Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Venue: Gasilski dom (1922 – 1985) / Podlipa / Slovenia
Concert date: October 21, 2011
Attendance: 500
Ticket price: €5.00
“Koli” is back in The Drinkers! The news isn’t exactly old, but the gig in Podlipa (on the edge of the Podlipa valley, an extension of the Ljubljana Marshes near Vrhnika) was one of the first shows by the band with Sandi Kolenc back in the lineup. That’s the sorely missed, legendary The Drinkers icon “Koli”, along with keyboardist Primož Trebec “Šegrt”.
Gasilski dom in Podlipa! It’s late, rain’s pouring from the sky. Everything’s wet, slippery, brrrrr…. But the wettest and slipperiest of all are the throats. This time The Drinkers played on a bill with four other bands. The sets by the two opening acts, who played covers, were mostly a welcome chance for the bands themselves to test how far their stage reach goes. Fun, but not exactly interesting, especially when the guys walk out on stage in ski caps, even if they nail their Tom Petty cover to a T.
The main attraction of the night was, of course, The Drinkers. The packed upstairs hall of the fire hall, populated mostly by 17-to-20-year-old wet-behind-the-ears wanderers from Podlipa and the surrounding villages, starved of any real fun, already reeked shamelessly of alcohol derivatives. The staggering, tumbling and uncontrolled swaying of the crowd had no end in sight. Chaos. In front of the bar and behind it. It’s not every day you get your beer served by drunk staff, especially when it’s a waitress.
Anyway, an ambience more than fitting for the band on stage! The Drinkers kick off with Mat. K and the whole hall is with them in a heartbeat. Koli was, of course, the center of attention. I can put your minds at ease. The man hasn’t lost one iota of that all-too-familiar Koli who gave this band its old credibility. He still roars like a beast, as if he had a metal lathe mounted in his throat. Born for the stage. Where on earth has he been hiding these past few years?
The opening stretch showed some inconsistency. Likar’s guitar in particular buzzed away muffled, like a bee with a cold. Damn! Supposedly one of Likar’s guitar effects gave out, but judging by his playing and performance it was easy to see and hear that “Lit’r” had, before stepping on stage this time, simply tipped his gaze a few too many times into glasses full of alcoholic liquor. Bassist Miro Mutvar also had amp trouble during the show. Funny, too: there were “too many” keyboards on stage, while in the mix out in the middle of the hall they were nowhere to be heard.
So Koli really did hold The Drinkers firmly together this time and squeezed the optimum out of the live performance. The songs lined up on stage were ones we could only dream of at The Drinkers gigs between 2005 and 2010! Among others Gnus, Rjava podmornica, Privat bog, Na stol se bom privezal, Kralj hoste (with the obligatory chainsaw antics from Koli), Še vedno sem tu, Mafalda,…
The Drinkers’ show in Podlipa may not have come out at its best thanks to logistics problems, but Koli is such a strong, charismatic figure that he runs the place with his left pinky. The crowd ate out of his hand and melted together with the band into one unforgettable party, confirmed by the near-fanatical command of the lyrics throughout the show.
So there. Swapping Maki for Koli results in the birth of a new band. Really an old band. The difference is incomparable. It’s enough that the band functions on stage completely differently than it did with Maki. In performance (and certainly visually too, but performance is what counts). The classics The Drinkers absolutely have to play, 10. mejhnih jagrov, I love alkohol, Ko to tamo peva?, Pijemo ga radi, Lit’r vina and/or Jawohl, work again according to the old standards. Totally different, and thank God in line with the old standards, which give the band back its full credibility and, if we use a slightly rougher word, legitimacy!
In the finale The Drinkers salted the set with the Queen classic One Vision. Naturally they played it their own way, weaving in a whiff of Slovenian polka, and Koli tore up the room in this one too with his abrasive vocals. The man is truly thunderous! In build and in voice. We can’t skip another important factor! That’s drummer Klemen Markelj. His role in the background this time was no less important than Koli’s on the front line. This fantastic drummer and musical perfectionist, with his finesse and heavy commitment, helped a great deal to keep the songs, and so the band’s performance, consistent. Given the band’s technical troubles, his contribution this time was all the more important. In One Vision the guys gave him a drum solo spot, which instantly showed just how high the talent of Klemen’s drumming character reaches. And let’s not forget this is a character that was forged under the watchful mentoring eye of none other than the most illustrious Simon Philips (Toto).
Welcome aboard the Rjava podmornica, Koli, and welcome back, The Drinkers! Lepi in trezni again! Prettier for sure, but how much sobriety this reunion brings will of course be revealed by the near future, and pretty soon! So The Drinkers didn’t ferry us thirsty across the stormy ocean of alcohol in Podlipa, and Koli above all was the one who poured us the pure wine, and came clean with us!
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Setlist
1. Mat K. 2. Lepi in trezni 3. Alkohol je moj idol 4. Gnus 5. I love alkohol 6. Lit’r vina 7. Rjava podmornica 8. Jawohl 9. Na stol se bom privezal 10. Privat bog 11. Fa fa fa 12. Kralj hoste 13. Še vedno sem tu 14. Ko boš pršla na Bled 15. Slovenac 16. Pijemo ga radi 17. Deset majhnih jagrov 18. Ko to tamo peva? —encore— 19. Mafalda 20. Žeja me muči
Photo Gallery
