Venue: Komuna / CUK Kino Šiška / Ljubljana
Concert date: 03.05.2013
Attendance: 100
Ticket price: Indekš 8 EUR, advance 10 EUR, door 12 EUR, Indekš Turnir 25 EUR for 6 Indekš concerts
May has arrived, and with it a series of urban gigs in Ljubljana going by the name Indekš Turnir. Indeks? Yes, Indekš Turnir is aimed squarely at the student crowd, who can collect concert “indeks” stamps and win, among other things, a ticket to the August show by the hottest young band on the planet right now: Tame Impala. From May 3 to 31, the Kino Šiška crew is putting on a series of six shows by lesser-known foreign bands and artists, and last Friday it was kicked off by an unusual young Canadian guy by the name of Mac DeMarco.
But before we get to dissecting DeMarco’s set, a few words are due for his opener. Sean Nicholas Savage is far from interesting only to the LGBT crowd. Back home in Montreal, his shows are considered one of the biggest club attractions of the local “underground” scene. Savage makes you laugh and wins you over musically at the same time. His heartfelt and at times over-the-top pathetic (but not in a bad way) stage gesturing is the perfect embodiment of his “Back To The Future” music. Savage’s alien, androgynous look (Steve Buscemi Jr.) and the fashion and musical aesthetics of the seventies and eighties grab you in an instant. Not necessarily in a positive way, but he soon burrows under your skin. His take on last-century Europop and synthpop is so over-the-top “cheesy”, so sugar-sweet like candy, that it gets even the most reserved concertgoer moving and puts a smile on their face. Savage has a phenomenal voice, which on this tour is accompanied only by a “smooth casio” synth sound, played by a friend of his whose name nobody caught. Even though at first listen his catchy, flowing pop melodies give an impression of superficiality, there’s real, lived-in life depth hiding in his lyrics. His latest single, “More Than I Love Myself”, which we of course got to hear in Komuna, is proof of that. Toward the end of his set a thought crossed my mind about “the ideal terrace gig”, but that’s probably a topic for another time. Anyway, Savage served up a passionate, honest, and at times comical set that set the tone right from the start for an evening of unusual concert shenanigans.
I’ll admit it, Mac DeMarco blew me away. He pumped me so full of adrenaline and vital energy that after the show I didn’t go home (as I’d planned because of illness and exhaustion) but headed to Metelkovo instead, where I almost ran right into, who else, Mac DeMarco. Honestly, it didn’t surprise me that the whole crew, led by Mac, ended up there. Already during the show he kept calling on Slovenes (about whom he knew only that Martin Strel comes from our country) to “hang” with him after the gig and show him around Ljubljana. Mac DeMarco is a rising name in Canadian guitar indie rock, and it wouldn’t surprise me if one day he became a world-class act. He’s got the attributes. The future of rock and roll? Even though I’ve stuffed him into this generic label (“guitar indie rock”), DeMarco is anything but “just one of a thousand.” After the alternative media champion Pitchfork took him under its wing last year with the release of his first two albums (2 and Rock and Roll Night Club), DeMarco is continuing his breakthrough this year. At the end of March and in April he toured the US West Coast with his backing band as the opener for Phoenix, the French indie band that’s currently the most in-demand alt attraction in the world. And just a few days after that, we got to hear and see him right here in Ljubljana.
Mac DeMarco is everything they say about him and more. Mac DeMarco is synonymous with a “bonkers” show. He’s synonymous with carefree, teenage stage exhibitionism. He gives himself over to the crowd, he gives himself over to the music. His phlegmatic, spontaneously unhinged behavior gives his show a special shine. Character! He’s barely twenty-two, yet he moves around the stage with the confidence and ease of someone who’s been performing for at least twenty years. He’s a magnet for the listener. The eighty-minute show flew by in a heartbeat. There was no room for boredom, no room for chatting. This was one big, fun rock’n’roll shot. In a poorly filled Komuna (people, where the hell were you?) everything worked perfectly. From the sonic perfection (which Savage had already raved about) to an atmosphere that was downright magical. And all of that mostly thanks to the charisma of Mac and his band. The “always smiling and goofy” bassist was a special kind of weirdo too. He happened to celebrate his 29th birthday that very day, so of course the show wasn’t complete without a group rendition of “Happy Birthday to You…” How could it be. Honestly, it didn’t feel like a classic concert at all, more like a performance. Everything was fluid and ran like clockwork. I didn’t see a setlist anywhere, either.
Music as play, the world as play. DeMarco’s banter with the audience between songs was especially fun. Even though he spoke throughout from within some kind of classic concert context, all his stories and quips fit the context he created that night. The chaotic simmering on stage came through even more when the aforementioned bassist broke a string. All the improvisational talents of DeMarco and his crew came to the surface. At one point Savage (who had been dancing with his partner off to the side and in front of the stage the whole time) ended up on stage too, and Commedia dell’arte was guaranteed.
DeMarco, who likes to label his version of rock’n’roll play with terms like “slacker rock” or “jizz jazz”, impressed musically as well. The little guitar he bought years ago for 30 dollars sounds divine. Jingle Jangle. The warm, jangling sound of that little guitar is the most standout part of their sonic picture. He turned this “no-budget” creation into a real object of fascination and desire, one you can hardly take your eyes off. A sight that knocks you flat. He turned a “cheap” sound into art. He’s helped enormously by a band in great spirits and perfectly in sync. They’re capable of anything: from inserts of interlude guitar sawing and dreamy tunes in “The Stars Keep On Calling My Name” to the melancholic “groovefest” on the opener “Cooking Up Something Good”. Among the other songs, the dynamic and (future) anthemic jangle hit “Freaking Out The Neighborhood” and DeMarco’s latest single, the emotion-packed “My Kind Of Woman”, stood out. The peaks of the show were an almost indie-folk-anthem to cigarettes, the catchy and timeless “Ode To Viceroy”, and the song of the night, “Still Together”. This intimate ballad, which hooks you with its very first lines (in time she’ll see, that her and me/were meant to be together/and time will pass, it may go fast/but we’ll still be together/and where I go, she’s at my side/half of my life together/it’s easy love, fits like a glove/from up above together) and even more so later with DeMarco’s fascinating falsetto, also closed out the evening. One, two, three and it was over.
We witnessed a gig of superlatives, one that offers everything rock music possibly can: irony, madness, fun, great riffs, catchy melodies, booze (and drugs??), group sing-alongs, improvisation, and so on. I could list the elements of the show deep into the night, but the point lies elsewhere. DeMarco and the gang didn’t just present their music, they created a whole world of their own. It was really more like a concert happening in their own living room than in the small hall of Kino Šiška. One thing I know for sure after this gig: if DeMarco plays anywhere near Slovenia in the future, I simply can’t afford to miss it. Equally liberating shows are far too precious in today’s world of generic performances. I suggest you follow me. At least this once. And to wrap up with the opening, framing theme of the event: on May 12, the next concert in the Indekš Turnir series is coming up at Kino Šiška. This time the rhythms of Esben and The Witch will echo through the Komuna stage, and just three days later Retro Stefson (the new Icelandic wonder) will play there. See you there.
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