LAIBACH
Decadence is a word commonly associated with Laibach and tonight they were playing in a somewhat intimate venue in the heart of London’s theatre-land. Almost accidentally standing in the queue for Mama Mia which would have been kind of apt I realised the venue was actually on the other side of the road right next to the Trocadero and being told the doors were opening late, ruined ideologies of decadence by taking to the off licence for a can of tramp juice.
Later at 8.45 after listening to an eclectic mix of music we were caught in a tumult of militaristic marching music and gassed by a sea of dry ice. 20 minutes of this was a bit much for some of the audience but finally we were graced by the arrival one by one of Laibach.
Tonight’s set was going to really be a showcase performance for latest album Volk and I was not surprised when God Save The Queen came out the PA. To explain, Volk is Laibach and collaborators Silence interpretation of many national anthems, an interesting and quirky idea from these masters of musical manipulation and one that on CD was not a firm favourite of mine.
Calmly ebbing into the soothing tones of Germania and with giant screens behind the band showing a collage of imagery we were suddenly confronted by a surprisingly fresh shaved Milan Fras gruffly taking over the vocals. It was quickly evident how much more bombastic this material was live than on album, to put it in layman’s terms there was some real oomph behind this but it was nothing compared to the squall of white noise summoning America.
A female vocalist Mina Spiler (Melodrom) joined the band and stayed for most of the Volk material. Wearing an Arabic looking turban she cut a strange figure on stage and her voice was absolutely enchanting. Ironically as this anthem to the land of the free was being paraded 33 were losing their lives in the countries biggest school spree killing in history. The Star Spangled Banner was literally hanging its head in shame draped full of bullet holes.
Social commentary aside it was time for our own Anglia. Bristling with an electronic backbone and suddenly blasting in with a vicious edge, I think it fair to say our monarch would not have been amused at this. Rossiya cascaded away with melodic keyboards tinkling away like icy shards and the angelic female chorals worked in perfect harmony to Milan’s vodka soaked Cossack harmonics.
Predictably after every song people were shouting for old numbers, which was frankly annoying as it was evident there would be some later. Obviously some anthems were not at all familiar, hell I only catch the odd ones every 4 years before kick off at world cup matches. Some are notably much better than others, sorry I found Italia to be pretty dull compared to the likes of the much more flamboyant and energetically uplifting España
Others sounded quintessentially owned by Laibach. Yisra’el was sung full of nationalistic pride with the words, “my country, my pride” full of an attitude suggesting nobody better try taking it away from them. Similarly I found Türkiye to be the number that interpreted best in the live environment coming at you with a humongous gravity that is nowhere near replicated as powerfully on disc. After crossing hemispheres to a land of Eastern promise with the magnificent Zhonghuá representing China it appeared that for Nippon Laibach had another trick up their collective sleeves and were joined by Boris Benko of Silence. The words voice touched by angels kind of sprang to mind as with just a piano keyboard accompaniment we were captivated by this and you could have literally heard a pin drop.
Defending their right and their own boundaries it was time for Laibach’s own national anthem for the NSK to close this set. This is a band that will never surrender and this was a grand closing point for a show that will probably never be replicated in its entirety on English shores again.
They were well aware that we wanted some crowd pleasers and Tanz Mit Laibach with heavy jackbooted martial stomp flew out the speakers. I could hardly concentrate being stood straight in front of one of the two pigtailed utterly drop dead gorgeous drummer girls at the sides of the stage. This was an adrenaline rush of the highest order, with cymbals clattering and bouncing all over the venue the house had been brought down to its knees.
Alle Gegen Alle sounded spectacular and it was evident why this venue had been chosen, like the strange setting of the Union Chapel it suited Laibach’s powerful sermon brilliantly. Trance heavy and mesmerising we headed for the inevitable endpoint of an evening that nobody wanted to end, taking in both Achtung! And Das Spiel Ist Aus along the way.
That was it and funnily enough apart from the obvious National Anthems there were no actual famous covers on show tonight. A medley of these hits did get played as the band came back on to take a final bow with the credits of the show running down the screen like a Hollywood blockbuster. A marvellous performance from one of the worlds most unique and eccentric bands, wonderful.
Pete Woods
CC CLUB, LONDON 16/04/07