Kraftwerk

The Catalogue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Concert 8 of 8: Tour De France

Paradiso
Amsterdam
The Netherlands

23rd January 2015 (2015-01-23)


RECORDING:

Type: Audience master, recorded 2 metres back from the front of the stage,
dead centre, between Henning Schmitz and Fritz Hilpert.

Source: Factory-matched pair of Schoeps CCM 41V microphones (DINa mounted) ->
Marantz PMD661 recorder with Oade Concert Mod
(-18 dB gain/44.1 kHz/24 bit WAV)

Lineage: Audacity 2.0.6
* Applied Bass and Treble Tool (-1 dB Bass, +6 dB Treble).
* Amplified left channel by 0.3 dB.
* Applied Click Removal effect to attenuate applause (Threshold
200/Max Spike Width 40).
* Applied variable envelope amplification across recording for
consistent listening experience.
* Added fades.
* Split tracks.
* Converted to 16 bit.
-> FLAC (compression level 8) [libFLAC 1.3.1 20141125]

Taper: Ian Macdonald (ianmacd)


SET LIST:

01. [00:42] [intro]
02. [04:22] Tour De France 1983
03. [00:27] Prologue
04. [03:53] Tour De France Étape 1
05. [01:05] Chrono
06. [05:28] Tour De France Étape 2
07. [06:09] Vitamin
08. [06:17] Aéro Dynamik
09. [04:44] Elektro Kardiogramm
10. [06:19] La Forme
11. [01:07] Régéneration
12. [00:22] Intermission
13. [01:09] News
14. [00:31] Geiger Counter
15. [06:28] Radioactivity
16. [05:28] Spacelab
17. [03:42] The Model
18. [06:00] Neon Lights
19. [05:11] The Man-Machine
20. [03:11] Numbers
21. [03:17] Computer World
22. [06:05] Home Computer
23. [05:57] Computer Love
24. [00:36] [banter]
25. [03:20] Trans-Europe Express
26. [00:46] Abzug
27. [03:13] Metal On Metal
28. [01:04] [encore break]
29. [07:51] The Robots¹
30. [01:18] [encore break]
31. [04:50] Planet Of Visions
32. [02:32] Boing Boom Tschak
33. [02:45] Techno Pop
34. [07:46] Musique Non Stop
35. [01:23] [encore break]
36. [15:11] Autobahn

Total running time: 140:46

¹ Band off-stage, replaced by robots. Music pre-programmed.

NOTES:

We're all the way through to the final instalment of Kraftwerk's eight night
residency at the Paradiso and it's the turn of the band's most recent studio
album, the 10½ year old 'Tour De France', to be the focus of attention.

I was expecting to feel exhausted by this stage of the proceedings, but I have
to say that I'm actually fresher after seven gigs than I was after three.

I collect another wristband and my final pair of 3D glasses and, already
feeling a little wistful, head into the Paradiso to rig up for the show.

I check in with Jürgen from Frankfurt and Wibo from Rotterdam, shake hands
with the two Germans from Leipzig (I can't remember their names) and say hello
to the Parisian woman who travelled here alone for these eight gigs after
seeing all eight of the Paris residency last November.

It's starting to feel like a family affair, but that will come to an abrupt
end tonight, when we all disperse to the four winds again.

It was back in 1983 that Kraftwerk scored a moderate commercial hit with the
original 'Tour De France' single, but it would take another 20 years for
Hütter and cohorts to realise an entire album around the theme.

This is one of my favourites of the band's albums. It's certainly also one of
the most thematically consistent.

If you're familiar with the album's track list, you might be wondering where
'Tour De France Étape 3' is in tonight's show. Well, as far as I can tell,
it's not played; at least, not really played.

Kraftwerk have the tricky and confusing habit of reusing musical phrases
across multiple tracks, so whilst there are certainly themes from 'Étape 3'
present in tonight's set, they're more obviously ascribed to other tracks.

'Titanium', too, isn't really played. Although it's really just a slower
variation of 'Aéro Dynamik', I can't hear any evidence of it in that track
as played tonight.

All in all, this means that tonight's execution of the album is a good 15
minutes shorter than its studio counterpart.

As for the 'best of' section of the show, 'Airwaves' once again vacates the
premises for the welcome return of 'Neon Lights'.

There are a couple of surprises during the show tonight.

Firstly, Ralf Hütter addresses the Paradiso in very good Dutch to announce
that 'Trans-Europe Express' was performed in public for the first time in this
very venue, all the way back in 1976.

Just listen to the roar of the crowd when they realise that Hütter is actually
about to speak. You'd think the clouds were parting and that the old man with
the grey beard was about to address them.

Secondly, 'Autobahn' is conspicuously skipped during the main set. It turns
out to have been saved for a third encore, the only night on which one is
given. Not only that, but it's the vastly more satisfying 14 minute version,
too. That makes this evening's concert the longest of the residency by quite a
margin.

I hadn't bargained on that. Luckily, I'm running a new set of rechargeable AA
batteries that I've fully burned in, and which are thus working at maximum
capacity, so the show is never in danger.

That really would be quite a pisser, if I managed to blow the recording of the
residency at this late stage by running out of batteries during the final song
of the final night's performance.

This superb rendition of 'Autobahn' is a magnificent and fitting climax to not
just another fantastic concert, but to what has been an amazing residency from
start to finish. Here, exactly one week ago, Kraftwerk kicked off the first
show with 'Autobahn'. A week later, they close the eighth and final show with
the same song.

I can hardly express how much I've enjoyed these eight shows, and the
experience has been significantly enhanced by the fans I've met along the way.

Once again, the recording was made under the same conditions and with the same
parameters as the previous ones. The mastering is again (almost) identical, as
is the resultant listening experience.

As always, samples are included to allow you to try before you buy. If you've
downloaded any of the others in the series, however, you already know what to
expect.

Scans of the ticket and both sides of the glasses envelope are also included.

With this, my ambition to document a full catalogue, eight show Kraftwerk
residency with consistent sound and in excellent quality comes to fruition.

It's given me an immense amount of satisfaction to compile and present this
set of recordings. I hope people will continue to enjoy them for years to
come.

"Es wird immer weiter gehen."

Images for all shows as well as full size images for this show.

Images for this show: