Who
Kraftwerk
Where
Vienna Schonbrunn Palace
When
6th July 2024
Price
€77.75
Who with
No-one
Position
In the middle
Comments
Last year my plan to go wherever Kraftwerk took me had worked beautifully and had given me an opportunity to visit Limerick and Cork, and I was pretty determined to do the same in 2024. I also hoped to visit one of these special light projection shows, and the moment this was announced for Schonbrunn Palace I booked the time off work and got tickets as soon as they went onsale. Shockingly they never seemed to sell out, but I think the capacity is pretty high which perhaps explains that. I initially thought that I would head from Vienna down to Graz and Ljubljana before changing my mind and thinking that 5 nights in Vienna followed by 5 nights in Budapest would be ideal. This would be my fifth time seeing Kraftwerk but the first time in a German-speaking country, and the adverts for the show simulating what the performance would look like seemed totally epic. This did mean that my 11 year boycott of Austria over the Water Nazi incident at Vienna came to an end, which was thanks to some utter cunt selling me two bottles of water after airport security and failing to mention that an arbitrary second security barrier was ahead of me that didn't allow water through. I've rarely been so disgusted in all my life, but I was pleasantly surprised to find advertising at Vienna Airport making it clear that anything you buy from there can be taken onto the plane. I suspect that they'd received more complaints for their appalling actions and had actually changed the rules as a result. Also in other signs that Austria was finally leaving their Nazi past behind I saw that practically all of the attractions that arbitrarily banned photography had recently changed their rules to allow it. Really this visit was at an ideal time.

Kraftwerk initially announced multiple nights in Los Angeles, and after I committed to this show they announced another projection show in Dresden. Given that it would have been later in the year with cooler weather and an earlier sunset I could have been better seeing them there instead, but I made my choice and if anything the problem with it was simply that it was too amazing. Kraftwerk came on the first full day of my holiday and before the weather got silly, but as my holiday progressed it just got hotter every day, before being an unbearable 35 degrees daily by the time I reached Budapest. Also I felt I'd bitten off more than I could chew as Budapest I have repeatedly rewarded with the accolade of greatest city in the world, and Vienna was the city where after a holiday through Switzerland and the rest of Austria I just didn't have the energy to do justice to. On balance this trip has reminded me to avoid high summer and its heat and late sunsets, and also perhaps to not do two/three massive cities in a row. So I did come away feeling that I had seen a lot and enjoyed my time, but also that the original plan that I'd easily do Vienna and then have ample time for a day trip to Bratislava was totally unrealistic. I saved plenty of cash by investing in a 5 day Vienna card, which meant that almost every attraction I visited was pre-paid and so I could wander in, enjoy and leave as fast as I felt like and wouldn't have to weigh up the cost vs benefit. My decision was purely if the time was worth the effort or not. I also got a metro card for similar reasons, although my initial arrival to Vienna was tricky as my flight from Heathrow was delayed for no reason and on arrival I got the train the wrong way from the airport. It went one stop into the middle of nowhere before turning around and taking me on the journey I needed to take, but fortunately no-one was checking tickets and I didn't have to pay extra for a deeply unwanted extra journey.

By the time I got to the hotel I put on the air conditioning and chilled out, and it was fortunate that I'd booked an extra Friday off work so that I'd be settled in Vienna the day before my Kraftwerk show. And this seems a good place to say that I have only the texted notes to myself while I was waiting for Kraftwerk and any information I've added from my photos and videos to bolster them. It had taken me over four weeks from the concert to find the time to sit down and finally write this review up as I've been so busy. Visiting Europe has persuaded me that I should refocus on travelling abroad and although I found the trip exhausting, I also realise that there are so many places I want to visit that I should use every possible day of holiday to travel, ideally doing 2 weeks in Europe and 2 weeks in the UK each year until 2029, whereupon I may force myself back into longer trips to try and visit further even afield. The day of the show I focused on the Hofburg area, taking in the Sisi Museum, Imperial Crypt, Albertina Museum, Leopold Museum and MUMOK Modern Art Museum, as well as around five churches. It was an absurdly ambitious day and at the time of writing I'm still not convinced if my photos came out well enough, but I'm still not quite sure why. In fact Vienna was so fresh from putting their Nazi past behind them that some of these places still had the no photography signs plastered everywhere, and it was a joy that they had finally joined the 21st century and stopped being dicks. Also there was a nice cool breeze this day and being indoors a lot helped, although I did push myself too hard and wasn't able to find anywhere nice for breakfast, eventually enjoying a McDonald's to save myself from starvation. It was my first time in mainland Europe since the Netherlands in 2019, and I actually seemed to get more attention on Facebook than usual as a result. Given the money saved by the Vienna card and my regular visits to get fast food (mostly just to save time), I'm astonished that this ended up as probably my most expensive holiday ever, but I think inflation and pricey hotels were largely to blame for that.

I struggled a bit to get an evening meal as the McDonald's near my hotel turned out to be some weird takeaway-focused place that seemed deeply uninviting, but indeed the whole hotel area was something of a construction site as they were building a new metro line. But the room was pleasant and it also was on the same metro line as Schonbrunn Palace, so was overall very convenient. I'd decided to go for a pricier place rather than one with a shared bathroom or that was miles outside the city, and given the oppressive heat I definitely am glad I didn't waste time travelling to and from a hotel each day. Also a place with broken air conditioning would have killed me, much as my deeply unpleasant "1st class" train ride from Vienna to Budapest managed to do thanks to delays and broken air con. England were playing an ultimately futile quarter final in Euro 2024 and I half-watched the first half in my hotel room while donning my black Electric Cafe Kraftwerk top and swapping to an empty memory card for my camera and enjoying a desperately needed shower. I experienced a fast and quiet metro ride to the palace, getting off the train and following the crowds who magically knew where to go despite the total absence of any signage. There was no hassle getting in, they just asked to see that it was a camera in my neck bag and not a cheeky grenade. I wandered around and was a bit surprised that the show was in front of the palace on concrete and not in a garden setting. Two large seating stands had been set up near the back behind two large fountains, and although moshing on concrete wasn't a smart idea, for Kraftwerk I think it was safe enough to assume I would behave myself. The elevated stage and plastic dome you can see in the picture above was already set up, and the "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8" numbers were all lined up also. I was still hungry though so I joined a mysterious queue for erdapfelpuffer, eventually finding out that it was some kind of potato based snack. They didn't serve drinks though so I had to join another queue for a Coke, which seemed insanely expensive.

I initially thought I'd been conned but then realised that I had paid a deposit for the plastic cup, and I later returned for an Ottakringer beer. I started to feel a bit sick - perhaps from the stodginess of the food - but I resisted the urge to be sick and as the show approached I felt much better. And I've got to say that it was such a relief that this concert was early in my holiday, as I don't think I could have coped in the oppressive heat that made this day seem positively chilly by comparison. But even then, I was still worried that I would magically get sunburned despite the late evening light, although I wasn't quite paranoid enough to bring my sun hat out with me. A German couple praised me for my t-shirt in the food queue but quickly lost interest once they realised that I didn't speak a word of German. I had a good hour to kill as the metro and entrance to the venue had been so smooth, but I was quite happy to enjoy the locale and look forward to the show. The sun was setting far to the right of the venue and I had quickly flagged that a high summer show would mean a late sunset. Due to time difference, Vienna did not go dark stupidly late, but it was still quite bright at 9.15pm and there was still no sign of the band, who had been due onstage at 8.30pm. I read afterwards that they delayed their start due to how bright it was, and given that sunset times are entirely predictable this did not seem smart at all! If Kraftwerk had planned a bit better they would have scheduled this show for a cooler time of year and given me both a longer show and more pleasant temperature to enjoy my holiday in. There was no communication to explain the delay and I was surprised as I expected Kraftwerk to appear at 8.30pm to the second amid comical German punctuality. I returned my plastic cup and got 3 euros back in cash, and strategically chose my position so that my camera would be able to see all eight numbers in my line of sight. One thing I had correctly anticipated was that a light projection should would work brilliantly from further back in the venue, destroying the usual theory that being closer to the action is always the best.

I passed the time easily by making notes on my phone, but my internet failed completely as the crowd thickened, meaning that I was keeping up with England's penalties through a glimpse at someone else's also sporadic phone streaming of the match. I really don't know why I was bothering, I think I've set out my views well in my Lightning Seeds review, and I'm quite happy to not waste so much time watching England throwing it away. When you focus instead on music, you win every time! I saw a family wearing matching red shirts and black ties for the occasion and also noted plenty of Kraftwerk t-shirts on display. Crowds were gathered around the merchandise store so I didn't attempt to push my way in to a peek, and while waiting for the show to begin I spied a guy on the roof of the palace as well as plenty of people in one of the palace rooms, a window which remained open throughout the show whereas most of the palace was appropriately dark for the benefit of the projections. And in the end I think Kraftwerk delayed their start until the last possible moment of 9.25pm, taking into account how many songs they intended to play but also the presumed 11pm curfew. Some cool robotic voices declared their arrival in German before the numbers started flashing and Kraftwerk then appeared in glowing green suits as the projections kicked in. I recorded all of this glorious moment and posted it on Facebook afterwards, the video currently having 135 views. To be fair I'm sure most of them were me as I've watched it repeatedly. The sky was still quite bright but the green number projections looked wonderful, even if the numbers to the front of the stage fell out of sync once or twice. The show used the full width of the palace, although unusually left the top bit in total darkness. I do hope that I get to experience this show again in front of another building to compare and contrast the experience.

Next up was Computer World, or should I say Computerwelt since it was mostly in German? I recorded a video of the very end of Numbers going into it amid a lovely cheer from the crowd. Digital 0s and 1s were projected onto the screen, and although I don't think the show was quite a sell-out, there clearly was a large crowd with the good taste to attend. I shot my first phone video of the ending to capture yellow lights and great video and sound quality, but as it was getting darker it became harder to shoot well. Also my intentional distance from the stage meant that I wasn't really able to see the band properly, but on balance getting to see the width of the projections was the right decision. I shot another video of the Home Computer/It's More Fun To Compute introduction, as the band suits had now changed to some bright colours to accompany the primary colours on the screen. Die Mensch Maschine retained the English spelling of Machine on the screen as the letters were lit up, and the white, black and red colour scheme was most effective. I shot another lovely couple of videos, although now my phone was unable to do justice to the loud sound and the comparative darkness. Computer Liebe featured purple lights and a fairly minimalist light show, but much more exciting was the wonderful Autobahn! I recorded the intro of the bug car segueing to the motorway logo, and now it was full darkness and my camera could just about cope, although it blurred on the darker moments or when my zooming got a bit too frantic. I also recorded the intro of Radioactivity amid minimal lights, but this led to a cool effect of the band being suspended in mid air as only their suits were clearly lit up. I recorded the first verse but the Japanese lyrics made it less memorable for me, and my phone video couldn't really capture the sound near the end. This perhaps was the one song that lost the most compared to the English version.

Tour De France however is naturally in French so retained all of its appeal, although the idiotic girl on the shoulders of her friend was noticeably blocking the bottom of my video. Not so much ruining my view as being a very visible annoyance. My video captured red and blue alternating lights to represent the French flag, and I also zoomed in on Ralf singing but wasn't able to capture any details due to my distance from the stage. After a typically extended rendition was Trans-Europa Express, which as usual was difficult to film due to the minimalist lights of the train on screen. I shot a second video during Metal On Metal as it sounded really cool. By now I'd pretty much forgotten about Spacelab, and my video captured the intro of it amid blue lighting before the building was gradually illuminated to show us the spacecraft and the satellite coming in from the left of the palace. I think that they did their zooming in on Vienna, but amid the visual overload it wasn't quite as much of a standout moment as it usually is. Next up was a very German version of The Robots, or should I say Die Roboter? Sadly the robots didn't appear, but my video captured an absolutely stunning effect of light being flashed onto the band members faces to make them look like robots! The video screen featured robots dancing around but again the German lyrics made it harder to follow and my camera struggled to find its focus also. However I wouldn't say that it was disappointing, just that the projections had elevated the rest of the show so much that The Robots no longer stood out quite so much. The surprise of the evening was a rendition of La Forme, with a cool dark blue wavy effect and some words projected onto the palace with dreamy letterings. I shot another video and although it was hardly the new tune I wanted, it was well performed and greatly enhanced my appreciation of the song.

Time was running low though, and next up was Planet Der Visionenm with a simplistic neon green colour scheme on the projections and also their suits. It's a good tune but also a long one and I'd have preferred another surprise or two instead. But the grand finale and the 11pm curfew was approaching, and my camera recorded better than expected during the flashings of Boing Boom Tschak, although by now the screen didn't seem as bright as it could have done. It was a short version and Techno Pop was skipped over entirely as the band went straight into the finale of Musique Non Stop! By this point Ralf's suit had gone mental and was lighting up however it felt like, and I shot a final video on my phone to try and capture the moment. Kraftwerk departed the stage one at a time in usual fashion, and Ralf got a particular ovation before he exited. The lights came up and the palace was brightly lit up, which was much appreciated as it gave me a chance for some normal night photos so I wouldn't need to return here after sunset on the off chance that it is lit up properly and that I could have got close enough to see it. I have to reward this the usual Kraftwerk score of 9.5/10 as the sheer scope and ambition of the production was wonderful, and that offset the flaws such as the shortish setlist and the mistakes. I'm not entirely sure if Kraftwerk make more mistakes live than they used to, or if I'm simply so familiar with their shows now that I'm able to pick up on such small details?

Although my videos were cool, the quality of my photos was poorer than I hoped for, especially as it had got darker. Also Kraftwerk had not played The Model which was pretty gut wrenching, but I don't think that it was really a hit in the German-speaking world anyway? I certainly would have liked to have heard Airwaves and Electric Cafe, and I still had other hits such as Pocket Calculator and Showroom Dummies that I'm starting to doubt if I'll ever get to hear them live. Perhaps it's a sign that I need to take things even further and just attend a 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 sequence of concerts so I can really get to hear everything? It's a mad amount of effort but if Kraftwerk announce it for a decent location in 2025, I'm sure I will be very easily persuaded. I returned to Schonbrunn Palace two days later and they were still dismantling the stage, but by the time I left that evening it had nearly all gone. The Palace was so much better now they had lifted their Nazi no photography rules, although I still am concerned I missed a room or two despite paying for the enhanced tour with extra rooms that weren't on the basic tour included in my Vienna pass. Also the State Carriage Museum, Vienna Zoo and the nearby Vienna Museum Of Science & Technology mean that Schonbrunn is a genuinely astonishing day out, and I grossly underestimated just how much the Museum Of Science & Technology had to offer. I saw just the top floor but realised that I'll need another half a day to explore the rest. I could have spent longer in the zoo too but just took advantage of my free entry to pop in, have a brief wander and say hi to the pandas. I could talk for many paragraphs more about the wonderful sights I saw in Vienna and Budapest, and although the heat became deeply unpleasant, it has reaffirmed my appetite to explore mainland Europe and Kraftwerk remain the best possible activity to have planned a holiday around.
Setlist
Nummern
Computerwelt
Computerwelt 2
It's More Fun To Compute
Heimcomputer
Die Mensch Maschine
Computer Liebe
Autobahn
Geigerzahler
Radioaktivitat
Tour De France
Chrono
Etape 2
Trans-Europa Express
Metall Auf Metall
Abzug
Spacelab
Die Roboter
La Forme
Regeneration
Planet Der Visionen
Boing Boom Tschak
Musique Non Stop

Mark: 9.5/10