Venue: Rock bar Down town
Concert date: 01.10.2009
Attendance: 200
Ticket price: 5 eur
A chilly October evening in the courtyard of Rock bar Down town in Kranj was anything but pleasant for loosening up your fingers and doing gymnastics on the fretboard, which is what the now-traditional Festival kreativnih kitaristov (Creative Guitarists Festival) offers every year. The competition, organized by Art center, whose past winners include Bor Zuljan, Primož Grašič and Mark Pader, is already on its ninth edition, and one of its trademarks is that it takes place at a different location practically every time. The courtyard of the bar, which is currently hosting the third Down town festival, was definitely a fitting choice, but because of the unexpected autumn cold snap, the contestants, as mentioned, had to spend a bit more time warming up and stretching their upper limbs.
When Obroč from Ilirska Bistrica wrapped up their set around nine o’clock, things got serious. This time, the contenders for Jože Volarič’s steel statuette were Nejc Ušlakar, Jure Podlesnik, Blaž Potrebuješ, Žiga Gros, and the guitar duo David Arnež & Jure Korošec. Podlesnik went first, and with a rhythm guitarist backing him he fired off some thrash riffs and solos, then delighted us at the end of his set by lifting his guitar and playing the grand finale behind his head, Ivica Kostelić style (which of course isn’t meant as criticism). After him, Anže Vidic of Escape took the stage first. He wasn’t on the list of performers, but we soon learned he’d be backing his promising, barely seventeen-year-old student Nejc Ušlakar. The kid, who is also the youngest competitor in FKK history, didn’t disappoint. He started with an acoustic intro, then served up some heavier riffs, made good use of the classical passages to show off his technical chops, which are definitely encouraging for his age, and closed with a cover of Sweet child o’ mine. Ušlakar was followed on stage by Žiga Gros, known from High Voltage and Skystation, who, given his experience, could probably have shown more, but with smart use of floor pedals, a volume pedal and a whammy effect, he still created more than enough atmosphere. The most energetic performance came from David Arnež and Jure Korošec of the Radovljica band First strike, backed on bass by Miha Oman of the band Mit. The guys staged a proper sonic assault, with the two guitarists trading a few moderately bouncy solos and riffs. The blond-haired Arnež led the way with his stage presence and skill (and a little less with his Les Paul copy). Blaž Potrebuješ closed out the competition shortly after eleven, and then the stage was handed over to the prog crew Doggy’s tones and Tadej Košir, who is currently lending his guitar services to Neisha.
Of course, we didn’t see anything new on stage, because, let’s be honest, the guitar is an instrument that hasn’t changed all that much over the past twenty-five years, either in sound or in technique. As far as technique goes, we also missed breadth and variety among the performers, since everyone mostly stuck to the grips and positions they know and have down. For example, we never got the fast “picking” run along the whole neck, which usually brings the most ovations and points, and we watched in vain for the toughest element of all, the so-called sweeps, which to this day still separate the good guitarists from the great ones. Even though they’ve been around for quite a while (they’ve got long beards by now), guitar techniques still offer an endless sea of material to study, and it still holds true that a good guitarist is not someone who sticks to just one element, but someone whose skills are adorned by the breadth mentioned above. From a compositional standpoint, too, this year’s competition didn’t deliver any standout moments or particular originality, as the program was mostly made up of chewed-over riffs, pentatonic patterns and predictable covers. That said, the contestants did their sets with flying colors and, considering the age of some of them, showed a hefty dose of guts and determination. If they keep honing and broadening their skills, and add a suitable creative spark to the mix, we’ve got nothing to fear for the future of guitar music. Credit is also due to Art center, an institute for youth culture, which through the Festival kreativnih kitaristov keeps this part of rock heritage alive, a heritage that has quite obviously infected a generation of people who weren’t even born in its golden years.
And the winner? The seasoned Žiga Gros. Congratulations from Rockline too.
Photos: Tomo Jurca
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