin on Sunday night, the four-man constellation feels less like a nostalgia act and more like a machine still operating at full capacity.

The Bord Gáis Energy Theatre makes for an interesting setting. With its fixed seating and warm lighting, it differs from the atmosphere normally associated with the dance-orientated genres Kraftwerk inspire. Instead, the venue feels formal, more suited to a theatre production than a rave. Perhaps it's more in line with the group’s German roots, where audiences tend to observe rather than explode.

 

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At exactly 8pm, four men dressed in black step onto a stripped-back stage, each positioned behind a minimalist console. Behind them, an enormous LED wall flickers to life, flooding the room with light. The opening sequence, a fusion of ‘Numbers’/ ‘Computer World’/ ‘Computer World 2’, arrives with thundering clarity as streams of binary code race across the screen.

Kraftwerk appear absorbed into their own system. Movement is minimal, limited to the pressing of pedals and occasional glances toward the audience. Their glowing suits blend into the shifting visuals behind them, to the point where the musicians seem to dissolve into the digital landscape itself.

The set unfolds like a carefully planned strategy. Tracks from Computer World set the foundation, with it’s synthetic rhythms and vocoder vocals. ‘Airwaves’ gives extra momentum, while the run of ‘The Man-Machine’, ‘Electric Café’ and ‘Autobahn’ have the audience on the edge of their seats. Midway through the show, the band acknowledges Dublin in typical Kraftwerk fashion: during ‘Spacelab’, a UFO appears onscreen before descending directly into the Bord Gáis Theatre.

The visuals elevate the performance from concert to multimedia experience. A Volkswagen Beetle cruises across motorways, trains ace through the screen during songs from Trans-Europe Express, while cycling imagery dominates those from Tour de France Soundtracks. At times, it feels less like watching a live show and more like watching a movie with Kraftwerk providing the score.

 

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The emotional high point arrives when frontman Ralf Hütter introduces a tribute to late collaborator Ryuichi Sakamoto. Their rendition of ‘Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence’ strips away the mechanical elements. The sound becomes softer and more fragile, while the visuals fade almost completely into darkness. Any softness quickly disappears once ‘Radioactivity’ arrives. Its Morse code-like pulses cut sharply through the theatre and its anti-nuclear message feels as relevant now as ever.

While the audience remains engaged, the atmosphere never fully breaks loose. Kraftwerk themselves do little to encourage interaction, occasionally leaving the crowd uncertain about how to respond. The distance between performer and audience might be deliberate, but it risks making parts of the show emotionally remote.

The most human moment comes at the end of the two-hour set during’ Musique Non Stop’. Each member leaves the stage one by one, bowing and acknowledging the audience, before returning for encore ‘The Robots’. Still, the final synchronised bow proves they stay systematic until the very end.