Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ljubljana / Cvetličarna / Slovenia
Concert date: 18.11.2014
Attendance: 700
The arrival of Triggerfinger, those dapper, cheeky Belgian alternative rockers loaded up with implants of stoner, blues, surf rock’n’ roll and even pop, couldn’t have been better timed after the great impression this band left with their show this year at the Pivo in Cvetje festival in Laško. So Slovenia got a replay of that special manifestation of the special concert experience this trio’s musical record generates. The current European tour promotes their new studio album »By the Absence of the Sun«, Triggerfinger’s fourth overall. A solid turnout hinted that a proper rock treat was in store at Cvetličarna that night.
Local boys Top Stripper kicked things off. You could almost call them Cvetličarna’s house band by now. These up-and-coming youngsters need serious stage exposure, and this night definitely delivered it. In the year and a half since I last heard them, in mid-June 2013 before Benč’s show, also at Cvetličarna, the band has taken a clearly visible step forward. They’ve especially leveled up their stage game and their confidence, and came across as hugely convincing during the set with their commitment and drive. Likeable movement, constant kinetics from the guys, lining up shoulder to shoulder in rows of three or two musicians, the frontman getting the crowd to join in. And? A likeable mix of scratched-up, charging hard rock that draws inspiration from Guns N’ Roses on one side and also Mötley Crüe on the other, which means Top Stripper have also picked up a pinch of dirty punk arrogance. Jaša Šaban (vocals), Jure Demšar (guitar), Rok Rožmanec (guitar), Rok Pavlin (bass) and the freshly baked new drummer Aleš Strnad prove that reheating the “old soup” of the Sunset Strip days is still plenty likeable, tasty and, last but not least, very much wanted. The crew of techs took really good care of the band, and sound-wise the guys also wrapped up their live presentation very nicely. Top Stripper remain a band on the rise, so we can surely expect even more good news about them in the future.
Triggerfinger are three seasoned musical veterans with fully developed charisma, both artistically and on stage. Their presence is dapper, teasing, contagious. In every way. Their arsenal of rustic “vintage” instruments, including “kettle” drums, is extremely eye-catching. The band is devoted to building a mighty wall of sound that flattens everything in its path. The fat, smeared, rumbling sound of Ruben’s Gibson and Fender Telecaster beauties, as well as his f-hole Gretsches, backed by the piercing rattle of thickened bass lines (often with a sonic outline inherited from Motörhead punk, courtesy of bassist Paul), finds a solid support in Mario Gossens’ highly dynamic and ferocious drumming. Over all this octane voltage floats Ruben Bock’s chameleon vocal, which can be sweetly mocking, cheekily biting and, when called for, piercingly irritated. The phrases are simple, concise, cut to the axiom “less is more”, with no fuss or complication. Ruben is an outstanding frontman and a fiercely contagious charismatic figure. He measures out the right words at the right moments, keeping the crowd alert and on edge the whole time.
Over a good hour and a half the band thoroughly presented their current studio album »By the Absence of the Sun«. A ragged yet invasive sound, in which Ruben also makes use of the abundance of microphone tricks the band developed from the first moment to the last, won over the crowd and, over simple rhythms, set off waves of enthusiastic response that translated into plenty of dance steps too. From the first second to the last, without a slip. Ruben repeatedly used the riser under Gossens’ drums, theatrically writhing on it as he hammered out his guitar phrases and driving up the dynamics of the evening. Impulsive Mario also climbed on his drums now and then, helping his buddy keep the hall’s mood cheerful. If Paul had joined them on that same riser, the platform would probably have collapsed into dust under the weight of the hefty but friendly two-meter giant.
In the obligatory encore the guys of course played their cover of the Lykke Li hit I Follow Rivers, which drew an even bigger return of energy from the crowd. A meticulously rehearsed and crafted show of outstanding rock energy, polished charisma and a one-of-a-kind artistic musical identity, it conjured up one of the finest concert spectacles in this year’s Cvetličarna program, and let’s hope Triggerfinger bring the same form and commitment they showed on this night back to us very soon!
Setlist
TOP STRIPPER:
1. You Can All Go To Hell
2. LA City
3. Shoot the Boy
4. Can’t Hear You Cryin’
5. Do YouThink It’s Easy?
6. Crazy Child
7. Gone with theTrain
8. The Sound of the Devil
TRIGGERFINGER:
1. Black Panic
2. And There She Was Lying in Wait
3. By Absence of the Sun
4. There Isn’t Time
5. On My Knees
6. Perfect Match
7. My Baby’s Got a Gun
8. Camaro
9. Let It Ride
10. All This Dancin’ Around
11. Drum solo
12. Is It
—encore—
13. Off the Rack
14. I Follow Rivers
15. Cherry
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