Location: Roxly Bar / Ljubljana / Slovenia
Concert date: 11.11.2008
Attendance: 70
Ticket price: 0,00€
Mit are a fresh band that has just popped up on the Slovenian scene! They hail from Dol pri Ljubljani. The band’s creators, the brains behind the idea and the main songwriters, are Uroš Petrovski (vocals) and Matevž Pavčnik (guitar). All they needed to get things rolling and turn their ideas into reality was experience and a bit of road-hardened know-how, which they found by recruiting no fewer than two thirds of Lady’s First. Lady’s First are clearly more of a “party time” outfit, so playing in the very different Mit gives them an extra pressure valve. The Mit lineup is rounded out by Lady’s First guys Miha Oman (guitar), Aaron Cernatič (bass) and Miha Plesničar (drums), guys who know each other inside out. That was a huge advantage in Mit’s quick progress, speeding up the turning of musical ideas into songs and getting the band tight at rehearsals faster. The part of the band coming from Lady’s First also brought a good “plugged-in” factor to the scene as far as connections go, plus the ability to set up gigs fast, so they gave Mit that essential management side too. The guys found a working formula that gave Mit a point and a purpose very quickly, and they were ready to start showing off their music on stage!
Their promo tour brought them to Ljubljana’s Roxly bar, where they split their set into two parts of 45 minutes with a break in between. Before the show the guys spent some time promoting their first video, for the song Neskončen dan, but the real itch of curiosity, for me and Stone Orange lead guitarist Tom, only started getting scratched around eleven o’clock, when the guys finally sent their machine galloping. Across their seven songs they mixed in covers of foreign artists, the same way (interestingly) Lady’s First do it. Even the 2×45 minutes with a 15-minute break is a tried and very good idea, which must have come from the heads of the Lady’s First members.
From the very first beat it was clear that Mit build their whole presence around the sharply defined, convincing, charismatic and seriously interesting voice of Uroš Petrovski. He brings a lower-pitched vocal to the band’s sound, one that, polished as it is, has tremendous power and explosiveness, plus a colorful articulation that lets him string together different moods over the course of the material. The guy often deliberately hits dissonant notes and works them into his singing, which comes straight from the old “Bowie” school, even though Uroš has nothing to do with that pioneer. That’s how he pins melancholy, hidden longing, hopelessness and rebellious anger onto the songs, since he can pull a truly “black” depth of color out of his voice.
Both guitars unleash noisy, metalized riffing that builds a massive wall of sound in the background, with a deliberately smeared, slightly rasping final effect, and the low-pitched vocals sit in it perfectly. Add the tight, proven Aaron-Flešo rhythm section and the whole thing just has to work. The riffs are simplified, the solos mostly simple, minimal and sprinkled in by the pinch, which is more than welcome given the aim of putting the wall of riffs and, of course, Uroš’s vocals front and center. It’s better to have no solos at all than ones that happen to be more complex. So you could say the guys are creating a kind of alternative metal branch that is recognizable, distinctive and appealing right out of the gate, and in which you can pick out, like a thin veil over everything, that typical Slovenian melancholic vibe. You can easily spot that unique Slovenian stamp in a band like Siddharta, for example. Mit, though, are a story from a completely different dough, and they reach that vibe by their own recipe. Maybe “the Slovenian HIM” would do as a first point of orientation, though it’s by no means enough.
They opened the show with their own song Pošasti, simple, punchy and groovy. Uroš’s confident performance was a real treat, and he immediately showed he’s a talented singer who takes absolute primacy in the band with his charismatic presence. We mentioned the covers, and the guys took them on entirely their own way, which is the only right way. Opposites are usually very attractive, the guys know that, so they dressed up Chris Isaak’s pop ditty Wicked Game in their own steel-black metal look. If HIM hadn’t beaten them to it, I’d just have to congratulate them. The Depeche Mode classic Enjoy The Silence came out remarkably well in Mit’s hands and really got the women in the Roxly crowd going. The guys closed the first part with Neskončen dan, which they plan to release as a “single” in the near future.
They didn’t hide their love for HIM after the break either, opening the second part of their set with a cover of Right Here In My Arms, where Uroš’s vocals burned once again, and they also nailed Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell, even though the guitar solo in it was totally unnecessary this time, so different is Mit’s musical expression from Idol’s original. Where The Streets Have No Names, U2-style, came off a little less interesting, while with Pat Cemetery (Ramones) the guys hit the nail on the head again. The original material sounds fresh and special for the Slovenian scene. The alternative leaning is simple and instantly accessible, and the vocalist’s charisma and charm could, with a bit of luck and the right backing, open the doors to the airwaves and the charts for these guys in the future.
At the end the guys played Enjoy The Silence (Depeche Mode) once more and wrapped up the show with Neskončen dan, the song they’re giving special media attention (video, single release). The sound during the Mit show was seriously on point for such a small club space.
The night was far from over, though. We each grabbed a mug of beer and kept partying for as long as partying was possible. Mit have been launched happily, and with their arrival they’ve more than enriched the Slovenian music scene. Let’s hope the band’s courage, creative drive and other efforts bear fruit and give them a real media breakthrough. After what we experienced at Roxly, Mit are definitely a band to take very seriously in the future.
Setlist
1. Pošasti
2. Enjoy The Silence
3. Maršal
4. Wicked Game
5. Črni dež
6. Word Up
7. Neskončen dan
—15-minute break—
8. Right Here In My Arms
9. Mit
10. Rebel Yell
11. Where The Streets Have No Name
12. Odisej
13. Pat Cemetery
14. Imolo Vesperi
—encore—
15. Enjoy The Silence
16. Neskončen dan
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