Amid a Multimedia Tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of their widely influential album Autobahn, Kraftwerk descended upon the majestic Kings Theatre in Brooklyn this past Thursday evening, March 13th. Often regarded as the innovators of electronic music who popularized the genre in the early-1970s, Kraftwerk were about to take the sold-out audience on a mind-bending, visual and sonic journey through their storied discography.

Photo Credit: Michael Dinger Photography

Aged in their late-70s, the foursome from Deutschlandcomprises co-founder and only consistent member of the band Ralf Hütter (vocals, synthesizers and keyboards), Henning Schmitz (keyboards and effects), Falk Grieffenhagen (electronic percussion) and Georg Bongartz (video engineer).

At 8:15 pm, a few stragglers aside, the capacity crowd was firmly planted in their respective seats because no one wanted to miss a second of the spectacle about to unfold. Moments later, the house lights suddenly went dark, and a roar of excitement swept through the historic, cavernous venue. As the lead track from Kraftwerk 2 (1972) played over PA system, “Kling Klang” (which is also the name of the band’s private music studio and record label headquartered in Düsseldorf), the four German heroes emerged stage left. Methodically, one-by-one, each took the stage in a robotic-like trajectory until docking at his designated control console equipped with the latest electronic gadgetry that would make the Wizard of Oz, behind his curtain, blush with jealousy.

The stage design embodied a minimalist aesthetic, featuring a synthesizer-computer bank occupied by four pedestals meticulously spaced center stage. The industrial motif was supplemented by a massive LED panel which sprang to life with jaw-dropping visual effects all night long. And if that wasn’t enough for you, the entire concert program was synced to the neon-lit suits donned by each machine man, flashing and changing colors and patterns in accordance with the theme for each of the 19 songs performed!

Having long ago already created the digital age soundtrack for the current century, Kraftwerk’s futuristic vision has always been ahead of its time, and we were all lucky enough to witness it live during a weeknight along Flatbush Avenue. While I did not feel the need to use my ear plugs (which I almost never forget to do), the music was loud and in your face, but not in an overly aggressive manner that you need to tone down if you want to be able hear the next day. Kraftwerk’s arrangements and use of innovative techniques deserved to be heard by the naked ear, with gorgeous pieces of instrumental music x melodic electronica x computerized rhythms, all accompanied by well-crafted, catchy vocals.

A setlist chock-full of one iconic number after another makes it extremely difficult to choose my personal, favorite compositions of the night. That said, one has to be the 2003 concept soundtrack “Tour de France / Tour de France Étape 3 / Chrono / Tour de France Étape 2,” a tribute to various stages of the prestigious cycling race that incorporated historical black and white video footage depicting men and their machines being pushed to their limits since 1903. “Radioactivity” (Radio-Activity, 1975), with its infectious synth-pop energy and anti-nuclear message, served as a grim reminder of past disasters in Chernobyl, Harrisburg, Fukushima, Sellafield and Hiroshima. Fan favorite “Autobahn” (1974) transported each concertgoer behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Beetle as it sped along the infamous highway system with no speed limit in sight.

Watch Kraftwerk perform the coda “Trans-Europe Express / Metal on Metal / Abzug,” originally released in 1976, below:

The German term “Gesamtkunstwerk,” which translates as a “total work of art,” is also how Kraftwerk’s show at Kings Theatre can best be described, which saw the quartet seamlessly fuse revolutionary soundscapes with performance art and technical innovations. Kraftwerk’s two-month long run of North American tour dates, which is also commemorating the band’s first tour of the United States in 1975, culminates in Dallas, Texas on April 24. Taking a respite in May, Kraftwerk will then be heading to Stockholm, Sweden on June 13 to play the Rosendal Garden Party festival, followed by a headlining gig at the Forever Now festival in Milton Keynes, England on June 22. The krautrockers’ remaining summer itinerary, which includes the better part of July and August, will see them at the top of the bill for festival appearances in Germany, Netherlands, Italy, France and Poland.

Setlist: Numbers / Computer World / Computer World 2 > Home Computer / It’s More Fun to Compute > Spacelab > Airwaves > Tango > The Man-Machine > Electric Café > Autobahn > Computer Love > The Model > Neon Lights > Geiger Counter > Radioactivity > Tour de France / Tour de France Étape 3 / Chrono / Tour de France Étape 2 > La Forme > Trans-Europe Express / Metal on Metal / Abzug > Encore: The Robots > Planet of Visions > Boing Boom Tschak / Techno Pop / Musique Non Stop