Venue: Gala Hala / Ljubljana / Slovenia
Concert date: 12.12.2013
Ticket price: €0.00
I walked into Gala Hala while the band was still soundchecking and squeezed in a little way back from the mixing desk. The event, the presentation of the new record as part of Domorodni Četrtki, was free, and still, Gala Hala (during the soundcheck) wasn’t exactly bursting at the seams. Showtime kept creeping closer, and the floor was still empty. It’s sad that a Slovenian band presents its work (for free, no less) and there are so few ears ready to listen. Despite my initial doubts about how the night would go, I soon noticed a crowd outside the Hala, smoking one last cigarette before the two-hour show.
The Tide’s shows are definitely something special. The band has a distinctive sonic character all on its own, and the live performance deserves special praise. Singer Tomaž’s delivery brims with both energy and sensuality, always in line with the context of the song. For a calmer start, The Tide went with Lay Me Down, a track from the new record Landings, a surprisingly sensual, almost halftime bluesy number that got a warm welcome from the crowd. Smooth Divine got a similar reaction; Cosmic and Ready to Go broke up the run of songs from the new record. The latter deserves a special mention: the whole band shone on the Gala Hala stage as the dynamic chorus flipped into the middle section before the guitar solo. There was no shortage of moments like that throughout the show; songs like Midnight Shooter, Desire, Matrix World, Roll the Dice, The Tide played every one of them with incredible zeal, with no “age discrimination” between songs. There was practically no difference between how they played, say, Monday Sleeper, a piano-drenched atmosphere from the first record, and the upcoming single Little Love Pretender. The band played everything with the solidity and confidence of a real band, not an “industrial plant”. Sure, the occasional mistake unintentionally peeked out from behind the Gala Hala speakers, but with no real consequences. Quite the opposite: a warm smile and an even stronger will to play, with no guilt or grumbling.
The band kept the same attitude to playing during Higher, where the arrangement gems of the live show were definitely the keyboard and guitar solos. I’m not a big fan of needless soloing, whether it’s one instrument showing off its dominance over the others or indulging in freshly learned “tricks”. Slovenian musicians often fall back on the latter, and as a result they impoverish the show for everyone present.
The Tide did it differently; the solos didn’t leave a bitter aftertaste on an already immersive performance, but blended in with the whole and, with just the right kind of stimuli, filled the part of the sonic spectrum the listeners had been missing.
The songs from the new record worked coherently in The Tide’s set, and the picks for the breaks and the build-ups were a bullseye. Just the right amount of rhythmic dreaminess and dynamic kick, especially well delivered in Your River Wild. After the official part of the set, the band came back on stage (to a roaring call from the crowd, of course) and treated us to the last three songs, Decline, Matrix World and Roll the Dice. Matrix World, a question mark over modern society and its technological dependence, is the newest offspring from the record Landings, and Roll the Dice helped The Tide rock out through Gala Hala one last time.
Just as The Tide were enjoying themselves, the crowd at Gala Hala simply enjoyed themselves too. One of the few Slovenian bands that can boast a unique palette of songs and real, tangible musical substance. The new record got a warm reception from the crowd! With the new record Landings, the sonic composition of The Tide’s musical portrait expands once more, while at the same time staying true to its core, which dictates the following: dynamic delivery, a unique musical signature and plenty of weightless pleasure.
Setlist
1.Lay Me Down (Landings)
2.Smooth Divine (Landings)
3.Cosmic (Love & Trust)
4.Ready to Go (King of the Hill)
5.Echoes in Shoes (Landings)
6.Little Love Pretender (Landings)
7.Whirl of Time (Love & Trust)
8.Letter from the Other Side (Kings of the Hill)
9.Stay Out of My Place (Love & Trust)
10.Desire (Love & Trust)
11.Carry On (Love & Trust)
12.Snow! (King of the Hill)
13.Whisper (Love & Trust)
14.Midnight Shooter (Kings of the Hill)
15.Do You Worry Now? (Live & Clean)
16.Monday Sleeper (Live & Clean)
17.Higher (Landings)
18.Your River Wild (Love & Trust)
—encore—
19.Decline (Kings of the Hill)
20.Matrix World (Landings)
21.Roll the Dice (Landings)
Photo gallery
