Author: Urban Bolta
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ljubljana / Cvetličarna MediaPark / Slovenia
Concert date: December 16, 2011
Attendance: 700
Ticket price: €23.00
Gigs by this or that legend of “Yugoslav” rock’n’roll in Ljubljana and all across our homeland have long been a fixture, one that usually fills the promoters’ pockets while holding back the growth of the local rock scene. Still, it’s rare for the capital to echo with the sounds of two big bands from the former shared country on the same night, which is exactly what happened on Saturday, December 17. Parni Valjak properly warmed up Stožice Arena, while Riblja Čorba took over Cvetličarna.
Čorba is still Čorba. Because of the radical views of frontman Bora Đorđević, the band hasn’t played in Croatia for years, so the parking lots around Cvetličarna were packed with a heap of steel ponies with Zagreb and other Croatian plates, and a minibus full of fans even rolled in from coastal Rijeka. Over the years even the hardest convictions have softened a little, and Bora spared a few words of greeting for everyone who’d come from south of the Kolpa during the show.
At nine in the evening the club hall was still almost empty, but by showtime a good half hour later it had filled up in fine style. Čorba opened with the assault anthem Radiću šta god hoću from their latest album “Minut Sa Njom” (2009) and set the front rows ablaze, a fire that spread in every direction without restraint as the night went on. Center stage stood none other than the ever-smiling Bora Đorđević, with bassist Miša Aleksić on his right, drummer Vicko Milatović at the back (all three have been loyal to Čorba their entire careers, from the founding in 1978 to this day), and Vidoja Božinović wielding a guitar on the right side, while keyboardist Nikola Zorić looked for his place under the sun in the background. The legendary Serbian apostles of rock’n’roll have been working in this lineup for a decade, their longest stretch without changes, and as a result they come across on stage as a solid, rock-steady unit of well-drilled musicians. An unintended side effect of being a constant presence on the music market is pure routine, and riding the steady updraft of the crowd, Čorba breezed through this gig on it, too.
Bora and the warriors (let me remind you, “Bora i ratnici” was one of the candidates for the band’s name back in 1978, when they were looking for a fitting moniker) dove into the greatest triumphs of their career without a second thought and fired off hit after hit: they played the acoustic Veter Duva Duva with their arms slung around each other’s shoulders, brought the ancient Rokenrol za kućni savet back into the set, and the loudest ovations went to Kad Sam Bio Mlad and Pogledaj dom svoj, anđele, which Bora introduced as simply their best song. It’s a real shame they cling to their tried-and-true setlists like a drunk to a fence, and the true fans of the band, myself included, don’t get treated to some rarely played gem from the Baja era, on top of the ones they play all the time, of course.
Bora Đorđević is incredible. The old man has put on a few pounds over the years, his hair has long been gray, and the color of experience only adds to the unbelievable charisma this beloved frontman has in unlimited supply. In his old manner he once again treated us between songs to a few of his own socially critical satires, which usually ended in a salvo of laughter and beer showers from the thoroughly uncivilized horde in attendance. Like ruler, like people! Bora, of course, couldn’t help being himself and introduced Volim volim volim žene with a “joyful announcement that they’ve banned the parade for the fags in Belgrade.” The other band members have no egocentric tendencies and don’t like to stand out, so this was yet another in a string of nights when the show went by under the sign of Bora.
The nearly two-hour get-together raced along its expected tracks to its end with the closing Lutko sa naslovne strane. Riblja čorba remains a hugely popular act, a well-oiled concert machine, but one that, thanks to sheer routine, leaves the regular follower of their shows empty. It was no different this time.. I hope I live to see the day when these aging legionnaires manage to prove me wrong.
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
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