Author: Urban Bolta
Location: Mali grad / Kamnik
Concert date: 12.08.2012
Attendance: 250
Ticket price: free admission
Every year, the middle of August brings a special atmosphere to Kamnik! This little medieval town, with its beautifully preserved old quarter and Mali grad (the Little Castle) perched on a hill right in the center, is one of the most picturesque spots in Slovenia. In the summer months Kamnik treats visitors to the cozy vibe of inviting cafés, tucked away in old alleyways whose air of mystery only adds to the pleasant feeling of strolling through a historic town.
These days Kamnik is hosting Kamfest, a “festival with a view,” as the official festival slogan goes. It’s a cultural and social festival with workshops, exhibitions, theater and sports performances and, of course, concerts. Most of those take place at Mali grad on the aforementioned hill right in the center, so the audience gets a gorgeous backdrop with a view over part of the old town the whole time. The one downside of this picturesque concert setting, without a doubt one of the nicest in Slovenia, is the limited capacity: the main stage and the mixing desk alone take up about half of the available space, so visitors have to make peace with standing on uneven ground or even perching on one of the castle walls, worn down by time.
On the third day of the festival, Janez Bončina Benč took the main stage, a longtime promoter of Slovenian rock who, through his work in numerous lineups over the years, has left an indelible mark on the Slovenian and wider Yugoslav music scene. A few minutes past the unofficial half past eight in the evening, a cheerful Benč, wearing his trademark hat, strolled onto the stage and packed the place out from the very first bars of the song Navali narod na gostilne. By my estimate, around 200 fans of old-school rock gathered on the hillside during his set, including a few older music lovers.
After the opener, Benč introduced the friends who provided his backing music for the night. The old seasoned veterans Jadran Ogrin and Marjan Malikovič, who usually keep him company, were replaced by young blood: Jani Moder held the guitar, Žiga Baron sat behind the drums, and Jan Gregorka coaxed the sounds out of the bass.
Even though they’re young musicians, they proved to be an extremely functional and adaptable crew, and even though they don’t play together every day, each of them knew how to add their own precisely defined piece to the shared musical mosaic. How could it be otherwise, when both Jani and Žiga had already worked with Benč on the recording of his latest album »Sol, poper in sanje« and got to know his approach to music back then. In the first part of the concert Benč placed plenty of new material: the songs Štipenzija, Sol, poper in sanje and I feel love served as a warm-up before the more exciting second part of the get-together.
The songs Maja z biser and Kadar ognji dogorijo kicked off a more active flirtation with Benč’s legacy from the seventies. In his usual manner, the 64-year-old Benč linked the tracks with short, funny stories that served as a bridge between the audience and the performers. The backing musicians, playing on their home Kamnik turf, fit right into the show and gave the impression that they had always been part of Benč’s inventory. Jan’s powerful bass line emphasized the funk component throughout, and his technique of slapping the neck of the guitar was especially interesting, hinting at this young musician’s own distinctive path of development. Guitarist Jani also maneuvered like a chameleon between the moods of blues, funk and rock, and clicked with Benč’s philosophy of longer instrumental parts, in which the lead guitar joins the rhythm section in holding the groove and so effectively plays the role of rhythm guitar. Benč routinely tamed the more demanding vocal lines and adapted them to his current abilities, but you have to admit that, considering his age, he’s still very vital, both physically and vocally! The biggest hits of Benč’s career, Na noge, Ob šanku and Ta noč je moja, signaled that the show was nearing its end, and between those tracks the band also slipped in September’s cover Luduj z nama and, despite the lack of backing vocals and keyboards, handled that demanding challenge satisfactorily. After a short break the little crew returned to the stage and wrapped up the hour-and-a-half musical journey with Gvendolina, yet another ancient song by Benč’s band Srce, originally from 1972.
Another night with Benč, another great experience! This time it was the gorgeous summer-evening ambience at Mali grad in Kamnik that did the trick, and together with Benč’s musical language it squeezed everything it could out of a Sunday night.
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