What a long, long, day and morning, he writes on zero sleep caught in the indecision between surrendering to sleep or slogging on at work.

The Kraftwerk gig was easy to find, I just got off the S-Bahn and starting following all the freaks with coloured hair and dressed in leather. The Tempodrom, from the outside, could be mistaken for the architectural love child between an oversized big top circus tent and the Sydney opera house. Inside, the spacious lobby greets me with a veritable social gathering, I feel more like I'm in the off-side lounge in a hotel than a few metres from a giant auditorium (where if you look toward the rooof, bares a strange ressemblance to the Sony Centre at Postdamer Platz).

It's my first concert away from the North American continent, and I barely had the time to get excited about it (see posting above). When I gave my name at the box office to pick up my ticket, the ticket girl asked "from Toronto?" in confirmation. It's like I'm the city delegate here.

Once the lights dim, everything gets massively noisy. But it's quiet during the songs, most of the patrons in the stadium seats are sitting, and there's very little dancing or movement of any kind. Is this the typical show of support from Berliners? Watch quiet, thank loud? The immense racket that's made during the breaks between encored does more than anything to convince me that this band is adored in this city. That, and the spirited reaction given to "Autobahn". I'd be proud of a tune written to celebrate my country's culture (at a time when few other bands were doing it).

Ralf Hutter is the most German-looking person I have ever seen. The slick hair, the dapper suit, there's something about him that just roars "Teuton". That said, he and Florian look great considering their ages. That said, the new songs from "Tour de France Soundtrack are quite welcome in a set list that hasn't changed much since 1981. That said, those Tron Suits may just be the coolest things ever. That said, the Metal on Metal portion of TEE blows my damn mind every time.

The last two days are starting to blend together, good thing I have pictures.