Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ljubljana / Orto bar / Slovenia
Concert date: 06.04.2016
Attendance: 100
Ticket price: €7.00 / €10.00 (with CD)
It happened. »Gora« is a thing now: they put out a CD and played a launch show at Orto bar in Ljubljana. A nice surprise for the Slovenian rock scene…
Yep, they met up, talked about shared views and interests in music, formed a band, and after originally planning to knock out two or maybe three »little jams« together, they recorded their first and, let’s hope, not last CD, titled »Gora«. The guys behind this contribution to Slovenian rock are drummer David Debevec (Mary Rose, Leeloojamais), guitarist and vocalist Kevin Koradin (Tide, Revolver) and bassist Sergej Pobegajlo (Billysi, C4,…).
And as is only fitting for a debut, the launch went down in the temple of the Slovenian rock scene, Orto bar in Ljubljana.
Considering the size of the club and the day and time of the gig, I figured on a handful of the band’s most diehard fans, but I was damn wrong. Killing time in front of the club waiting for things to start, the photographer and I kept running into, or recognizing, nothing but the cream of the Slovenian rock scene, all there to show support for their fellow musicians.
The club filled up slowly but steadily. And finally, in true Slovenian tradition, the show kicked off »a little« later than announced, at 10:45 PM.
In the dark, with the »intro« rolling, the musicians took their places on stage, and the album launch, or party (depending on your taste), kicked off at a heavy pace with the song »Daleč od sonca«. The show went on with Vojna X, Glej naprej, Odpri oči, Draco, and so on at a relentless clip all the way to Glasovi from the album being launched, after which »Gora« slipped backstage.
After a short bout of crowd chanting, the guys came back out and played their first single, Megalodon, plus Novi fašizem, bringing their first-ever live show home with pro-level ease and no major hiccups until it wrapped at 11:50 PM.
The gig delivered what was expected, even if the sound was maybe a touch too loud and the vocals got buried in the music. You could tell the guitarist/singer needs a bit of frontman polish, but that comes with playing more shows.
Musically, »Gora« is an incredibly powerful band, putting out a raw sound, refined guitar solos, tireless bass support and above all merciless drum pounding that adds real value to their music.
A great band that’s going to spice up the Slovenian rock scene nicely and satisfy fans of hard rock, metal and prog.
The crowd, mostly made up of musicians, went home happy, and I bet that after the show they swapped plenty more »expert experiences« over drinks well into the early hours.
text: Jani Dolenc
photos: Miha Dolenc
Setlist
1. Intro
2. Daleč od sonca
3. Vojna X
4. Glej naprej
5. Odpri oči
6. Draco
7. Kdo je bog
8. Antarktika (instrumental)
9. Glasovi
—encore—
10. Megalodon
11. Novi fašizem
12. Outro
Photo Gallery
