Just to say how much I enjoyed the Werk gig at Brixton last night. I mean, I kind of knew I would, but was pleased not to be disappointed in any way. I loved and revelled in every minute of it. They were just... magnificent. I met up with friends and ran into a few others by chance, plus of course saw some 313ers there too. The whole thing felt like a real celebration, of the band themselves and their music, but also of electronic music in general. (Even despite the couple in front of us, who talked amongst themselves the whole way through, mostly not even facing towards the stage).
What's been slightly disappointing have been the reviews I've read today in both the Independent and the Observer newspapers of the Thursday night show at the RFH, with both reviewers (Simon Price and Kitty Empire) repeating the tired old cliche that - to quote Empire by way of example - 'Kraftwerk's austere music has brought them misguided accusations of being fascists'. Neither reviewer is suggesting that they ARE fascists, of course, but I do think this is one of the lamest examples of music hack cliches that I've seen recently. I mean, if they're misguided accusations, then why repeat them? What's the point? All you do by doing that is perpetuate them. Once again though, a great night that I'll remember for a long time. TOM
