Author: Urban Bolta
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Venue: Križanke / Ljubljana / Slovenia
Concert date: September 16, 2010
Attendance: 2,500
Ticket price: 25€ (presale) 29€ (day of show)
Pop Design used to be a byword for success. Hit records came out one after another, and hardly anyone could match the popularity of these likable lads from Dolenjska. In short, Pop Design meant something in our little country. Alongside bands like Martin krpan and Šank Rock, they brought the idea of melodic (pop) rock to Slovenia a few years behind the rest of the world, at the turn of the ’80s into the ’90s, and with a pile of hits they lodged themselves in Slovenian hearts. But in the years that followed, the wind started blowing from a different direction and the genre’s popularity dropped drastically. Pop Design saw it coming fast and trimmed their own sails to the new conditions, which drifted them slightly away from the sound of their roots. They never matched their old glory again, the band’s activity dwindled, and the logical result is that for almost a decade and a half now they’ve been working in the shadow of the success of younger musicians.
Given how much Pop Design have contributed to the Slovenian music scene, their 25th anniversary is understandably a big deal. An occasion worthy of Križanke! Despite the nasty tongues hinting that Križanke would sit empty that night, the predictions didn’t come true. Even with horrible weather, a big crowd was waiting when the party kicked off, filling the auditorium of the beloved Ljubljana concert venue nicely. Let’s also look at the names of the gentlemen who make up Pop Design in 2010. Shortly before nine in the evening, bandleader Tone Košmrlj (bass), Miran Rudan (vocals), Damjan Kuzmijak (guitar), Tomo Pavlin (keyboards) and Damjan Tomažin (drums) took the stage, and the promised spectacle could begin.
The fog-wrapped stage quickly revealed the silhouettes of the four instrumentalists, who started plowing through the show with the opening bars and sent a wave of excitement rolling from the audience. Last of all, Miran Rudan was spat out onto the stage for the vocals, and his verses gave the opening power rock ballad Zate a fresh push, so the overture alone vehemently whipped the crowd into a frenzy and forced them to join in. Next came Nekoč bom zbral pogum, Zbogom (written with the Dolenjska crowd in mind), and the Eurovision-flavored Baby Blue, and then it was time for the first guest of the night. Dragan Bulič shared with the audience his memories of the adventures he’d had with Košmrlj & co., after which came another dose of Pop Design tunes. But watch out: if the opening part of the show was dominated by long-established hits, the middle was perfectly timed to get the target audience ready for the newest melodies. It was time for O ljubezni in sreči and Srce iz črepinj, both from the upcoming album.
The guitar and keyboards combo kept coaxing out the recognizable melodies of the evergreen hits and giving everyone goosebumps. Pairing a good riff with the slow, dreamy sound of a keyboard curtain in the background is something Pop Design pull off like it’s nothing. Let’s be honest, technically their songs are dead simple, but they carry a fiery energy that, backed by a mighty chorus, creates some wonderfully soothing moments. The four instrumentalists were tight as a drum, so Rudan on vocals was the only one who botched it a few times. I’m not questioning his vocal abilities, but he’d had a glass or two before the show, and on stage that turned into one or two unnecessary slip-ups too many.
After Dragan Bulič’s second jump onto the big Križanke stage, the concert tipped into its second, crucial phase, in which bitter disappointments came one after another like on a conveyor belt. If the overall impression after the first good hour was strongly positive and managed to stir up nostalgic memories of growing up among the older fans, in the second part the curve turned downward. Maja Oderlap, Špela Grošelj, Tanja Žagar and similar flowers in the guest department, who know as much about music as I do about the history of bocce in South America, have no business at a serious pop rock concert. After some agonizing minutes, my ears finally got a rest during Na božično noč, with the musical backing provided by tamburitza players from Sodražica. Accompanied by the sophisticated instrumental backdrop of the tamburitza players and a thousand voices singing along, the beloved song came to life in a new form!
After the guest-star segment came plenty of returns to the stage and the very biggest hits, of which the band has piled up an enviable number over its long career. Zate Slovenija, Pokliči me nocoj and Ko si na tleh (played with Big Band Grosuplje) echoed through the rainy evening from poor old Vič all the way to the center on the other side of town. Still, despite Pop Design’s good form, I left the show with a lump in my throat, because I couldn’t shake the feeling that the heap of ill-fitting guests was there only as bait to sell tickets to people with a shallow interest in music.
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Setlist
1. Zate
2. Nekoč bom zbral pogum
3. Zbogom
4. Sedem dni
5. Baby Blue
6. Pepelka
7. O ljubezni in sreči
8. Srce iz črepinj
9. Ostani moja ne odhajaj
10. Vse dolge noči
11. Ne bom te pustil same
12. Zatreskan sem vate
13. Neko noč
14. Prihajam domov
15. Na nebo
16. Na božično noč
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17. Zaspi pri meni nocoj
18. Pika na i
19. Zate Slovenija
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20. Ne bom ti lagal
21. Pokliči me nocoj
22. Solza
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23. Potepuh
24. Ko si na tleh
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25. Na božično noč
26. Zbogom
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