Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Venue: Mladinski center / Brežice / Slovenia
Concert date: 09.04.2011
Attendance: 100
Ticket price: 7,00€
The reawakened Croatian hard rockers Opća Opasnost, who spectacularly revived their mission on 10.07.2008 when they played alongside Divlje Jagode as the first support act for the legendary Whitesnake in Osijek, have finally made it to Slovenia for the first time. After releasing their third studio album “Ruski rulet” (1997), the band kind of vanished from the radar and settled into a long break. But when the spark of interest in the classic approach to hard rock came back, it also stirred this group from Županja, Croatia, out of hibernation. Just how hot Opća Opasnost are at home in Croatia right now is shown by the fact that, according to some polls, music fans named them band of the year 2010 in Croatia.
The reunion has also brought the band onto Slovenian stages for the first time. After their gig in Postojna on 08.04.2011 got cancelled, they still had one more iron in the fire, and they made the most of it, finally managing to book their historic debut in front of a Slovenian audience.
Despite the fact that the band had to wait until ten in the evening, and despite choosing a Saturday for the show, no more than about 100 souls hungry for a rock party turned up to greet them. Mladinski center in Brežice boasts a really charming, nicely done concert space, and let’s hope it gets put to much better use in the future, and attracts bigger crowds too. It has incredible potential and could bring the rock pulse back to life in this part of Slovenia.
Opća Opasnost took the stage as a sextet, with Pero Galić (vocals), Slaven Živanović (guitar), Igor Kolić (bass), Vlado Soljačić (guitar), Josip Kamenski (drums) and Branimir Jovanovac on keyboards. The band didn’t hide their great mood from the moment they walked on, hitting the ground running with the new song Vritualni novi svijet, which also represents their upcoming album of the same name. It’s supposed to come out this very April. The stage caught fire, and the next track, Ruski rulet, poured oil on the flames. That’s when it became clear that half the audience was actually Croatian, since they knew the lyrics down to the last “dot” and didn’t let up in the songs that followed. The first half of the crowd, from the stage back into the depths of the hall, was Croatian, while from about the middle of the hall back toward the door and the mixing desk stood the Slovenian crowd.
The band cut through their marathon set of no fewer than twenty-four numbers with total confidence, incredible cohesion, rich experience and a masterful handle on most of the stage tricks. The stage dynamics and the interplay between the musicians were front and center, and the guys seemed hungry to play live and prove themselves, as if they were stepping on stage for the very first time in their career. Pero Galić had the crowd eating out of his hand in an instant, and with his commanding, clean, melodic voice and polished stage presence he played the part of the charismatic “frontman” perfectly. The man held up great vocally throughout the show and never for a second sounded “worn out” or tired.
Of course the new hits Uzalud sunce sja and Tri rijeke were a must, firing up the crowd and shamelessly predicting that the new album “Virtualni novi svijet” will be a real smash in Croatia in 2011. The band mixed songs from all their albums into the setlist and took us on a historic journey through their own musical legacy. A true Opća Opasnost fan could hardly have wished for more this time. In fact, in Brežice the band basically ran through the repertoire of their recently released “Best of…” album from 2009, rattling off hit after hit.
Now, with all this idyllic stuff described, there was really only one thing worth wishing for this time: better sound in the hall. It was awful from wherever you watched the band on stage. The guitars were muddy, the keyboards were only audible during the ballads, and the drums were way too loud. Luckily Pero Galić’s vocals sounded great, loud enough and commanding, and so he somehow cleverly masked the poorly built sound picture in the hall.
To close, the band repeated two of the excellent new songs, Virtualni novi svijet and Uzalud sunce sja, rounding off their historic first show in Slovenia in grand style. Judging by the reactions of the small crowd, which was anything but reserved, with the first few rows going absolutely wild with enthusiasm, it was more than clear that Opća Opasnost completed their mission in Brežice with flying colors. They’re hot in Croatia, the new album is just around the corner, the live DVD “15 Godina – Live Županja” was nominated for a Porin (the Croatian version of the Grammy)… so the reborn Croatian hard rockers are enjoying their mature years and a fresh bloom.
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Setlist
1. Virtualni novi svijet 2. Ruski rulet 3. Ti 4. Uzalud sunce sja 5. Put Another Dollar 6. Amerika 7. Progoniš me 8. Čudan ples 9. Mesečar 10. Ti mi nečeš reći zbogom 11. Rock N’ Roll ne trpi mol 12. Nisam rođen pod sretnim zvijezdama 13. Trerba mi nešto jače od sna 14. Opća opasnost 15. Mačka 16. Ratujem sa ženama 17. Doktore 18. Nebo 19. Grad 20. Tri rijeke 21. Srce zna 22. Jednom kad noć —encore— 23. Virtualni novi svijet 24. Uzalud sunce sja
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