Photos by Andy Argyrakis

As pioneers of the entire electronic music movement dating back to the early 1970s, Kraftwerk’s importance is off the charts and it was laughably ludicrous that it took until 2021 for the German geniuses to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Nonetheless, it was enough to coax the somewhat reclusive “robot pop” foursome to revive its immensely acclaimed “3-D” concert video for the road, including a sold out stop at the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom.

Accompanied by the recent “Remixes” project, Kraftwerk mirrored aspects of the aforementioned DVD, while also picking up where it left off to deliver nearly two hours of icy cool grooves over enthralling visuals.

As the audience put on the glasses that were provided at the door, they were treated to all the images, illustrations and action clips that came straight out of each classic album’s artwork, such as computing, calculating, driving, racing and riding the rails.

And even more importantly, those innovative backdrops were accompanied by the songs themselves, performed live by founder Ralf Hütter, longtime members Fritz Hilpert and Henning Schmitz, plus newer recruit Falk Grieffenhagen.

Together, they tore through many major moments, “Computer World,” “The Man-Machine,” “Autobahn,” “Radioactivity” and “The Model,” triggering all the synthesized sound effects and technological breakthroughs that paved the way for any act that ever incorporated a keyboard thereafter.

Though the group hasn’t recorded new material in what feels like forever, material from the early 2000s (“Tour de France,” “Planet Of Visions”) felt contemporary enough, while additional standards “Trans-Europe Express,” “The Robots” and the Coldplay-sampled “Computer Love” transcended time all together.

Given how infrequently this happens on stage, especially as members advance in age, step down or have died in the case of Florian Schneider, seeing any version of Kraftwerk is nothing short of a seismic event and this especially eye-popping occasion ranked right up there with anything throughout its once-per-decade local appearance average thus far.

For additional information on Kraftwerk, visit Kraftwerk.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom include Modest Mouse (Jun. 4); Lawrence and MisterWives (Jun. 10); Flogging Molly and The Interrupters (Jun. 17); Davido (Jun. 23); Rebelution (Jul. 22); The Psychedelic Furs (Jul. 23); Joystick (Aug. 6); Drama At The Rodeo (Aug. 7); Lauv (Aug. 12); Kehlani (Aug. 26); Lil Nas X (Sept. 10-11); Rosalía (Sept. 28); Alec Benjamin (Oct. 1); Sabaton (Oct. 15); Marcus King (Oct. 21); Yung Bae (Oct. 22) and Rainbow Kitten Surprise (Dec. 3). For additional details, visit LiveNation.com.

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