Location: Tolmin / Kinogledališče (courtyard, outdoor plaza) / Slovenia
Date: Saturday, 14.09.2019
On Saturday, September 14, 2019, one of Slovenia’s most important singer-songwriters, Vlado Kreslin, made a stop in Tolmin. Well, if not the most important, then at least the most recognizable. Alone. Armed with a black guitar. On the plaza in front of Kinogledališče. A packed venue of some 1,500 eager fans was all the proof you needed of just how big a name Vlado Kreslin is in Slovenia. The evergreen Vlado drew together an audience spanning four generations from the northern Primorska region, ran through the highlights of his long and rich career over an hour and a half, and delivered exactly what everyone expected — pure, full-on magic. What else would you expect when that impossibly charismatic performer takes the stage, backed by the sheer weight of his poetry and the gentle, timeless quality of his melodies, songs, and compositions as a whole.
Vlado — who kept time more than once by tapping his feet on the stage floor, as the song demanded — often handed the singing off to the crowd in his signature style. The audience had no trouble picking up the lyrics, with the ladies clearly dominating in numbers, which made itself known in the harmonies that wrapped around Vlado’s instantly recognizable and one-of-a-kind voice.
It was hot. Genuinely, seriously hot. The concrete plaza, the crowd, the stage lights — Vlado had to deal with all of it, and still he stuck it out in a jacket for the entire show. The revelry, the positive vibes, and energy thick enough to cut with a knife — the essential ingredients of any Vlado set — were all present and accounted for, making this another show soaked in intense feeling and emotion.
The most recognizable Martin Krpan hits made the setlist too — bottom line, Vlado threw one hell of a party. And it really is something. This musician and his material have become so beloved, so deeply woven into the fabric of everyday life, that he barely has to try when he walks on stage — the crowd claims him as their own the second he appears. Yep. Once again, Vlado confirmed his status as a Slovenian music icon, and in Tolmin he did it with effortless ease. In Slovenia, this vivid man of undimmed, heartfelt inspiration is gradually passing into myth and legend.
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
