Thanks to ianmacd for sharing his recording on Dime.
First performance, 18th October 2013 (2013-10-18) at 19:00
RECORDING:
Type: Audience master, recorded standing at the balustrade of the lowest
circle, in front of the soundboard and directly opposite the stage;
approximately 15 metres back from the overhead PA.
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 2.0.4
* Amplified right channel by 1 dB.
* Applied variable amplification across recording for consistent
listening experience.
* Attenuated audience noise.
* Added fades.
* Split tracks.
* Converted to 16 bit.
-> FLAC (compression level 8) [libFLAC 1.3.0 20130526]
Taper: ianmacd
SET LIST:
01. [01:58] [intro]
02. [05:45] Spacelab
03. [07:40] The Robots
04. [05:03] Metropolis
05. [03:14] Numbers
06. [03:13] Computer World
07. [06:09] Home Computer
08. [04:55] Computer Love
09. [05:26] The Man-Machine
10. [03:42] The Model
11. [05:56] Neon Lights
12. [07:28] Autobahn
13. [04:01] Tour De France
14. [00:27] Prologue
15. [03:46] Tour De France Étape 1
16. [01:11] Chrono
17. [05:22] Tour De France Étape 2
18. [06:13] Airwaves
19. [00:23] Intermission
20. [01:07] News
21. [00:31] Geiger Counter
22. [06:06] Radioactivity
23. [03:11] Ohm Sweet Ohm
24. [03:20] Trans-Europe Express
25. [00:46] Abzug
26. [03:34] Metal On Metal
27. [02:32] Boing Boom Tschak
28. [02:45] Techno Pop
29. [07:54] Musique Non Stop
30. [00:54] [encore break]
31. [06:51] Aéro Dynamik
32. [08:32] Planet Of Visions
Total running time: 130:12
NOTES:
Yesterday, I hadn't seen Kraftwerk live in 22 years. Today, it's been only 24
hours.
Like yesterday, I have a ticket for the early show, which dictates leaving
Amsterdam with enough time to get to Eindhoven before the venue opens its
doors.
Today, that proves tricky. There's a lot of traffic en route, possibly because
it's Friday, possibly because the autumn school holiday has just begun; I
don't know.
I come to a standstill several times and observe the minutes steadily being
added to my projected arrival time. Fortunately, the road eventually clears up
further south around Den Bosch, and I even pull a couple of minutes back.
I ultimately arrive at 17:30 again, but this time without the 26 km detour
that I inadvertently took yesterday. I studied the map prior to leaving this
time and figured out where my sat-nav system had given me an unclear
instruction yesterday.
Again, there's quite a mass of bodies forming outside the Evoluon, so I
quickly add my volume to it. Like yesterday, there's no time to eat
beforehand, so dinner will have to be after the show again. Perhaps a taper is
a kind of artist and must suffer for his art.
I'm one of the first through the doors this time, but like yesterday, I need
the toilet. I know the situation inside the auditorium this time and I want a
spot right at the balustrade, so I only half set up my gear in the loo and
then waste no time getting downstairs for the ID check.
A blue wristband is fitted next to yesterday's red one and a new pair of 3D
glasses are handed to me. With that, I'm on my way outside to the second
building, this time not stopping to peruse the merchandise stand.
I flash my wristband at the man on the door of the second building, rush
inside, up the stairs, through the doors and up the second flight of stairs.
Out of breath, I arrive on the circular landing and survey the scene. There's
almost no-one else here yet and the balustrade has just a couple of people
standing at it.
Yesterday, I had to settle for the second row, as it were, standing behind the
people who had beaten me to the balustrade. Today, however, the first part of
my mission has been accomplished and I stand in an absolutely ideal location:
directly opposite the stage and with no-one in front of me, thanks to the
gigantic hole in the ground around which this landing is built.
I chat to a nice Belgian couple for the next hour. As I had parked the car
outside, I had noticed a few Belgian number-plates in the car-park and rather
a lot of German ones. Indeed, I can hear German voices on either side of me
now. Clearly, the old British stereotype of the Germans getting to the beach
before anyone else has some basis in fact.
Evoluon was hand-picked for these concerts by Ralf Hütter himself. It's not a
conference centre and not normally used for gigs.
Perhaps it's the circular arrangement inside the Evoluon that made this place
a logical choice for the band. Apparently, their 3D sound system requires the
ability to surround the audience with speakers, and that's something they have
certainly managed to achieve here.
Just after 19:00, the now familiar glass lift rises from the ground floor with
the band clearly visible inside. They take their places behind the iconic
techno-lecterns and away we go.
What follows is more or less a repeat of yesterday evening, give or take a few
nuances.
I had hoped for at least some minor variation in the set tonight, given the
nature of the shows the band performed earlier this year in Düsseldorf and
London, but it's not to be. Obviously, all four shows at Evoluon will comprise
the same set.
It doesn't matter, though. This being only my third Kraftwerk gig in 22 years,
a replay of yesterday's gig isn't going to sacrifice any of its appeal.
If I'm not much mistaken, the sound is subtly different tonight. There's a
slightly richer low end. I'm only centimetres away from the spot where I stood
yesterday, so that doesn't explain it.
I'm informed that the 3D sound is mixed and balanced live by the sound
engineer, using an iPad. That might explain why I notice some sudden shifts in
sound at both of these concerts.
There's noticeably less chatter from the audience this evening. Yesterday,
there had been a lot of people who clearly had no idea how to behave at a
public performance, people of an age that they really ought to have known
better. I suspect that they were not regular gig-goers and came more out of
curiosity than anything else.
Idly chatting to each other during the songs and taking pictures with their
point-and-shoot cameras without first silencing the sampled shutter sound,
such people are oblivious to the disturbance they create until a firm
statement jolts them out of their apathetic stupor.
Honestly, if I were in power, I'd throw the peasants from the balcony.
But I digress. There's a pleasant dearth of such annoyances in my immediate
vicinity this evening.
Two hours and ten minutes later, it's all over and I have enjoyed myself
immensely yet again. Both gigs rate for me amongst the very best of the year,
but are so different to everything else I've seen this year that any
comparison feels awkward.
Both yesterday and today, some people didn't even wait for the end of the
show, adding to my sense that quite a few people are here more out of
curiosity than out of love of the music.
It's absolutely beyond me how anyone could leave this show before the final
note has been played, but I can see them from the balustrade, collecting their
coats from the cloakroom and heading for the exit with no more regard for the
music still being performed than I would have when exiting a muzak-filled
lift.
Sometimes I think I'm related to the human race only by marriage.
The merchandise stand downstairs does brisk business again as Evoluon empties
in preparation for the second show of the evening. The posters printed for
these two evenings have already sold out.
Outside, a mass of punters queue for the next show. They're in for a real
treat.
I've had my fill, however. I wouldn't need to see the exact same show a third
time, especially if it meant driving to Eindhoven for it. I bought my first
Kraftwerk record 35 years ago at the tender age of 11 and I love this band,
but with little to no activity on stage, the live experience is as much like
watching a film as it is a band.
A massive queue of punters is standing at the entrance, waiting to be allowed
inside for the second show of the evening.
It's another cholesterol-filled snack van dinner for me, and then I drive back
to Amsterdam, arriving home before 23:00. Nice.
Again, this is a recording that I was aching to get absolutely right on the
night; and I think I managed to.
Like my recording of yesterday's show, the sound is excellent, albeit subtly
different. I can't claim to have captured the 3D nature of the sound for you,
but I can, at least, promise you a good stereo image.
If you only want to download one show, listen to the samples and base your
decision on that. This recording features less chatter from the audience
around me (virtually none, in fact), but yesterday's didn't have enough to
make that a decisive factor, either.
One thing is for certain: at least one of these two recordings should be in
your collection. This is absolutely essential listening.
As always, samples are included in the comments to ease the decision-making
process.
For the sake of completeness, I'll conclude by repeating yesterday's notes
regarding how the recording has been tracked:
'Prologue' appears as a distinct track on the 'Tour De France Soundtracks'
album, but is included as part of 'Tour De France Étape 1' on the band's
official live album, 'Minimum-Maximum'. I have elected to track it separately
here.
'Tour De France Soundtracks' features three such 'étape' tracks, which form a
seamless whole. What was performed tonight, however, was an amalgam of all
three, bridged by 'Chrono'.
I have therefore tracked the two 'étape' halves as 'Tour De France Étape 1'
and 'Tour De France Étape 2', even though they also contain parts of 'Tour De
France Étape 3'. Others have chosen to track the entire extended piece as
'Tour De France 2013', but I wanted to be more precise.
Finally, I have separately tracked 'Abzug' as per the German release of
'Trans-Europe Express' and the international reissues of that album. The
version performed here is very short, but still distinct from 'Metal On
Metal', so I have chosen to reflect that in the tracking.
Please see the notes that accompanied my recording of yesterday's early show
for more background to these concerts.
Some reviews (in Dutch) of the concerts:
http://www.writteninmusic.com/electronic/kraftwerk-betovert-evoluon/lang/nl/
http://www.ed.nl/extra/muziek/kraftwerk-schept-surrealistische-sfeer-in-evoluon-1.4057064
http://mousique.wordpress.com/2013/10/18/concertverslag-kraftwerk-evoluon-eindhoven-17-oktober-2013/
http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/200992952/Kraftwerk+in+Evoluon+Eindhoven+de+fotos+van+de+eerste+twee+concerten.aspx
http://www.bd.nl/regio/brabant/kraftwerk-optreden-in-evoluon-is-geweldig-1.4058625
http://www.dichtbij.nl/eindhoven/regionaal-nieuws/artikel/3104593/boing-boom-tschak-kraftwerk-in-evoluon-fotos-social-report.aspx
http://www.filefactory.com/file/5730wpoelnph/2013108krafeind_rar
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