Laibach finish the evening with a heavy guitar laden version of Life Is Life

The Event
In the 10th July 1998, Laibach performed at The Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on the South Bank (next to the Royal Festival Hall) as part of the Festival of Central European Culture. With tickets only costing £12-£14 it was an evening that no British Laibach fan, or even the simply curious, should have missed.

Concerns Before The Event
Before the date  my friends and I debated as to what one should wear to a Laibach concert, and also what type of people would be there. We concluded that it could be a strange mix of :

1: Heavy Metal fans
2: Gothic punks
3: Casually dressed student and lecturer types
4: Homesick Central European students
5: Smartly dressed festival goers
6: Long time Laibach fans and NSK members (with Laibach T-shirts)
7: Various fascists
8: New but confused Laibach fans (our group)
We decided to dress casually, but in black, and prayed that everyone else would not be in suits and ties.

Upon Arriving
Upon arriving at the Queen Elizabeth Hall we were relieved to find that the crowd was very much as we had anticipated. This may all sound quite trivial to some, but I have been to many concerts (industrial, gothic, etc.) and the audiences all looked the part. The Laibach concert had the most mixed audience that I had ever seen. One can only conclude that Laibach's appeal crosses many social, and cultural boundaries, but that is their intention.

Laibach In Concert
Before Laibach appeared we were treated to what sounded like 1930's German songs. Then the lights dimmed, and after a brief false start, with all the band save the lead singer in place, the very loud triumphal strains of  'The Final Countdown' roared into life. As the long introduction got into full swing the lead singer slowly, with measured pace, walked onto centre stage ready to let fly with deep gravel tones. In the background a large projection screen showed grey scale moving images to complement the music.

Laibach bathed in moody blue light

I wont go into the detail of every song but instead give a list of the tracks performed (please forgive any omissions or any in the wrong order):

The Final Countdown
In The Army Now
Dogs Of War
Alle Gegen Alle
Mars On The River Drina
Speech about how Laibach perceive the Americanized stagnant pond of Western Europe (we are Southern Fried Chicken eaters, prisoners on an island, with limp willies and pale complexions, picking over the rotting bones of Royalty).

God Is God
Jesus Christ Superstar
Kingdom Of God
Abuse And Confession
Declaration Of Freedom
Message From The Black Star
The Cross
To The New Light

And after saying 'Goodbye London' and leaving the stage, Laibach return to great applause and stamping of  feet for an encore

Time For Change (Sympathy For The Devil)
Life Is Life (a more rockin' version, check Occupied Europe NATO Tour on audio page for clip)

Deus Ex Machina

There was another song that I had not heard before. Upon checking the Laibach website some months later I found the song to be a new track called Barbarians (this turned out years later to be the song 'Now You Will Pay' from the 'WAT' album).

Conclusions
My friends and I really enjoyed this concert. The music was perhaps a touch too loud, and the audience perhaps a little too polite (It was very much like an audience at a classical concert) but I would go and see them again any time. I was even working out how much it would cost to see them in Eastern Europe when they put on their next full blown concert with real orchestra and choir. Laibach are great live, and have given all of their songs a more Heavy Metal sound. This approach lends itself more readily to smaller Laibach events which only have the core band, and not the live accompaniment. I hope they play in Britain again soon!

Laibach bid farewell to an appreciative audience

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