Prairiewolf’s Tyler Wilcox on Kraftwerk – May 20, 1975, Ebbets Field, Denver, CO 
The Hidden Gems series continues to dig into the depths of recorded music, and for the latest entry Tyler Wilcox examines a bootleg that has local connection to Prairiewolf, captured at a long-defunct favorite Denver spot. It’s a compound joy to have Tyler in the series. So many entries here are from artists who excel on the page as much as the stage, but this may be the first occasion in which the entry comes from someone who may be recognized first from his writing, contributing countless explorations of music and culture over the years and operating the indispensable Doom & Gloom From The Tomb. Check out Tyler’s focus on Krafterk at Ebbets Field in Denver.
“Bootlegs, audience tapes, ROIOs, rarities — these things loom large in the Prairiewolf universe. In recent years, Jeremy Erwin (keyboards) took a deep dive into the world of Electric Miles live recordings on The Heat Warps. Stefan “Golden Brown” Beck (guitars, lap steel) is a devoted Dead and Phish-head with a wide-ranging knowledge of those bands’ deep archives. And I’ve run the Doom & Gloom From The Tomb blog for something like 15 years now, digging through a seemingly endless supply of oddities and curiosities from over the decades. I think it’s safe to say that all three of us love the thrill of uncovering buried treasures and sharing them with fellow fanatics.”
“This Kraftwerk radio broadcast from the spring of 1975 is a longtime favorite that’s been bootlegged endlessly — vinyl, compact disc, YouTube … I think I’ve even seen it on cassette. But I’m singling it out here not just because it’s a high-quality capture of the band on their first North American tour, but also because the show took place in Prairiewolf’s home state of Colorado. It’s a little bizarre to think of Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Karl Bartos and Wolfgang Flür out here in the mid-1970s; Denver wasn’t exactly a hotbed for electronic music at the time. But Kraftwerk, riding the waves of their surprise breakthrough “Autobahn” single, had been booked at the downtown club known (confusingly) as Ebbets Field. This long-gone spot is a favorite among collectors, thanks to the wealth of high-quality recordings that were made here — everyone from Captain Beefheart to Little Feat to Mahavishnu Orchestra played at Ebbets, and thankfully, the tape was regularly rolling.”
“I definitely celebrate all Kraftwerk eras, but there’s something special about these earlier shows. It’s looser than the grid-like moves of later years, closer to the freer sounds of their countrymen in Harmonia and Cluster. There’s a delicacy, a charming tentativeness. They were still figuring things out; on the Ebbets tape, they even struggle a bit with their electro drum kit. But it’s all pretty glorious and inspiring stuff, those sweet melodies, singular synths and propulsive rhythms pointing towards the future.”
“The opening “Kometenmelodie” in Denver is gorgeous — one of my top Kraftwerk tracks. Prairiewolf has been incorporating a bit of that classic tune into our own “Lunar Deluxe” for a little while now. It just works perfectly. Since we started playing a few years ago, various writers have come up with entertaining descriptions of us: “suborbital exotica,” “faintly psychedelicised tiki bar easy listening, “spaghetti prairie jams for astral ranch hands” etc. But I still like “Rocky Mountain Kosmische” the best — and Kraftwerk in Denver in 1975 is ground zero for that vibe.”
It’s hard to nail down consistent copies of boots, but this one was included in a larger comp of live captures that slots it in alongside some contrasting sets from 1970-1981, giving a wider picture of the band at the time. I might recommend listening to it in that context, but like Tyler mentioned, it’s possible to pick this one up in many formats if you dig deep enough. Meanwhile, Prairiewolf have their second album on the way this fall from Centripetal Force, a further tumble towards the ambient country horizons and midnight jazz exhumations that began on their debut. Highly Recommended!
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