Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ljubljana / Cvetličarna / Slovenia
Concert date: 23.03.2017
Attendance: 500
Ticket price: 12,00€
San Di Ego dropped a new studio album at the start of this year! And the name fits perfectly: »Doktor za Rock’N’Roll«. Bands like this are definitely in short supply in Slovenia today. They’re a relic of commercially successful times, which ran on classic hard rock mostly through the eighties, and which today’s young generation still plays, just »their own way«. And that’s only right and fair. Things move on, and every new generation takes rock’n’roll in its own way.
Anyway, San Di Ego are a quartet of four seasoned, somewhat more mature tomcats who, together with the revived Šank Rock, are carrying the torch of hard rock in Slovenia in the classic sense of the word. Geographically speaking, that is: with Slovenian-language lyrics, they carry on the legacy of eighties hard rock, brewed up on Slovenian soil with its own retro-nostalgic vibe and dropped very fittingly into modern times. Okay, I won’t ramble on, you can read the review of the album »Doktor za Rock’N’Roll« HERE!
Matic Ajdič, Martin Rozman, Jure Doles and Sergej Škofljanec really let loose at Cvetličarna that night. How could they not? It was their party! The sound the engineers set up for them was excellent, almost flawless. The performance was at a really high level too. Between 400 and 500 people showed up. Everyone had a great time, old acquaintances gathered at the old spot. In the first part the band presented material from the new record, and on stage they were joined by M.J.A.V., a singing and dancing group of four lovely ladies who also appear on the new album. Soon after, they were followed by the second special guest, the legendary Slovenian singer-songwriter Aleksander Mežek. With him the band played the new song Gledam tvoje slike in Julijo, tailored to the San Di Ego musical formula.
Before the show turned into its second half (the first half closed with a mischievous and fun cover of Samantha Fox’s hit Touch Me), the guys were presented with a birthday cake. They were also greeted on stage by the famously raspy voice of Aleš Klinar, who helped write songs for the new album, and the ever-present Dragan Bulič showed up too, handing the cake over to the sweet tooths. In the second half the band mostly played covers. They threw in the expected Queen medley, and near the end of the night a second one, a Deep Purple medley, and we also heard Stayin’ Alive (Bee Gees), Here I Go Again (Whitesnake), Eye Of A Tiger (Survivor) and Don’t Stop Believin’ (Journey), among others. The band showed no small amount of guts and confidence by taking on the famous hit, the phenomenal Yes classic that helped the band survive the eighties (a commercially bitter decade for prog rockers), Owner Of A Lonely Heart, which San Di Ego didn’t quite pull off. On top of that, the guys added a few tracks from the debut.
In short, a long and thorough night of music! The band was in superb form and perfectly well-oiled. The quartet breathes with full lungs, and it goes without saying that they’ve played, toiled and trudged through a good stretch of musical camaraderie together. That’s why the chemistry between the guys kept crackling, and the performance was, as a result, packed with dynamite and one hell of an eruptive energy. In a word: a gorgeous gig and a thoroughly successful presentation of the new album. Hand on heart, given their reputation and the road they’ve traveled, they hit the level of performance you’d expect!
It’s also worth mentioning the Ljubljana opening act Buržuazija, who walk a similar path in their musical direction. They delivered a bold and very committed set of (also) original material. Mighty oaks from little acorns grow. It meant a huge amount to the band to try out how they function as a unit on a bigger stage and how much stage fright a larger crowd can set off. A solid performance from a group that has successfully learned to walk but is still looking for a firm, fixed musical track, which mileage and experience will bring. Right now the band needs as many gigs as possible to build up confidence and focus. We’ll see what the future brings.
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