Sonar 98 - Live in Barcelona - page 3

The drapes close again and then the usual time for the machines, with ‘The Robots' and ‘Robotronik', with mekanik dancing of the robots that had been covered by the screens during the show. I always look at the projected shades of the robots on the wall that amaze me.

The Robots dance. Photograph by: Emma Villega

Time for another encore with the new song now known as ‘Tribal', with the glowing suits. During that one, only a green square is displayed around the screens. Although part of the crowd cheers this one with enthusiasm, the new songs are not the best received.

And to end, ‘Musique Non Stop' with the usual time for improvisation. The four men leave the stage one by one, as in previous tours. No ‘Good night' or ‘Goodbye' from Ralf. Today, the final voice saying ‘Musique non stop...' never finishes. It's lasting for longer than usual... as if music was never to stop indeed.

And it is Kevorkian time again, but people have already listened and watched what they were here for. Most people abandon the pavilion and a few still have energies to dance after two hours of Kraftwerk concert!

I have really enjoyed the show: clear sound, good performance, some little improvements in songs, new graphics and images, the atmosphere. I haven't been bored at all.

On the media side, only a few photo-passes have been allowed by the band, and reporters have only been allowed to take photos during Man Machine. The same thing has happened with TV. The next-day, news programmes make a short review of the concert featuring brief images of "Man Machine". And newspaper reviews the next days are very positive.

On the gossip front, several electronic musicians from Spain are spotted in the show: Alaska (from Fangoria), Madelman, half of Esplendor Geométrico, half of Aviador Dro, Krypton (yes, what a coincidence with the intro-voice on Radio-Activity!). (No one of them are taking part in any of the events at SONAR 98). The next day, Ralf and Fritz visit the stalls at SONAR, with records, magazines, etc for sale. Florian is spotted at the Aux 88 show, as well as doing some sightseeing of the city. The next day, Ralf and Fritz visit the stalls at SONAR, with records, magazines, etc for sale.