As an original member of Kraftwerk, one half of the great Krautrock band Neu, and a member of Harmonia, Michael Rother was a pioneer of experimental music in the 1970s and brought his catalogue to Knockdown Center for a night of total wonder.
As part of Outline Fest's first showcase of the year at Knockdown Center in Queens, it was a night of experimental music played for the masses with loud sounds dominating the space and taking us all for a ride through unexpected and brilliant music that filled the room with a magical presence. Billed as another top act of the night, Thurston Moore played a loud and disorienting set as a trio backed with two percussionists and noise makers as he rattled his guitar through a blown-out noise jam that was free of melodies and rhythms. Churning out waves of noise and distorted feedback, the guitar legend was conjuring up extreme sounds throughout the singular song set as his two backing musicians created quite the racket of noise behind him, banging away on cymbals, drums, and other objects to create a cacophony of industrial beats that hit hard and truly tested the patience and limits of those in the audience. At one point, a solo of sorts was played on a helium balloon as the air was released and captured on the microphone and played back with a furious roar. It was truly one of the more unique sets I've seen in a while and it was great to see the more experimental side of Thurston's astounding range of styles and influences.
Of course the real highlight of the night was seeing Michael Rother play the music of Neu and Harmonia and his band made these songs come to life with serious force and made for a truly life-affirming moment as these magnetic and magical songs rang out with astounding joy. From the opening moments of seeing the Neu logo on the screen, it was clear that this would be special and Rother did not disappoint. As soon as the classic motorik drum beat kicked in and the vivacious grooves took off, the set filled with motion and the crowd sparked up, ready to get lost to these timeless melodies and elongated jams. Immediately hitting us with "Neuschnee," the room lit up with joy and the overpowering essence of the song filled the space and the crowd became alive. The driving beat making itself known with a colossal power that sent things into hyperdrive. With the volume pumping, the music hit harder than expected, but that only made the night feel more special and the crowd ate up every second of it as trippy, psychedelic background images only seemed to heighten the experience. As things progressed, images of Rother and his Neu bandmate Klaus Dinger appeared on the screen and we were treated to a little history lesson of the band in their prime, billed on one flyer as the "next Kraftwerk," as the band hit the groove on "Isi." The Harmonia tracks were just as lush and inspiring as the pulsating Neu numbers and throughout the set, the crowd seemed to fall more in love with what was happening on stage. "Are you able to move around and dance?" Rother asked the crowd at one point to which everyone cheered with a joyous response. "I love that!" he replied with a gleeful lilt in his voice. Appearing in New York for the first time since 2010, it was a long-time coming to be able to hear these songs live and it's a thrill to be able to be part of Neu's debut record's fiftieth anniversary celebration. Of course the highlight of the night was "Hallogallo" which was performed with a ripping intensity and such driving motion that it felt like the room might lift off at full speed. The crowd cut loose and it was a wild and unexpected dance party that tore through the building as the energy that had been built up all night finally burst and left people feeling overcome with euphoria. As the night concluded, Rother apologized for the shortened set time, but made up for it by welcoming Thurston Moore back to the stage to jam out the last song together and that was a treat that left my ears ringing for the rest of the night.
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