When Life becomes a reality

Review of LAIBACH concerts in Sofia on 01.03.04

by Nikica Korubin

The beginning has its end. Nevertheless, this beginning has only its continuance. A message that lasts, alone or misunderstood accepted and permanently kept, whatever, an existing one. When the logic (all-present and absolutely applicable and categorical) of the nature is followed, nothing is hard for perceiving, and certainly not its cycle of regeneration. When one looks the performance of Laibach, nothing is that simple and easy, as the possibility to reject the own strictly individual attitude. It is about being a part of the synthesis of the pure logic, being a part of the perfect way to doubt (ask) in a way wanted by few - direct and uncompromising. Exactly that happens with the theatrical and highly inspired performance of Laibach. There isn’t a space for polemic, even in the not enough appropriate conditions as they were in Sofia. The sounds, the vocal, the rhythm, the synthetic and symphonic music in each moment were stronger and “denser” then the potential of the space to receive them. However, it was easily to absorb every “excess” of the sound, because with Laibach you always have the feeling that you can not receive by senses everything you want and keep it deep in yourself. You feel the inevitable superiority of Laibach to rein your emotionality, spirituality and intelligence.

For the first time, Laibach in Sofia, in the land of the ancient Thracians, on the Far East of the Balkan and Europe. Laibach in Sofia, symbolically on the first day of the spring according to the ancient custom and belief, on the day of the new beginning, on the day of the ancient goddess Marta. Do chances choose their essence as a destiny determination of a faithful and unique experience of Laibach's music wherever performed?

This time, it was Bulgaria - Sofia (1st of March), first meeting of the frank, emotional and ready audience with Laibach. The strong energy felt clearly as the visual performance of the band which knows to make creative improvisations on stage in accordance to the moment, the meaning and the need. The program presented by Laibach, was consistently equal to its performance on the concerts all over Europe, keeping its perfectionism, although the definition of perfectionism is not always consistent to itself. On this performance, the perfectionism had every possibility to explain itself as an esthetical category of transferring energy and spirituality, not as strict principle of transferring and performing artistic expression and appearance. Beginning with "B-Machine" to the last "Life is life", the Life itself as a main subject was presented. The Life was the essence including the dark and inevitable things of the history and the presence. The dynamic acting on the stage just proves the fact that neither perfectionism nor the discipline excludes emotionality.
Does chaos, derived by denial of history, create non-consistent understanding of perfectionism, or simply the perfectionism has non-explainable, but visible and receivable sides? Given by those who see and provoke the truth (Laibach), they become a part of the new cycle of life, followed by the spirits of the ancient gods.

Laibach did not leave the audience in Sofia neither alone nor surprised, because the audience wanted to accept even things that it did not understand, or the things that it knew it was experiencing in a way similar to the trauma from the past, to the admiration by the eternal circle of time that Laibach brought to the place where the audience wanted to accept the never lost faith in its essence. Laibach has accepted the circle of its own time, because they are the time, whose meaning is getting clear only if you manage to understand what being part of the atmosphere, the concept the idea of Laibach means, following the time as a beauty that lasts and not as something unavoidable searching for followers. This beginning is the time that never ends because of its own existence, this beginning is always here, the story that is being accepted, the picture from the past that remains, from the world of Laibach - the very time and the very truth.