Performing: Šank Rock
Date: Friday, 16 June 2023
Venue: Velenje / Velenje Lake (Vista park) / Slovenia
…at the concert of concerts, one we’ll never forget!
Šank Rock! The combination of those two words stirs something deep. It makes everyone stop. Just for a moment. Every Slovenian. And if that Slovenian happens to be a rock soul, the whole thing automatically kicks off at least a brief musical symposium — a debate session — on the subject. The emotions are there. The passion. All of it. In the air between us. Always. The band became part of the folk canon a long time ago. Every time they get back together and hit the stage, Slovenia’s rockers come with them — along with everyone else who loves those signature guitar riffs paired with hook choruses that burrow right under your skin. A phenomenon, then — one that, as far as the Šank Rock story goes, is carved to the bone in the Slovenian (rock) way.
In the eighties, riding on a fierce wave of youthful energy and creative drive, Šank Rock brought the legacy of the buzzing international rock scene — which already contained the then-impressive and commercially red-hot breakthroughs of KISS, AC/DC, Scorpions, Van Halen, and slightly later Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Extreme, Mr. Big, and Winger — onto the Slovenian rock stage. The riffs and phrases of rock and roll’s great godfathers, which the guys drew their inspiration from, they crossed in their own creative way with Slovenian lyrics — and the Slovenian public of the day instantly identified with the result. Completely unknowingly and unintentionally, in their defiance Šank Rock had already written a great chapter of Slovenian hard rock back in the eighties — one that rightfully places them on the Slovenian genre throne.
Over a colourful 40 years, the band has experienced just about everything. But one thing has remained, and remains, undeniable. Šank Rock have stayed true to their roots. Right up to today. Through a string of albums expressing an inexhaustible creative drive, they have never let up in any artistic regard. Not for a moment. On every single studio album they’ve left behind a few classics that every Slovenian knows. And they keep at it. The latest studio album “Nekaj več” (2017) is no exception, nor is the newest single with its instantly memorable chorus, Se še spomniš. Through all of this, over all their years of activity, the band has never abandoned something else that’s very important. The positive vibe that accompanies them and shapes their work, their live shows, their very essence. A legacy. An aura, if you like. From day one to today. Positive vibe is another name for Šank Rock. And that is exactly the magic of rock and roll. A party, a release, fun, love! All of it flows through that unique vibe. Through all that tremendous charisma that has been with us for over 40 years. The charisma of Šank Rock.
The band had to celebrate this. Those 40 years (and a bit more, since they were founded in 1982). With a proper, full-on spectacle. As befits a name like theirs. And Slovenia’s rock scene got exactly that kind of celebration! A party the likes of which this country had never seen before. With production that was truly exceptional. In every respect. On a level with the biggest internationally established music acts. They even threw in fireworks!
It’s quarter to nine. In the evening, just to be clear. A brief opening address from Velenje mayor Peter Dermol, and then? Go. The band takes the stage: Matjaž Jelen (vocals), Cveto Polak (bass guitar), Bor Zuljan (guitar), Aleš Uranjek (drums), and Samo Jezovšek (keyboards)! The greatest-moments parade of a 40-plus-year musical career had begun. The opening track and latest release, Se še spomniš, with its great chorus that instantly calls the audience to join in. People were still streaming in from every direction. In the first third, the band entertained the crowd with a vivid mix of older and newer material. Pridite na žur, Ni sreče brez R’N’R, then Le 17, TV, Lahka dama, Puščava sna, Hvala za vse, Restart. The band felt refreshed. Rejuvenated. Enormously focused, yet radiating great warmth and of course the incredible mileage left behind by the winding, dusty road their wheel of fate has rolled them along. The sight of a vast ocean of raised hands — devotedly knowing every lyric and singing along — builds a one-of-a-kind chemical bridge that fires the band members up even further.
This concert spectacle with Šank Rock also included a whole bunch of musical guests — guests who rank among the luminaries of Slovenia’s music scene. First up was Tokac. He tackled Senca sebe from the excellent but somewhat overlooked “Senca Sebe” (2007), his vocal character fitting the song — and the execution — perfectly. Then Maček is non-negotiable! It sends the adrenaline pumping harder through the veins and the venue of 6,000 brilliantly charged fans goes gloriously wild once more. Next guest up: Grega Skočir. He didn’t learn any Šank Rock song — it was the other way around. The band took on the Big Foot Mama classic Nisem več s tabo, ripping through it in their own, strictly hard-rock style. The band then shifts back into their own groove with the driven Tih’ bod’ in igraj from the album “Poglej v svet” (1996). Then comes an acoustic moment with just Matjaž and Bor left on stage. Bor with the carefully chosen tone of his twelve-string black acoustic guitar ringing out in accompaniment with perfection, and of course Matjaž’s irreplaceable vocal stamp. They stuck with “Poglej v svet” and played Želim da si tu, followed by Poišči me, taken from Matjaž’s first solo record “100x Lažje” (2001).
The second half of the concert was building the atmosphere higher and higher, piece by piece. A barrage with the hit Jaz nimam noč za spanje, while Hočeš nočeš inevitably pulled Natalija Verboten onto the stage too. And all those iron-repertoire classics! Laški pir sent the crowd absolutely wild. That was followed by the beautiful ballad Ker te ljubim, during which the ladies melted. Then another detonation with Rockerji, then a moment from the album “IV” (1991) with Manijak, for which Žak from Mary Rose joined the band on stage — and after playing it, Matjaž theatrically added: “ŠČ!” (Žak had, after all, collaborated with Let 3 at this year’s Eurovision). The euphoria doesn’t let up; Delam, kar paše mi is already here, blasting the crowd into a new kind of theatre altogether — the performance of the ultimate evergreen hit Metulj. For the occasion, the band adapted it for a special guest. Not Tinkara Kovač, but opera singer Dunya Tinauer Verbovšek, which turned out to be a particularly inspired move, especially in the chorus passages, which gained extra, wonderfully pleasing harmonic contrasts. After the more recent Nekaj več came an emotional address from Matjaž, setting up the big finale, as the band launched into Zabava from their debut album “Pridite na žur” (1987).
The band returns for the obligatory encore. You’ve probably already guessed what was missing. Pravljica o mavričnih ljudeh. Special guest Tomi M. accompanied by a string quartet from Velenje and the Slovenian Octet (!). One of the most eagerly anticipated highlights of this whole celebration — and it came off brilliantly. The Slovenian Octet’s involvement in particular left a very special mark. That was the moment that again melted hearts en masse and raised goosebumps right across the crowd. Dej bolj na glas radio brought one more inseparable friend of the band from Velenje’s streets onto the stage — 6Pack Čukur! As much as the cheeky lyrics and revved-up chorus got necks moving, just as piercingly did Cveto’s musical bass lines ring out in contrast. Outstanding.
Right at the end, the band said goodbye to the crowd with another run of the new single Se še spomniš — making it clear that the Šank Rock story goes on. That there’s new original music on the horizon, a new album, new shows — in short, a whole new era for the band. The band showed up in bulletproof form. Practically flawless, and glowing with a fierce fire. As if those 40-plus years had never happened. And that’s how this monumental concert passed. In the blink of an eye. Intensely charged with emotion. With nostalgia.
And the form? Šank Rock have always been defined by a character of great musical excellence. Through every era of their career. Not just in songwriting, but in live performance too. Matjaž maintains top-level vocal form even in the band’s more mature years. He navigated the concert vocally with great skill and, among other things, convinced with some exceptionally high vocal maneuvers that no one can take that kind of authority away from him. Watching Bor Zuljan is a chapter unto itself at every Šank Rock concert. The man is that perfect combination of an extraordinary feel for generating musicality in his solos — which he always carefully doses with showman escapades of breathtaking technical complexity and near-flawless, bravura execution. Bor delivered exactly what we came for! Bass lines of organic elasticity and decisive punch were never absent from the sound picture. Those were Cveto Polak’s domain — rock-solid as ever, though this time, due to an injury, he was moving around the stage a little less. The returning hero Aleš Uranjek played as if he’d never left the band. Utterly in command. The versatile Samo Jezovšek on keyboards, meanwhile, also disarmed the crowd with a solo spot just before Jaz nimam noč za spanje, among other things. A real ‘mini’ Don Airey. All in one? An outstanding quintet performance.
The massive, expansive stage — which at the end of July in Velenje will also host this year’s edition of the Metaldays festival — was fitted out with spectacular stage lighting, a heap of pyrotechnics and smoke curtains, while the performance of each song was accompanied by a carefully curated film projection on the enormous stage screen, meaningfully tied to the messages of the chosen songs. Sound: excellent. That goes for the balanced placement of individual instruments in the mix too — with Matjaž’s vocals absolutely at the centre of that picture. Throughout. As befits a band that can rightfully be called the greatest. The greatest Slovenian hard rock act of all time. Fair and more than deserved. Here’s to the next 40 years!
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Setlist:
1. Se še spomniš
2. Pridite na žur
3. Ni sreče brez R’N’R
4. Puščava sna
5. Restart
6. Lahka dama
7. Le 17
8. TV
9. Hvala za vse
10. Senca sebe
11. Maček
12. Nisem več s tabo
13. Tih’ bod’ in igraj
14. Želim da si tu (acoustic version)
15. Poišči me (acoustic version)
16. Jaz nimam noč za spanje
17. Hočeš nočeš
18. Laški pir
19. Ker te ljubim
20. Rockerji
21. Manijak
22. Delam kar paše mi
23. Metulj
24. Nekaj več
25. Zabava
—encore—
26. Pravljica o mavričnih ljudeh
27. Dej bolj naglas radio
28. Se še spomniš
