Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.04.2006, Blaðsíða 32

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whO
whEN
NASA
Laibach
March 22th
2006
Without warning or introduction, two young women
marched onto the stage and took their positions behind
the two standing drums, dressed in semi-military garb.
Their faces frozen expressionless, and their movements
robotically coordinated, they martially pounded out the
rhythm behind Tanz Mit Laibach, a song made famous
a few years back by a hilarious Shockwave animation
featuring dancing kittens dressed as Red Square guards.
Middle-aged bohemians and teenage punks alike stood
agape, completely enthralled by the Aryan war god-
desses, probably less out of lust than fear.
This was the high point for Laibach, the band that
once mocked not only Balkan communism but Father
Tito himself two decades ago by making a few minor
changes to an old Nazi Youth poster, submitting it to a
Youth Day poster contest held on Tito’s birthday, and
winning.
Laibach might employ a great many of the aesthetic
qualities of fascism in their costumes, stage shows, and
composition styles, but even the most cursory glance at
the activities of this band and NSK make it fairly clear
that this is high satire.
So high, in fact, that it seemed to pass over the
heads of many of the younger crowd, some of whom
showed up for the concert in vintage German army
helmets, Soviet officer’s caps and brought with them
more than a couple who felt compelled to give the band
the Nazi salute throughout the show. Whether they
were taking the joke too far or didn’t get it altogether,
they did little to dampen what proved to be an amazing
performance.
Laibach is well-known for doing thoroughly recon-
structed cover versions – including the entirety of the
Beatle’s Let It Be album, with the exception of the title
song – and the first cover they performed on this occa-
sion was Pink Floyd’s Dogs of War, which sounded as
entertaining as Floyd’s version was flaccid. And whereas
most bands who’ve been continuously touring and
recording for over 20 years are sloshing through winc-
ingly pathetic performances, Laibach had a confident,
commanding stage presence.

Flight of the Valkyries
By Paul F. Nikolov | Photo by Gúndi
32