Walking into the Beacon Theatre for Kraftwerk’s March 14th, 2025 performance felt less like going to a rock show and more like stepping into some kind of living museum of electronic sound. The room had a different kind of buzz than the typical New York concert. Fans weren’t buzzing about whether there’d be deep cuts or surprise guests—they were talking about sequencers, sound design, and how Kraftwerk had basically invented the language that half the modern music industry speaks. The atmosphere was reverent but also charged with curiosity. Even after five decades of pushing boundaries, Kraftwerk remains a band you don’t just go see—you experience.
The stage was minimalist and futuristic all at once: four podiums, sleek visuals, projections that alternated between stark computer grids and retro-futuristic animations. The audience ranged from longtime die-hards who had been following the band since Autobahn first broke into the mainstream, to younger electronic music fans raised on techno, house, and EDM—genres that simply would not exist without these pioneers.
When the lights dimmed and the familiar opening tones of “Numbers / Computer World / Computer World 2” began to pulse through the room, the Beacon instantly transformed. That opening medley set the tone: clinical precision wrapped inside undeniable groove. Every sound felt intentional, every beat carrying decades of influence. You could hear the crowd reacting not with the wild screaming you’d get at a pop show, but with focused excitement, like they were watching a legendary architect draft the blueprints for the modern world.
The Setlist
Here’s the full setlist from the night:
Main Set:
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Numbers / Computer World / Computer World 2
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Home Computer / It’s More Fun to Compute
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Spacelab
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Airwaves
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Tango
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The Man-Machine
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Electric Café
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Autobahn
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Computer Love
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The Model
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Neon Lights
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Geiger Counter
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Radioactivity
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Tour de France / Tour de France Étape 3 / Chrono / Tour de France Étape 2
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La Forme
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Trans-Europe Express / Metal on Metal / Abzug
Encore:
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The Robots
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Planet of Visions
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Boing Boom Tschak / Techno Pop / Musique Non Stop
Diving into the Performance
“Home Computer / It’s More Fun to Compute” kept the flow going, a reminder of how prescient Kraftwerk always was. Back in the early ‘80s they were writing songs about personal computers when most people didn’t even have one in their home. Hearing it in 2025—when everyone in the room had a miniature supercomputer in their pocket—felt almost eerie. The song wasn’t just nostalgia, it was a mirror reflecting how far their vision stretched into the future.
“Spacelab” came next, and this was where the visuals really started to transport the room. Projections of satellites, star maps, and retro sci-fi rockets danced above the podiums, while the music built a slow, hypnotic pulse. It was one of those songs where you don’t even realize how deeply you’ve fallen into the trance until the last note fades.
The inclusion of “Airwaves” and “Tango” was a treat for long-time fans. These aren’t the obvious hits, but they showed off Kraftwerk’s ability to take simple rhythmic patterns and turn them into entire worlds. “The Man-Machine” followed with a more commanding presence—robotic, cool, but undeniably danceable. It’s a strange thing to feel joy from something so precise and mechanical, but that’s the paradox of Kraftwerk: they make machines sing.
“Electric Café” was a mid-set highlight. The track doesn’t get as much love as their bigger hits, but live it felt like a time capsule of the mid-80s, bridging the gap between Kraftwerk’s early experiments and the electronic dance movement they helped unleash. Then came “Autobahn,” which got one of the biggest reactions of the night. The sprawling road-trip epic condensed into a live performance that still carried its sweeping sense of motion. You could feel the room lock into that endless drive, the repetition becoming meditative.
“Computer Love” and “The Model” brought a softer, almost romantic dimension to the show. “Computer Love” in particular hit with an unexpected emotional weight—it’s a song about connection through technology, which in 2025 feels both heartbreakingly relevant and strangely timeless. “The Model,” meanwhile, had the crowd singing along, a rare moment of vocal participation at a Kraftwerk show. Its simplicity is deceptive; beneath the catchy surface lies sharp commentary about consumerism and image.
“Neon Lights” slowed things down beautifully. The glowing visuals and dreamy atmosphere turned the Beacon into an electric cityscape at night. It was one of the most atmospheric stretches of the show, the kind of performance that reminded you Kraftwerk isn’t just about rhythm—they’re about mood and vision.
“Geiger Counter” into “Radioactivity” marked a tonal shift. Suddenly the playful side of the show turned ominous. The visuals warned of nuclear danger, the beats carried a mechanical dread, and the entire room sat in a kind of uneasy awe. It wasn’t just music—it was political, it was cautionary, it was Kraftwerk reminding everyone that technology can be both salvation and destruction.
The “Tour de France” suite was one of the evening’s technical showcases. Layer after layer of rhythm clicked together like gears in a machine, while the cycling visuals turned the Beacon into a racetrack of pure motion. The crowd swayed like riders climbing a hill, and the sheer athleticism of the track—musically and conceptually—was thrilling.
“La Forme” was an unexpected deep cut, keeping the energy taut before the monumental “Trans-Europe Express / Metal on Metal / Abzug” closed out the main set. That medley remains one of the most perfect encapsulations of Kraftwerk’s vision: European identity, industrial precision, hypnotic rhythm. The Beacon pulsed like a factory floor reimagined as a nightclub.
When the group left the stage, the crowd erupted—not with wild cheering, but with the kind of sustained applause reserved for legends. Of course, they returned for the encore, and it was a powerhouse.
“The Robots” was everything fans wanted: robotic choreography, visuals of their iconic mannequin doubles, and that unmistakable rhythm that has echoed through techno clubs for decades. “Planet of Visions” followed, a newer addition that connected Kraftwerk’s past with the electronic future they inspired. And finally, “Boing Boom Tschak / Techno Pop / Musique Non Stop” brought the night to a close in a whirlwind of beats and visuals. The title said it all—it really did feel non-stop, a celebration of rhythm itself.
The Experience
What made the show so special wasn’t just the songs—it was the way Kraftwerk presented them. Every track had a visual identity, from the pulsing grids of “Numbers” to the cosmic landscapes of “Spacelab” to the neon skylines of “Neon Lights.” The band themselves were stoic presences behind their podiums, almost more like operators than traditional musicians. And that’s part of the magic. In a world where so many artists chase attention with theatrics, Kraftwerk reminds you that the real spectacle is the sound and the idea behind it.
It’s also worth noting how crisp and powerful the sound was. The Beacon Theatre is a historic venue with a warm, resonant acoustic, and Kraftwerk’s precision cut through it perfectly. Every beat landed with intention, every melody floated above the mix with clarity. For a band that has always treated sound design as sacred, this was the perfect environment.
Closing Thoughts
By the end of the night, the sense in the room was clear: Kraftwerk isn’t just a band you go to see, they’re an institution you go to witness. They don’t need to reinvent themselves every tour because their body of work already reinvented music itself. Every DJ, every producer, every synth-driven act of the last 40 years owes a debt to what Kraftwerk laid down.
The Beacon Theatre crowd left not just entertained but educated, reminded of how much of modern music flows directly from those mechanical beats and synthetic melodies. Kraftwerk has been called the “Beatles of electronic music,” and after watching them build an entire universe from rhythm and vision, it’s impossible to argue otherwise.
It wasn’t just a concert—it was history alive, pulsing through speakers, still sounding like the future.