Author: Primož Novak
Location: Ljubljana / Cankarjev Dom / Slovenia
Concert date: 24.03.2018
Ticket price: 15€/18€/20€/24€
Prismojeni profesorji bluesa hardly need an introduction. In recent years, the tireless quartet has played practically every hole-in-the-wall out there, and they’ve racked up plenty of gigs abroad. After years of persistence, they even made it onto the stage at Ljubljana’s Križanke. Two years ago their debut Family saw the light of day. Despite its success, the guys decided not to rest on their laurels like many Slovenian bands that drop a debut and then dream of world fame. What followed was the live record »Križanke – Live«, packed with new material. But their minds were already on the next studio album, which got its first public showing at the Cankarjev Dom concert, where the band also celebrated 10 years of existence. So, two reasons right there for this to be a really special night.
Before the show, the band let it be known they’d be joined by plenty of guests, so a routine gig was not on the cards. Prismojeni are known for playing three hours or more, and they announced the Cankarjev Dom show with exactly that in mind, so the audience could sit down and surrender to the music, even though this wacky epic demanded serious concert stamina. Music came first: no bar, no smoking area, just Prismojeni and their guests. A risky move, because blues can be pretty exhausting, but the way Prismojeni package it, it’s anything but dry.
The band kicked off their long set with the new tune Poorboy, then went back to the debut for a few tracks. It didn’t take long before they invited the first guest on stage, Andraž Mazi, who played a very special instrument, the pedal steel guitar, which added another dimension and extra value to Prismojeni’s already unique sound. After Mazi, the guests kept rotating. Domen Gracej joined on trumpet, Jasna Kmetec on saxophone and Andrej Tomazin on congas, and together they played a medley of songs, and they threw in a few covers too, which is standard practice for the band. Another shade was added to the performance by Aleš Uhan’s keyboards. The band’s repertoire touched every genre imaginable. You could hear British-style blues rock, and on the other side Delta blues-flavored stuff too. Blues may be the base, but there were real excursions into soul, funk, country, psychedelic rock and whatever else you can think of. With the guest musicians and extra instruments, Prismojeni showed just how open blues really is, busting more than a few stereotypes along the way.
Of course, there were covers this time as well. Hendrix’s Voodoo Chile has become a staple, and it was played with an incredible amount of precision and authenticity. Guitarist Julijan Erič has studied practically every move of the guitar legend. But it would be unfair to say Julijan was the only one shining. Prismojeni work as one entity, with every member nailing their part. Above all, the communication between the members and their tightness deserve praise. Miha Erič was once again masterful on harmonica and vocals. He also sat down with a lap steel guitar, adding even more color to an already colorful repertoire. The rhythm section was impressive throughout, too. Drummer Zlatko Đogić helped out on vocals the whole time and charmed the crowd with his joking banter, and in a good three hours he only took one short break, when it was time for Miha Ribarič’s bass solo, which got extra spice from a rapped version of Fuck the Police by N.W.A. In short, Prismojeni are truly without limits.
There were quite a few guest musicians. On several songs they were joined by guitarist Grega Smola Crnkovič, who also helped record the band’s current album. If Julijan Erič wowed with his Hendrix style, Crnkovič wowed with a Stevie Ray Vaughan style. The soloing from both guitarists was a real treat for fans of guitar virtuosity. Saxophone had already been covered, but Lovro Ravbar added more, showing off his chops on the instrument with a virtuoso number.
The program was undoubtedly rich, but for quite a few people it was too long, which showed after two and a half hours when some of the audience started heading out. Toward the end the band began to realize it was slowly time to say goodbye. But there was still one more surprise in store, and it earned the loudest applause of the night. Pero Lovšin stepped on stage and sang »Na svoji poti« with the band, putting the cherry on top of the cake.
Despite the long show, the band was called back to the stage after three hours. After the introductions of the members and guests, one last »jam« went down, and that wrapped up the long epic that presented the new album »Wacky Blues Professors«.
With the Cankarjev Dom concert marking 10 years together, Prismojeni profesorji bluesa once again proved an incredible uniqueness and authenticity that has no equal in Slovenia. The band is full of unexpected twists, can be serious, and can also joke around brilliantly. They can serve up something simple or something more demanding. There are no limits here, just a progressive mindset that will take them far, as long as they keep going in this direction.
