Laibach have a new album and tour, go see them. This excellent recording from ianmacd should be enough to convince you. Huge Thank You to him for sharing it on Dime.
Original Info File:
RECORDING:
Type: Audience master, recorded 3 metres from the suspended left-hand side PA.
Source: Factory-matched pair of Schoeps CCM 41V microphones (DINa mounted) ->
Marantz PMD661 recorder with Oade Concert Mod
(-18 dB gain/44.1 kHz/24 bit WAV)
Lineage: Audacity 2.0.5
* Normalised to 0 dB.
* Applied variable envelope amplification across recording for
consistent listening experience.
* Added fades.
* Split tracks.
* Converted to 16 bit.
-> FLAC (compression level 8) [libFLAC 1.3.0 20130526]
Taper: Ian Macdonald (ianmacd)
SET LIST:
01. [00:24] [intro]
02. [04:56] Eurovision
03. [00:14] [automated banter]
04. [03:53] Walk With Me
05. [04:38] Americana
06. [04:25] We Are Millions And Millions
07. [04:05] Eat Liver!
08. [03:20] Bossanova
09. [00:08] [automated banter]
10. [06:09] Koran
11. [03:33] The Whistleblowers
12. [03:37] No History
13. [00:16] [automated banter]
14. [07:01] Resistance Is Futile
[intermezzo]
15. [00:15] [intro]
16. [05:11] Brat Moj
17. [06:07] Ti, Ki Izzivaš
18. [04:45] B Mashina
19. [04:19] Under The Iron Sky
20. [03:36] Leben - Tod
21. [04:03] Warme Lederhaut
22. [05:38] Ballad Of A Thin Man
23. [04:16] See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
24. [01:29] [encore break]
25. [01:26] [automated banter]
26. [03:27] Love On The Beat
27. [04:24] Tanz Mit Laibach
28. [04:31] Das Spiel Ist Aus
Total running time: 100:17
NOTES:
Merchandise stands as varied as this one are unusual. They are typically the
preserve of mega-artists like Lady Gaga and Madonna.
At the Laibach merchandise stand, however, the discerning buyer can avail
himself of everything from babies' bibs and soap (allegedly containing saliva,
sweat and sperm) to underpants (sporting the slogan 'Raus!', of course) and
(antisemitism) condoms.
Is it any wonder that this band have frequently been misunderstood over the
years?
I manage to make do with a copy of the band's first studio album in eight
years, 'Spectre', which I purchase on the way in (to avoid the buying hordes
on the way out) and then head to the Melkweg's lavatories with their
taper-friendly toilet lids.
It's 19:30 doors for a 21:00 show time, so there's a good deal of waiting
around. The heavily tattooed female DJ is playing a good set, however, so
between that and my smartphone, the time passes quickly.
The band come on as scheduled to the Eurovision theme tune and launch the show
with the song of the same name from the new album.
The current band configuration is two synthesiser players, a drummer, Mina
Špiler on vocals and the unmistakeable voice of Milan Fras forming the most
enduring and recognisable element of the band's sound.
That sound has gone through many metamorphoses over the years and currently
finds itself in familiar perverse synthpop territory.
Over the course of 45 minutes, 'Spectre' is performed in its entirety. It's
some of the band's most accessible work, with 'Koran' even donning the guise
of a mawkish love song until Fras enters the fray. One need only analyse the
lyrics to discover that the sentimental synth sound is merely the tip of the
iceberg.
There are some really inconsiderate arseholes in the audience tonight. For
example, there's the woman in front of me, who has a gob you could park a
train in. All hail the God of tapers, Schoeps, for he cutteth talkative
wankers out of thy mix.
Several other people would have done their fellow gig-goers a service if they
had instead become a stain on their parents' bed linen, but alas, their
mothers made the mistake of carrying them to full term.
As the band leave the stage, I've just started to think what a short gig it
has been when the word 'Intermezzo' flashes up on the stage backdrop,
accompanied by a digital timer, counting down the seconds of a ten minute
intermission.
I'm not sure what the purpose of the break is. Perhaps someone in the band has
a weak bladder; or maybe someone has a drug habit that needs feeding. I just
don't know.
Time passes. "And now for something completely different", we are told,
announcing the band's return to the stage for their second set.
I would call the set that follows a greatest hits set, were it not for the
fact that Laibach have no more had a hit single than I have. I could call it a
favourites set, but that's so subjective. Let's settle, then, on the use of
the neutral term, 'back catalogue set'.
Even that's not really accurate, though, since three of the eight songs
performed in the second set are from the deluxe (i.e. expanded) edition of
'Spectre', leaving a selection of just five oldies from the band's three
decade-spanning repertoire.
Banter is at an absolute minimum this evening. In fact, in the strictest
sense, there isn't even any, because what little there is is actually
automated, the disembodied voice of Milan Fras being conjured forth at will by
one of the keyboard players; sometimes when Fras himself isn't even on stage.
A three song encore follows the second set, making for a generous 21 song
performance, 13 of which can be found on the deluxe edition of the new album.
On balance, I would have preferred to hear a few more older songs, but it's a
minor quibble.
More than 30 years as a band and Laibach are still playing the likes of the
700 capacity Oude Zaal. The room isn't my favourite, but the sound was
stupendously good tonight and the resultant recording reflects that.
If you are a fan of the band, you are in for a treat with this recording. The
sound is crystal clear, with a rich bass and a perfectly sharp high end. This
is one to play very loud.
Apart from a few loud hand claps in the encore break, which I have attenuated,
I have chosen to leave the audience intact on this recording. The full
atmosphere present in the small venue is thus retained, and no meaningful
separation was possible anyway.
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