RoD header

Translate

introKuFa, Krefeld, Germany
10th December 2014
Laibach

2014 was a touring year for Slovenian music collective LAIBACH. After releasing their critically acclaimed album 'Spectre' in February the band was pretty much constantly on the road in Europe with their new programme and in December they came back to Germany. Early 2015 will see even more LAIBACH dates, so we checked the show for you on December 10th in Krefeld.


laibach01laibach02

Actually one sentence would be enough to describe LAIBACH's 'Spectre'-show: Simply the best show in the Industrial/ Electro genre you will get to see this year! At least as long as SKINNY PUPPY won't make it to Europe in 2015. And as long as you ignore the long debates if LAIBACH is still Industrial or not. I'm not sure if the Slovenian band ever claimed to be part of this genre, or any other musical genre, for that matter. Fact is that LAIBACH has had numerous incarnations and used a great variety of musical styles, sometimes at the same time. On 'Spectre' they launched a firework of Wagnerian Pop, easily their most melodic and most accessible album to date. While some long-time fans moan the absence of the dark and experimental side of the very early LAIBACH, 'Spectre' was simply among the albums of the year for most others. Just as the album 'Spectre', LAIBACH's current live show brings singer Mina Špiler considerably into focus. At times she almost seems to oust long-time LAIBACH vocalist Milan Fras but for the most part the two singers are simply two perfectly matching male/ female counterparts. http://www.laibach.org / https://www.facebook.com/Laibach

laibach03laibach04

Music & Performance
However, the show in Krefeld started with technical problems. As usual there was no support act, just some classical music from playback while the 'Spectre' logo kept rotating on the two big video screens in the back of the stage. When the band entered the stage to the sound of Marc-Antoine Charpentier's 'Te Deum' to start the gig with their own 'Eurovision', the right screen suddenly denied to do its job. Well, it was more precisely one of the two video projectors who denied service, and it did so for the rest of the evening. The band continued their performance seemingly unimpressed but random Windows surfaces appearing on the screen hinted that the technicians nervously looked for a solution. After a couple of songs they managed to reprogram the one video projector they had left in that way, that it projected on both screens in split screen mode. Well done!

laibach05laibach06

The plus side of this specific technical issue was that it allowed to focus more easily on the performance of the band itself. Especially Mina Špiler was truly awe-inspiring! Every note, every move and every facial expression was simply spot-on and perfect. With all that controlled drama in her demeanour, she actually reminded me very much on a performer in a musical rather than your standard Rock show singer. But then LAIBACH do not deliver a standard Rock show, even though the intriguingly accessible compositions on 'Spectre' might have got LAIBACH closer to customary Rock and Pop as they have ever been. But LAIBACH love to caricature stereotypes to the extreme, hence they rather perform a theatre play depicting a Rock show than doing an actual Rock show. LAIBACH do not interact with the audience at all and leave this task to a pre-recorded voice from the off, which utters stereotypes as “You are the best audience, we love you!“ in a raspy, devilish voice. Just like a theatre play, the 'Spectre' show has several acts. The first act is the entirety of 'Spectre', albeit with a different running order than on the album, and then the five band members leave the stage for a ten-minute intermezzo.

laibach07laibach08

The second act follows with a selection of songs they did over the last few years, such as the BOB DYLAN cover 'Ballad Of A Thin Man' or 'Warme Lederhaut', a German version of THE NORMAL's 'Warm Leatherette'. Unlike the shows in spring 2014, LAIBACH do not go back to the darker and more experimental stuff in Slovenian language from the 1980s, such as 'Brat Moj' or 'Ti, ki izzivaš'. Instead they perform their biting version of the German national anthem from their 'Volk' album, followed by the popular tracks they did for the 'Iron Sky' movie soundtrack. The pounding 'Leben-Tod' from the 1987 album 'Opus Dei' remains the oldest song in the set as also the encore – the third act, so to speak – is restricted to LAIBACH's output in the 21st century. “Everybody dance now!“ demands the voice from the off to introduce the thundering beats of 'Tanz mit Laibach', arguably the band's most popular track. The crowd at the rather poorly attended KuFa gives a faint response to this command and prefers to keep watching the show instead of dancing. As you would guess, LAIBACH is completely unimpressed by that, their carefully choreographed representation is independent from the viewers and once the well-oiled machine is started it keeps running with cold-blooded perfection.

laibach09laibach10

'Das Spiel ist aus' (“the game is over“) appropriately ends the performance and the backdrop videos feature all the LAIBACH trademarks over the years, including swirling swastikas made of axes which are actually taken from a 1930s anti-fascist poster. The band leaves the stage wordlessly and a playback of the DIAMOND VERSION remix of 'The Whistleblowers', complete with a video clip on the screens, serve as some sort of end credits to this analytical disfigurement of a Rock show. LAIBACH have been lauded for being less subversive and ambiguous on 'Spectre', for being politically clear instead of deliberately leaving questions unanswered what LAIBACH stands for. However, when you see the 'Spectre' live show you may get the idea that this is just a trap set by LAIBACH since the very first press release for 'Spectre'. LAIBACH still sucks in big chunks of our western Pop culture to chew it and spit it out.

laibach11laibach12

The tour will be continued in 2015 (see live dates below) and in April, LAIBACH will also be part of the “Dark Ages“ theatre production in Munich in collaboration with director Milo Rau for Bavarian State Theatre. You can be sure that LAIBACH are going to show another one of their many faces at this special event! Watch the trailer for the theatre production here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGSCtKhBZO0

Setlist
01. Te Deum – Prelude
02. Eurovision
03. Walk with Me
04. Americana
05. We Are Millions and Millions Are One
06. Eat Liver!
07. Bossanova
08. Koran
09. The Whistleblowers
10. No History
11. Resistance Is Futile
---break---
12. Germania
12. B Mashina
14. Under the Iron Sky
15. Leben – Tod
16. Warme Lederhaut (The Normal cover)
17. Ballad of a Thin Man (Bob Dylan cover)
18. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean (Blind Lemon Jefferson cover)
---
19. Love on the Beat (Serge Gainsbourg cover)
20. Tanz mit Laibach
21. Das Spiel ist aus
22. The Whistleblowers (Video / Diamond Version Remix)

Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 9
Sound: 9
Light: 8
Total: 9 / 10

laibach13laibach14

Confirmed LAIBACH tour dates for 2015
13/02 Mannheim, Alte Seilerei, DE
14/02 Hamburg, Kampnagel / Krass Festival, DE
15/02 Bochum, Zeche, DE
06/03 Florence, Viper Theatre, IT
07/03 Zug, Chollerhalle, CH
11/03 Rostock, Mau Club, DE
13/03 Malmö, Moriska Paviljongen, SE
14/03 Stockholm, Debaser Medis, SE
16/03 Helsinki, Tavastia, FI
17/03 Tallinn, Rockcafe, EE
18/03 Tampere, Klubi, FI
22/03 Dresden, Beatpol, DE
24/03 Brno, Sono Centrum, CZ
25/03 Krakow, Fabryka, PL
26/03 Warsaw, Palladium, PL
27/03 Berlin, Astra / Out of Line Weekender, DE
28/03 Oberhausen, Turbinenhalle / E-tropolis Festival, DE
29/03 Breda, Mezz, NL
02/04 London, Electric Ballroom, UK
03/04 Manchester, Academy 2, UK
04/04 Maastricht, Muziekgieterij, NL
11/04 Munich,  Residenztheater, DE

All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com / http://www.facebook.com/blackcatnet)


Comments powered by CComment