Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ljubljana / CUK Kino Šiška / Slovenia
Concert date: 11.05.2012
Attendance: 200
Ticket price: €10.00 (presale) / €15.00 (day of the show)
Folks from Goriška in Ljubljana! By 6 p.m., CUK Kino Šiška was already merrily bubbling over. Naturally, that was thanks to the abundance of food and fine wine, which had lured a curious crowd from all corners of Slovenia. What’s more, it felt like this time the pulse of the music had been pushed a bit into the background, and yet. Primorska, rock and fine wine. A famous combination that can’t and won’t deny itself. Tried and tested. Through the years, as Nova Gorica’s Avtomobili would say. Avtomobili? Yes. Besides them, the rock side of the evening was also held up by their fellow Nova Gorica locals Zaklonišče Prepeva, The Users, Nikka, Valterap and Primarna.
The event, also called Goriška pomlad, had as its main goal presenting the Goriška region to the wider Slovenian public, especially the general »blockheads« of the Ljubljana area, and it was co-organized by the mayors of the municipalities of the Goriška region: Kostanjevica-Miren, Kanal ob Soči, Renče-Vogrsko, Nova Gorica, Šempeter-Vrtojba and Brda. Naturally, the promotion was also attended by representatives of Slovenian politics, entrepreneurs, business partners… in short, it was lively, even though RockLine generally isn’t great at telling apart faces that aren’t primarily tied to music!
So that night, we weren’t interested in the partnership dealings of the people cited in the paragraph above, but mainly in the performance of the legendary Avtomobili, who were slotted at the very tail end of the lineup with an hour-long set at their disposal. According to the schedule, they were supposed to go on only at midnight. And sure enough, they hit the stage right at midnight. Marko Vuksanovič (vocals), Mirko Vuksanovič (keyboards, backing vocals), Boštjan Andrejc »Bushy« (guitar, backing vocals), David Morgan (drums) and David Šuligoj (bass) are Avtomobili. The very same Avtomobili who are celebrating 30 years of existence this year.
There’s no need to wax poetic about Avtomobili. Their music speaks for itself. More than for itself. Today they’re considered one of the finest bands ever to emerge under the Slovenian sun, and there isn’t a hero who’d dare claim otherwise. Their deeply sensitive fine-tuned craft in delivering musical information is a timeless one-of-a-kind that deserves special treatment, especially when drawing parallels with other Slovenian bands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCCCfIgXXoQ
With their body of work, Avtomobili prove they remain one of the most distinctive and recognizable bands of our time and place. They’ve developed a symbiotic blend of extraordinary perfection in delivering fully exploited soundscapes, along with an exceptional balance of infectious melodic compactness, true rock dynamics and art eclecticism, which stamps them with complete originality. Their music is made so that you can listen to it anytime, anywhere. With its realness, it effortlessly touches even the most hidden corner of a listener’s soul. It’s loved by radio frequencies and by the wary ear of every music critic, no matter how sharp their pen.
Even after 30 years, Avtomobili remain fresh and full of life energy.. The band is preparing a new studio album, due out this very year, and the single »Poslušaj« quickly signaled that if the whole album goes in this vein, we’ll once again witness yet another magnificent feat from a band that will proudly add a new little stone to its richly expressive discographic mosaic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8-i79WTTYE
The band’s set, which flew by far too fast, was graced, as always, by an excellent sound. A symbiosis of instruments in perfect balance. A solid, warm, natural-sounding, active partnership of the rhythm section laid down a powerful base platform, which drove, like a dynamo, the fine interplay of masterful flirting between keyboards and guitar. These are those short, punchy but highly evil little tricks, sophisticatedly assembled into a compactly effective conglomerate, which Marko Vuksanovič’s velvety, caressing vocals carry into a perfect experience. Priceless and inimitable authenticity. It’s a striking experience to realize the exceptional power that adorns this band when it finds itself in the role of stage performer. They have everything under control. The sound, the communication between them. Perfection!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivSNjhBlBEE
The evergreens Ona nosi uniformu, Ljubezen ne stanuje tu, Gorica, Le enkrat v življenju, Gospodar, Sama and the closing Skozi leta carried the few survivors in the hall at that late hour, maybe 200 at most, to a returning burst of enthusiastic applause, on the strength of which the band earned two encores. In the first it played the classic Enakonočje, and in the second it presented the new song Netopir. It had also planned to play Poslušaj, but unfortunately had to wrap up the show right after Netopir.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65fx7_A5a-I
After the show, Marko returned to the stage and shook hands with some of the band’s most fervent fans. Among them, there were even rock fans from Prekmurje who had come to greet the band at the concert, traveling all the way to Ljubljana specifically for this event, which is an act worthy of every respect.
Avtomobili return to Cankarjev dom this October. There they’ll celebrate 30 years of activity and the release of the new studio album. This big moment from these esteemed and unique art rock masters, full of symbolic value, is by no means one to miss.
Photo gallery
