Venue: 'N'R pub / Zeleni gaj (Dornberk) / Slovenia
Concert date: September 20, 2014
Attendance: 1,200
Ticket price: €11.90 (presale) / €14.90 (day of show)
After the fairy tale kicked off in Laško, where Šank Rock, partly in the old lineup and partly in a refurbished one, came back after a break of a good three years and played the Pivo in cvetje festival, it was only a matter of time before their next gigs followed. And for the next chapter of the fairy tale, the guys could hardly have picked a better spot than the stage at Zeleni Gaj in tiny Dornberk, in the Goriška region.
This is where the Šank Rock fairy tale began a good 30 years ago – they played their very first gig here in 1983. As singer Matjaž Jelen told the crowd mid-show, they showed up to that gig by public transport, but still had a blast and made unforgettable memories together with the audience. Over those 30 years, quite a few well-known names have played this charming spot at Zeleni Gaj. This time, local band Shutdown warmed up the stage and the crowd for the Šank Rock guys, while DJ Riki kept the night flowing and closed it out late into the night.
This summer’s weather wasn’t exactly kind to open-air venues, and this time too we were crossing our fingers hard that it would hold. But we needn’t have worried: the organizers had prepared for the moody weather and covered the venue with a tarp. The sky took pity on the crowd too, and amazingly it didn’t rain that night. The only flood was the flood of pure joy pouring off the stage.
By the time the venue opened at nine in the evening, a decent crowd had already gathered. DJ Riki spun rock hits and greeted the guests slowly filling the space in front of the stage, waiting for the first band. At ten sharp, local hard & heavy outfit Shutdown took the stage.
Shutdown are already a familiar name to Slovenian concertgoers. A few days earlier, they had unveiled a new music video for the song Sexual Storm on social media. They kicked off the show with a scream, quite literally, with Scream Machine. The opening minutes of a gig are the hardest for both the band and the sound crew, and this time it didn’t go completely smoothly. At first bassist Matjaž Winkler Wink was nowhere to be heard, and just when they’d fixed that at the mixing desk, Domo’s lead guitar suddenly went dead. Domo quickly swapped his wireless system for a cable mid-show, and our ears could finally enjoy the full sound. A Shutdown show isn’t just a treat for the ears, though, it’s a feast for the eyes too. The guys look tight and in sync on stage, and just watching them bounce around so effortlessly takes you straight back to the golden days of heavy and hair metal. They’ve got the stage image to match, too.
After the opening Scream Machine, the guys moved on to a run of songs from their debut Heavy as Metal & Hot as Hell, released in 2012. Among their own tunes they slipped in a cover of Divje jagode’s Kap po kap, where the steadily growing crowd joined the band on vocals. The singing along got even louder when Shutdown played Bon Jovi’s I’ll be there for you. Of course they didn’t forget the new song Sexual storm, and after just under an hour they wrapped up their set with Valkira. Despite a few lineup changes over the years, these young guys keep piling up gig experience, and their show serves up a professional, charismatic hard & heavy treat, with every one of them completely on top of their instrument. A feast for the eyes and the ears.
A half-hour break and stage prep followed, with DJ Riki entertaining the crowd again in the meantime. At half past midnight, a punchy intro finally kicked off the show we’d all been waiting for. The already legendary Šank Rock walked onto the stage. The lineup is made up of the old members Cveto Polak on bass and Matjaž Jelen on vocals, returnee Bor Zuljan on guitar, joined by Roman Ratej on drums and Sašo Gačnik on keys. Even though the band has only been together in this lineup for a few months, there wasn’t a trace of them sounding unrehearsed. Which, of course, is what you’d expect from pros. They opened hard with the song Rockerji, and the crowd immediately showed they were ready to join in. The setlist was an even mix of ballads and harder-hitting tracks, and the crowd fell into an enchanted hush for the first time when, in a swirl of spotlights, Bor Zuljan played You Smear My Innocent Name with surgical precision, a song you can find on his latest solo studio album “Funky Rocker” (2009) – RockLine review HERE! With his fingers gliding effortlessly up and down the neck of the guitar without a single wrong move, Bor proved he still deserves his reputation as one of the best guitarists in the country.
The rest of the band rejoined Bor on stage, and after Hitro drugam came Matjaž’s song written during Šank Rock’s most recent hiatus, Počasi…je lepo. After Lahka dama and Dobro in zlo, bassist Cveto Polak got his solo spot. Cveto proved too that, despite the band’s break, he’s still got a firm grip on every last rein of his instrument. Next came an acoustic version of Želim, da si tu, which the guys smoothly blended into Jaz in ti. Bor picked up the electric guitar again for Hvala za vse, and then Šank Rock paid tribute to Led Zeppelin with Whole Lotta Love, into which Roman Ratej wove his own drum solo. You do wonder whether Šank Rock, with such a rich catalog of original material, even need covers in their set, but whatever, it didn’t spoil the vibe of the show. Of course their mega-hit Metulj was in the main set, and with the lights playing, hands waving in the crowd and everyone singing the chorus, it created a kind of magical atmosphere. The main part of the show closed with the Slovenian-language version of Should I stay or Should I go – Al’ ostanem al’ naj grem. The moment the band left the stage, the crowd loudly demanded an encore, and it didn’t take long to arrive. To start, Šank Rock played Rebel Yell, in memory of the Laško gig where Steve Stevens joined them on stage. After Delam, kar paše mi came a longer intro from Sašo Gačnik on keys, which finally announced the indispensable Pravljica o mavričnih ljudeh. After a good two hours, Šank Rock wrapped up with an invitation to the party, and Matjaž also announced the band’s upcoming shows: on October 25, 2014 we can catch them at Koštabona, and on December 27, 2014 once again, as tradition demands, at the Rdeča Dvorana in Velenje. Then the band members took their bows, and DJ Riki took over the musical reins again. Rock and Dornberk probably went on well into the night, while we slowly made our way home.
After an experience like that, all I can say is: Šank Rock – good to be back. See you at Koštabona and in Velenje.
Setlist
SHUTDOWN:
1. Scream Macine
2. Križarji
3. Dedicated to Mars
4. Kap po kap
5. Do it Now
6. Too Bad
7. I’ll be There for You
8. Sexual Storm
9. Valkira
ŠANK ROCK:
1. Rockerji
2. Vzemi ali pusti
3. Jaz nimam noč za spanje
4. Puščava sna
5. Maček
6. Tih bod in igraj
7. Ker te ljubim
9. TV
10. You Smear My Innocent Name
11. Hitro drugam
12. Počasi…je lepo
13. Lahka dama
14. Dobro in zlo
15. Hočeš nočeš
16. Želim, da si tu
17. Jaz in ti
18. Hvala za vse
19. Whole Lotta Love
20. Le 17
21. Laški pir
22. Metulj
23. Dej bolj na glas
24. Al’ ostanem al’ naj grem
—encore—
25. Rebel Yell
26. Delam, kar paše mi
27. Pravljica o mavričnih ljudeh
28. Pridite na žur
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