Oh no, not this again! I've written about the "Opus Dei" remaster and even more relevant, I have already been to the "Opus Dei Tour" show with the exactly similar setlist in Copenhagen a couple of months ago. And now I've given myself the task to write about it again.
Well, I won't repeat all the details about Laibach's two-and-a-half hours long show.
In short: Act I consisted of Slovenian classics from "Nova Akropola" and and earlier, but also featured "Anti-Semitism" ("WAT"), "Smrt in Pogin" ("Sketches From the Red Districts") and their known covers of Bob Dylan and DAF. The second act after a fifteen minute break belonged to the songs of Opus Dei, but not in the original order and also in new revisited versions.
If you want to know more about how great all that went down and what followed as the first encore, please read my review from back in May! I will just try to focus on what was different from then now.
Given that I even sacrificed several hours of A Colossal Weekend in Copenhagen to see that show, I didn't think that I would "diminish" the experience by travelling to a second Laibach concert this year, but then after a while the pull was just too strong. So this Tuesday I drove down to Hanover - the first time since the "Volk" tour in 2007 and astonishingly the second time ever they came to the capital of Lower Saxony - to see them at the Culture Centre Pavillon. A three hour night ride with horribly itching feet (What kind of monster midges have rampaged down there?) in the middle of the week - thankfully I work flex time.
People entered the big main hall of the venue late, so while that endless "Live Is Life" loop was playing from the speakers it looked like a total dance of death until only fifteen minutes before the show started. Luckily it looked different when the "Vier Personen" entered the stage. I was already confident that this night could be better than Copenhagen, and if only because I had a better central spot this time.
But what was actually different? I'm sure some parts have evolved a little over time, but that's hard to recall. The most obvious change was the stage left keyboardist position, since on this leg of the tour it wasn't held by Sašo Vollmaier but once again Rok Lopatič. Sonically however I was under the impression that Vitja Balžalorsky's guitar sounded even better now. Or was it just my closer spot in the audience? From the droning bowed playing to sludgy riffs, Post Rock escapist beauty and Rock star shredding and so much more things which could happen beside Experimental noises - all this felt and sounded so tasty!
Once again Laibach played their never aging trick of always being even better than you think they would be. This band in this constellation can do everything. And this show had all shades of emotion and gravity while showing many sides of Laibach's unique Retrogarde sound between Electronic, Industrial, Neo-Classical, Rock, Theatre and Love. Even though there was no element of surprise in the setlist for me, I enjoyed this second time a lot more, not only because my personal sonic and visual experience was superior, but probably also because I didn't miss Wiegedood and Witch Club Satan this time and there was no individual annoyance in the crowd haunting me this time. (You have read that review by now, right? Like I said, I'm omitting a lot of stuff here.)
Did I say, there was no surprise? Let me correct myself: In Copenhagen I had missed the final encore. I knew it was a version of "Strange Fruit", but I didn't anticipate how incredibly bleak Laibach's rendition would be and how stark the contrast to the atypically partylicious ending of "I Want To Know What Love Is" (yes, the Foreigner Überschmaltz!) would feel. Man, when a punch to the gut!
And how cognitively dissonant to be so happy after it. But that happens after witnessing Laibach laibaching on the top of their game. I loved every second of it.
And no, I'm not mentioning the expectedly great performances of Milan Fras and Marina Mårtensson. Go read that damn other review already, duh!
Well, I won't repeat all the details about Laibach's two-and-a-half hours long show.
In short: Act I consisted of Slovenian classics from "Nova Akropola" and and earlier, but also featured "Anti-Semitism" ("WAT"), "Smrt in Pogin" ("Sketches From the Red Districts") and their known covers of Bob Dylan and DAF. The second act after a fifteen minute break belonged to the songs of Opus Dei, but not in the original order and also in new revisited versions.
If you want to know more about how great all that went down and what followed as the first encore, please read my review from back in May! I will just try to focus on what was different from then now.
Given that I even sacrificed several hours of A Colossal Weekend in Copenhagen to see that show, I didn't think that I would "diminish" the experience by travelling to a second Laibach concert this year, but then after a while the pull was just too strong. So this Tuesday I drove down to Hanover - the first time since the "Volk" tour in 2007 and astonishingly the second time ever they came to the capital of Lower Saxony - to see them at the Culture Centre Pavillon. A three hour night ride with horribly itching feet (What kind of monster midges have rampaged down there?) in the middle of the week - thankfully I work flex time.
People entered the big main hall of the venue late, so while that endless "Live Is Life" loop was playing from the speakers it looked like a total dance of death until only fifteen minutes before the show started. Luckily it looked different when the "Vier Personen" entered the stage. I was already confident that this night could be better than Copenhagen, and if only because I had a better central spot this time.
But what was actually different? I'm sure some parts have evolved a little over time, but that's hard to recall. The most obvious change was the stage left keyboardist position, since on this leg of the tour it wasn't held by Sašo Vollmaier but once again Rok Lopatič. Sonically however I was under the impression that Vitja Balžalorsky's guitar sounded even better now. Or was it just my closer spot in the audience? From the droning bowed playing to sludgy riffs, Post Rock escapist beauty and Rock star shredding and so much more things which could happen beside Experimental noises - all this felt and sounded so tasty!
Once again Laibach played their never aging trick of always being even better than you think they would be. This band in this constellation can do everything. And this show had all shades of emotion and gravity while showing many sides of Laibach's unique Retrogarde sound between Electronic, Industrial, Neo-Classical, Rock, Theatre and Love. Even though there was no element of surprise in the setlist for me, I enjoyed this second time a lot more, not only because my personal sonic and visual experience was superior, but probably also because I didn't miss Wiegedood and Witch Club Satan this time and there was no individual annoyance in the crowd haunting me this time. (You have read that review by now, right? Like I said, I'm omitting a lot of stuff here.)
Did I say, there was no surprise? Let me correct myself: In Copenhagen I had missed the final encore. I knew it was a version of "Strange Fruit", but I didn't anticipate how incredibly bleak Laibach's rendition would be and how stark the contrast to the atypically partylicious ending of "I Want To Know What Love Is" (yes, the Foreigner Überschmaltz!) would feel. Man, when a punch to the gut!
And how cognitively dissonant to be so happy after it. But that happens after witnessing Laibach laibaching on the top of their game. I loved every second of it.
And no, I'm not mentioning the expectedly great performances of Milan Fras and Marina Mårtensson. Go read that damn other review already, duh!
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