The Lions Are Back: After 40-Plus Years, They’ve Found Their Chalice of Eternal Youth Again (2014)

Arhiv Arhiv Last updated 11 June 2026

Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik

Location: Ljubljana / SiTi Teater / Slovenia
Concert date: 07.11.2014
Attendance: 220
Ticket price: 18,00€

We finally got to see this big moment. One of the most important Slovenian bands of the late sixties and the turn of the seventies, back together! The reunion and rebirth of the legendary Mladi levi. The years have rolled by, but the lions haven’t gotten old. Well, not in their hearts at least, even if they’ve gone »silver« with age on the outside. An extraordinary event, you could even call it an event of national importance when it comes to nurturing Slovenian cultural and artistic heritage and handing it down from generation to generation. Mladi levi, and their body of work, are without a doubt a hefty chunk of our cultural heritage! If Slovenia had its own Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, Mladi Levi would be one of the first bands to earn a place of honor in it!

SiTi Teater, eight o’clock! In the evening, of course. As always, right on the dot with the schedule. The venue is jam-packed. Every seat taken, photographers squeezed into the left and right corners of the left and right corners, everything set for the return of a »myth and a legend«. The gentlemen of soul, co-creators of Slovenian pop song and healthy mid-tempo music from the days when rock ‘n’ roll was still young, innocent and in immaculate expansion. Ten people from the revamped lineup on stage. Actually eleven. We have to count the »captain« Dušan Velkaverh too. The man whose poetry breathed an important piece of confessional soul into Mladi levi. So, on to the names. In the left corner, Vasko Repinc took the stage by storm on keyboards, with guitarist Aleš Strajnar, drummer Matjaž Deu and bassist Dušan Kajzer keeping him company to his left. All three on their classic instruments! Further toward the right side of the stage stood the fifth member of Mladi levi’s core lineup, saxophonist Jernej Podboj, placed in the middle of a powerful horn section. It was rounded out by Stanko Arnold (trumpet), Igor Matkovič (trumpet, trombone), Marko Misjak (trumpet) and Boris Glozančev (trombone).

Mladi levi took us through a moving evening full of strong emotional reactions from the crowd and waves of nostalgia, a rock-solid revival of times long gone that unfolded almost tangibly over a two-hour show. They kicked off by spoiling us with a »modest mini warm-up« with Soulfinger, a cover of the American R&B, soul and funk band The Bar-Kays. Behind Vasko stood a piano, where Tomaž Habe sat down next. After a new announcement from Dušan Velkaverh, the band played Odmev želja (originally An Echo Of My Dreams). Then came one of the most touching moments of the night. Tomaž Habe took on the vocals for one of the most beautiful songs, and probably also the best known in Mladi levi’s career, the gorgeous Oda Ireni, which is where the room first really started to boil. On the original, the vocals were by the late Slovenian singer-songwriter Tomaž Pengov. Mladi levi symbolically dedicated their reunion and the new shows to Pengov, as well as to trumpeter Peter Ugrin.

After Habe, Janez Bončina Benč stepped up as the second vocalist in the lineup, and with him the band played Knock on Wood (a cover of Eddie Floyd). Right from the start Benč cashed in on his cheeky, clownish persona, teasing his bandmates on stage and the audience alike with a cane. Benč is a key factor here; with his wildness and showmanship he effectively lifts the dynamics of Mladi levi’s performance. But Velkaverh has Benč figured out down to his left pinky. Whenever Benč tried to theatrically »provoke« Dušan with his jokes during the concert, Dušan kept his composure as an ice-cold gentleman. After that, three vocalists took turns on stage. Benč came back later to do his own song Svet, ki ga ni with the crew, followed by Oluja (the famous Croatian diva Josipa Lisac once sang her own version of it too). Benč was then replaced on stage by the famous Jernej Jung! Jung stayed up there for three songs led by his vocals: Poljubi me in pojdi, Mila mala and Zaznamovan. Jung remains an incorrigible charmer and heartbreaker! He walked on stage glowing and in a great mood, and the legendary vocalist proved that his voice has kept its gorgeous timbre and color, along with plenty of temperament and passion! Hamo got Mala terasa, which Mladi levi dressed up in a soul arrangement. Hamo also sang Odprite okna vojna je končana with the band, followed by Ta vlak. In the latter especially, he slotted in brilliantly with his vocal approach to bringing the Mladi levi story back to life. Hamo later returned to the stage to sing Mirno desno si mi dala. It’s a poem by Simon Jenko, set to music for Mladi levi by Janez Bončina Benč. It’s surprising that Benč didn’t sing this blues himself. Who knows why!

The band didn’t skip Privšek’s instrumental Ljubimo soul, and a special moment of the night came when they tackled one of the most experimental tracks of their career, Derviša in smrti. A searching, dark, theatrically salted instrumental, opened by Matjaž Deu with unpredictable drum forms, was then taken over, under the doctrine of free-flowing improvisation, by violinist Peter Ugrin. On the original, the same role is played on trumpet by his father, the late Petar Ugrin. The violinist delivered an exceptional experience, walking in his father’s footsteps with bravura playing. This performance was definitely one of the highlights of the night and pure manna for the music connoisseurs who had been hoping to see this track in the set as a real special treat of the evening.

Mladi levi wrapped up the show much like they started it. With covers. One of them was the Blood, Sweet & Tears tune Spinning Wheel! Mladi levi are something like the Slovenian answer to Blood, Sweet & Tears. The show ended with a stretched-out version of Pick Up The Pieces, with the audience belting out the chorus. An evening of passion, nostalgia and the rebirth of a world that lives inside us, and which nobody ever thought we’d get the chance to relive, was over in a heartbeat.

Mladi levi came back in grand style. They squeezed out their current best. There were a few hiccups on the song entrances (especially in the quieter numbers like Oda Ireni or Mila mala, where the harmony between the lead vocals and the instruments wasn’t quite flawless). But let’s not nitpick. More shows are ahead of them, and the dress rehearsal at SiTi Teater was followed the next day by a second, additional concert. Both were sold out in advance.

If I may add a personal note, that night in the venue I felt small, humbled and endlessly grateful. Thanks go to these elder statesmen who decided, in their mature years, to step on stage together once more, join forces and recreate the days of Slovenian popular music, opening up that musical world even to those of us who weren’t yet born at the creative peak of the band.