Author: Urban Bolta
Photos: Jerneja Jerak
Venue: Orto bar / Ljubljana / Slovenia
Concert date: January 18, 2013
Attendance: 70
Ticket price: €5
Last year, 2012, went well for Styrian punk’n’roll champs Muškat Hamburg, who operate somewhere on the Maribor–Gornja Radgona–Velenje axis. They put out their long-awaited second album, »Zbogom Madamfucker«, and carried its voice on the road, not just around Slovenia but also through a handful of club shows across the former Yugoslavia. As proof that Muškat Hamburg haven’t gone into winter hibernation in the new year and that their wheels are still turning, they came back to Ljubljana in the second half of January – this time to Orto bar.
Before the Styrian hurricane started tearing through the upper floor of Orto bar, a little after ten in the evening International Rock’N’Roll Cirkus began warming up the half-empty room. They’re a young punk trio working in the waters of no-frills rock’n’roll. The lineup is Arsa on guitar and vocals, Sabina on bass and Tuljo on drums, and they come from different geographical backgrounds – which is where the band’s name comes from. But music is a universal language, so a little under two years ago the like-minded trio decided to start a new project, and in that time it has already made a name for itself with a few notable gigs, including last year’s 19th anniversary of Metelkova. The trio makes garage punk rock, with a rhythm section that’s pretty much punk-distorted and frontman Arsa nudging it closer to garage rock’n’roll with dirty guitar riffs. In a good half hour set they played a likeable batch of original material, which generally peaked in the songs with more dynamic structures, like the closer Puštam te i odlazim, a real mini-epic treat with an excellent bass foundation and angry yet likeable, infectious backing vocals in the chorus.
While the opening act was playing, Orto bar filled up a bit, but I’ll be honest, I still expected a bigger crowd. Not only was the gig on a Friday, when young people usually want to unwind, but last year’s Ljubljana release show for the new album by Muškat Hamburg drew a much bigger crowd, and since then the Styrians have taken another step forward – they released two music videos and promoted themselves actively. Sadly, being well-oiled and having a nearly cult tenure in the underground scene isn’t enough for quality, toxically wound-up bands like Muškat Hamburg to knock on the door of bigger media exposure and so raise their own market value.
Muškat Hamburg built the setlist from a likeable mix of both released albums and hit with a direct rock’n’roll attack right from the first song, in their unmistakable style! The crowd started shuffling toward the stage almost without realizing it, and later, at the urging of the energetic frontman Radgonski biser, completely filled the gap between the stage and the front rows – the foundations for a group party were laid! In the audience you could spot Matej Gobec, the producer of their current record, as well as Slavc and Soki, the rhythm section of the Primorska party animals Elvis Jackson. Let me remind you that Soki used to rock the alternative scene of Maribor and has probably been friends with the Muškats since forever, so deciding to catch their gig must have been child’s play for him.
Muškat Hamburg were born for the stage! Their testosterone-soaked musical style sounds even more authentic live than on your couch at home, since with a carefully built stage show they follow the humorous messaging of their lyrics, which poke fun at the everyday adventures of the little guy, in a bouncy and eye-catching way. The already mentioned frontman Radgonski biser and bassist Sissy Pop(e) kept nurturing their stage presence with theatrical performances throughout, the latter communicating with the crowd through playful facial expressions in the style of Devin Townsend. The reliable guitar foundation from the duo of Otto and Gangsta Rocker constantly delivered a ruffled rock’n’roll rhythm in the vein of the good old Stooges school, and a hallmark of their vocabulary is the constant guitar solos, usually built right into the skeleton of their songs – typical examples were Manijak and Jacuzzi Man. Despite the seemingly distorted sound, their tightness is crucial thanks to the constant multi-part choruses and the interplay of both guitars, although a flub in the transition in S.P. Blues proved that they, too, are just flesh and blood. The bewildered looks they first exchanged after the rhythmic slip quickly spread into broad grins, and they were already jumping into one of the punchier songs on the new album, Revolucije od nikoder.
There was very little chatter between songs. Radgonski biser and the whole band are comparable in this respect to the British old guard Motörhead: racing through the gig at the speed of light, no reverse gear! Kongo, Vse sem si zaslužo and Nekega lepega dne, as examples of their best compositions, found their place at the end of a set a good hour long, which, like the cherry on top of the cake, was spiced up as Orto’s curfew ran out by the song Delaj & papaj with its meaningful chorus »človek more ‘met Slovenijo rad«. Just right given the current social and political climate in our little country, wouldn’t you say?
It was an explosive night, one where a splash of Muškat, punk burlesque and rock’n’roll rowdiness once again showed Styria’s Muškat Hamburg to be one of a kind in our corner of the world. I’m already looking forward to their future projects, because with their one-of-a-kind party formula they won me over a long time ago!
Setlist
1. Banda prihajam domov
2. Manijak
3. Walkie-Talkie Woman
4. Jacuzzi Man
5. To je to
6. Malo seksa & drog
7. S.P. Blues
8. Revolucije od nikoder
9. Pobrala me bo smrt
10. Sobota
11. Življenje ni potica
12. The Fact
13. Punči nocoj
14. Odpri oči
15. Kongo
16. Vse sem si zaslužo
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17. Nekega lepega dne
18. Delaj & papaj
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