The Mission: Fifth of May, Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse — Their Fifth Time in Ljubljana (2023)
The Mission (supp. Wires & Lights)
Friday, May 5, 2023
Ljubljana / CUK Kino Šiška / Slovenia
The Mission, the cult British gothic and post-punk rock outfit, who, with their musical vision upon arriving on the scene in the mid-eighties, revolutionarily fused elements of punk rock with the new wave ‘romanticism’ into a singular post-punk cumulus of crosses, candles, and sunglasses, found themselves — by virtue of that very fresh vision, deliberately or not — somehow compelled to step into the role of catalyst for the British invasion of the gothic rock genre that began to flourish in the second half of the eighties. The Mission are considered today a cult band of that era. On the wings of their second album “Children,” they made their first visit to Ljubljana’s Hala Tivoli back in 1988. Three more visits to the Slovenian capital followed — two at Hala Tivoli and a club show at K4 in 2002 — at a time when interest in this cult outfit had completely dried up.
A band of highs and lows, through the sheer uniqueness of their music they have by now firmly achieved cult status. They are considered a generational band. But two solid decades had passed before their return to Ljubljana. The band had released their last and in every way excellent studio album “Another Fall From Grace” seven years prior, but after a lengthy hiatus they regrouped to head out on a tour called “Deja Vu.” The very name of the tour made it clear this was a nostalgia play — one on which The Mission would comprehensively survey their musical opus through their live performances and setlists.
The Ljubljana show was very well attended. As could quietly be expected. A solid portion of that night’s attendees actually belonged to those who had spent their teenage years in the mid-eighties and had thus, over time, aged alongside The Mission? Well — grown older. Let’s put it more kindly: they had matured. There was no ignoring it. Nostalgia, then. Right here, right now!
The warm-up slot for the legends went to the Berlin-based outfit Wires And Lights. They are an English quartet comprising Justin Stephens (vocals, guitar), Ralf Hünefeld (guitar, synthesizers), Gabriel Brero (bass guitar), and Sebastian Hilgetag (drums). A post-punk drive rooted in a simple rhythmic template, actively backed by punchy bass lines and commanded by a dark vocal. Stuff that has to be drawing inspiration from the likes of Chameleons, The Sisters Of Mercy, Bauhaus, and Siouxsie And The Banshees. An excellent, tight, and well-drilled performance. Committed and passionate. Convincing in every way. In terms of songwriting too. The songs stand up brilliantly. And in the live setting they grab you — really hook you. The sound (for a support act) was very good, and Wires & Lights, in their support role, achieved exactly what you want from a warm-up act: once you started listening, you simply stayed put and enjoyed their original material, which drew from selected tracks off their debut »A Chams Here And Now« (2019) and the full EP »Mayday« (2022).
The Mission! Three original members appear on stage one by one through an orchestral intro — bassist Craig Adams, vocalist/guitarist Wayne Hussey, guitarist Simon Hinkler — with the newest addition to the team on drums: drummer Alex Baum, who joined The Mission in March of the previous year. The quartet opens the show with the “Children” classic Beyond The Pale and immediately establishes that signature sonic and atmospheric backdrop. In an instant. The crowd hadn’t forgotten them; a good portion actively joined in singing along, and you could already feel this was going to be an intense — and emotional — experience with The Mission. The songs are drawn from minor keys, and The Mission are masters when it comes to presenting an idea in a simple, direct, yet irresistibly compelling way. Through a dark, atmospheric backdrop. Hussey remains a brilliant frontman; the years have lowered but ‘thickened’ his voice. But the essence, the charisma — they remain. A presence of unique substance that gives the band’s artistry its distinctive character. In this regard, one must also credit the contributions of Hussey’s twelve-string semi-acoustic Schecter ‘Corsair’ guitar, which he never parted with for even a moment during the Ljubljana performance, and which lend the band’s artistry its distinctive character. And of course, Hinkler’s melancholic single-string lines cannot be overlooked, woven into the material with a markedly pronounced sustain effect.
The band plays brilliantly. But what truly impressed was the song selection. With the exception of Within the Deepest Darkness (Fearful) from the latest studio album “Another Fall From Grace,” they stuck strictly to material recorded and released between 1986 and 1995, with the material from the first two EPs — compiled on “The First Chapter” (1987) — naturally making an appearance as well. It’s incredible how a classic like Stay With Me still grabs you after all these years; the band opened it with a rhythmic sample, which only added to the extraordinary grip of the atmospheric world The Mission build during their shows. During a break, Hussey asked the crowd: “You don’t like to sing much, do you?” — stoking them further and encouraging audience participation. What followed was darker still than the already intensely dark. Afterglow! Until a sliver of light pierces through the impenetrable cloud cover. Of course. The ‘Carved In Stone’ classic — the single Butterfly On A Wheel.
Emotions truly come alive and the hall stirs at Craig’s opening bass guitar motif, ringing out as if it were the mid-eighties. It couldn’t have been any other way. Punchy, piercing, nostalgic. It could only have been Wasteland from the debut studio album “God’s Own Medicine.” And after that, the end of the main set. Already? Indeed. Too soon. After just over an hour. But what a closer — the excellent, relentlessly thunderous, unforgettable Deliverance from the album “Carved In Sand.”
The first mandatory encore opened with the balladic single Swoon from the album “Neverland” (1995). Followed by the much-loved debut hit Severina — and the crowd held firm in their trance for what came next, as the band once more picked up the pace with another unforgettable chapter from their storied career. Outstanding — The Crystal Ocean in an extended version with a long instrumental intro.
When it already seemed like it was all over, the band returned to the stage. Of course. There was still a track from “Children” left to deliver. Tower Of Strenght, where virtually the entire hall once again joined Hussey. The Mission bid their farewells after an hour and a good half, leaving behind an extraordinary atmospheric afterglow. That was to be quietly expected. But when it grabs you live, you know you’re back in that right, that ancient place. Like some 35 years ago, when you spent your grandmother’s pocket money in the underpass of the Maximarket in the middle of Ljubljana — late in the eighties — buying “The First Chapter” and “Children” on vinyl.
An unforgettable fifth The Mission show in Ljubljana. Vivid, and as said. Nostalgic. In every way that has earned the band their cult status and reputation — and in the sheer fact of their fifth performance in Slovenia. And on top of all that, on the fifth of the fifth month, under a full moon and a lunar eclipse. Absolutely gothic, then!
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik & Edita Klemen
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik (1-21) & Edita Klemen (22-25)
The Mission setlist:
1. Beyond the Pale
2. Serpent’s Kiss
3. Over the Hills and Far Away
4. Within the Deepest Darkness (Fearful)
5. Kingdom Come
6. Stay With Me
7. Like a Child Again
8. Afterglow
9. Never Again
10. Butterfly on a Wheel
11. Wasteland
12. Deliverance
—encore I.—
13. Swoon
14. Severina
15. The Crystal Ocean
—encore II.—
16. Tower of Strength
