Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Mlin pri Marjanu / Gabrje pri Stični / Slovenia
Concert date: 06.02.2011
Attendance: 70
Ticket price: €0.00 (free entry)
The things you get to see in this life! The name Adam Bomb has probably stuck by now with those of you who follow at least a bit more than the idiocy peddled by the paid idiots of mainstream radio and the hollow fluff of MTV. The man, born Adam Brenner – pyromania was clearly laid in his cradle – has already played Slovenian stages quite a few times in the last few years. Most recently in November 2010! Only a few months have gone by, and the guy is back again with his two sidekicks, bassist Paul Del Bello and freshly baked band member, drummer Violet The Cannibal.
“Mlin pri Marjanu” is the name of this time’s destination for authentic rock n’ roll sin. It reads like something out of Hansel and Gretel! If you’re sick of the Sunday-night flirting with the most beautiful male jawline in Slovenia, every time you switch on the TV in the evening and the unforgettable, one-of-a-kind Mario Galunič pops up on it, you’ve still got an option in the Slovenian countryside: reliving the movie “Deliverance” starring Jon Voight. All you have to do is saddle up or hitch up your two- or four-wheeler and ride through Ivančna Gorica, then on through the village of Stična, into the valley of the Stiški potok, to a lonely house that smells of smoked sausages and smoked beech wood. It’s freezing outside. We’re in the middle of February, the night is clear, the location is a dead end. Snow crunches underfoot as I happily crawl out of the car and thank lady luck that this time I didn’t end up in the creek with it. Parking? Einstein still hasn’t come up with the right formula to beat a challenge like that when you’re heading to Mlin pri Marjanu.
It’s past nine, and the place is packed. Literally. On stage stands the New York king of the glam rock underground blasting out a one-of-a-kind cover of The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again. In a flash the room is wrapped in white smoke – Adam Bomb is on fire! Adam is a low-budget scoundrel. He’s happiest when he gets a few coins in his pocket to cover travel costs, a hot meal, a roof over his head and, if possible, a pretty young thing who snuggles up to him and warms the forever-wandering heart of a lonesome rider.
An extremely undemanding, grateful creature – and as a thank-you he puts together an unforgettable stage party for you! Adam is dressed and groomed on stage just the way it’s done. Provocative pointy leather boots, ripped spandex pants, draped in studded latex, topped off with a hat. Brooding stare from under the brow, lower lip locked in place! The man doesn’t do jokes! On his right is his more loosely dressed colleague, bassist Del Bello, and behind his back, a wild filly on drums – the cannibal Violet!
Adam Bomb is a man with serious mileage! When he plays guitar, he rarely glances at the neck, especially if the solos are “simpler” in design! Even when he’s deep into singing the verses, he effortlessly tackles ever more difficult transitional passages made up of lots of chords, all the while weaving in extra notes and harmonic flourishes, spicing up his concert night and successfully fending off the danger of his life on tour ever turning monotonous. A slightly dissonant vocal approach, at times stiff and screechy, and also downright cynical when it’s time to hack away at Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York. The man held the crowd tight beside him as he slid completely spontaneously through well-known phrases of rock giants into the songs from his own concert repertoire. So before I Want My Heavy Metal he slipped in the main riff of Smoke On The Water (Deep Purple), followed right away by Hell’s Bells (AC/DC). He also liked to come back to AC/DC now and then later on (Thunderstruck). Of course there was no skipping the devastating Je T’Aime Baby, the all-too-obligatory P.U.R.E. Sex, the wildly out-of-control rock n’ roll number DWI On The Info Super-Highway and, before the finish, the by now expected Rock Like Fuck.
Adam Bomb showed off his top-notch guitar chops in his solo excursions and his remarkable spontaneity and ease of playing. When the man shakes Eddie Van Halen’s Eruption out of his sleeve, any further chatter on the subject is completely superfluous. The spontaneity, routine and well-oiled feel were confirmed especially by the aforementioned DWI On The Info Super-Highway, with a lengthy improvised guitar break in the middle. That’s where the two red-hot Kiss covers, Deuce and Firehouse, came in, and right at the very end the Led Zeppelin classic Rock And Roll. The man knows how to fire up a crowd and keep it close, so they follow him and eat out of his hand! Adam Bomb didn’t forget the pyrotechnic bits either, which included lighting sparklers, blowing fire, setting cymbals on fire and Adam’s Gibson Les Paul guitar. It felt like the place was actually burning down, and the salvos of white smoke looked downright grotesque in a converted farmhouse parlor. Simply an unforgettable, one-of-a-kind concert experience. How to create everything out of nothing.
An hour and 40 minutes of sweat and rolling from song to song. The rock potency of the primal glam/sleaze underground has been brought back to life! Towards the end Adam announced that this was his second time playing this location, and certainly not the last this evening! Let’s hope for as many more meetups as possible with a legend of unique charisma and stage charm, and let’s wish him a safe trip across Europe. With his modesty, yet fierce and uncompromising approach, Adam Bomb proved that there’s an unrotted heart beating in him that nothing can tame. This is a musician who, with such sincere faith in his deeds and his gospel, will stay forever young and convincing.
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
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