Author: Aleš Podbrežnik, Jernej Vene
Venue: Mali grad Kamnik / Festival Kamfest 2016
Concert date: August 14, 2016
Attendance: 400
Ticket price: Free
Kamnik is in the middle of the 13th edition of its traditional Kamfest festival. As part of the main daytime program at Mali grad in Kamnik, day three of Kamfest 2016 featured Prismojeni profesorji bluesa. The increasingly hot attraction of the Slovenian scene packed Mali grad in Kamnik to the last corner with a free show (full credit to the organizers).
Why an attraction? This fairly young lineup (Miha Erič, Zlatko Đogić, Julijan Erič, Miha Ribarič) has polished its repertoire to an unbelievable shine in record time. They already proved they’re the real deal this spring at a sold-out Kino Šiška. From the very first second it was clear to everyone watching that these guys don’t allow mistakes in their blues playing. I’d struggle to find anything to pin on them, since every single member is completely in sync with the band’s philosophy, and I started wondering whether the guys ever put their instruments down at all. It’s obvious that a ton of hard graft went into a performance at this level. Everyone except bassist Miha Ribarič also contributes vocals to the songs, and that’s exactly what makes the band unique, because the songs never feel one-note. Through their instruments and three different voices, they stroll across the entire spectrum of blues. From traditional Delta blues, through the legendary white bluesmen, to a lovely mix of blues, boogie and rock ‘n’ roll. The musicians weave in interesting chord progressions that keep the blues form fresh with clever structures and arrangement tricks. The honest, professional attitude to music and the stage comes from the fact that these guys would rather play live anywhere, as long as it isn’t their rehearsal space. They accept almost every invitation, and you can tell that all those road miles pay off in the precision of their stage performance.
That the Kamnik crowd would get a nod to Jimi Hendrix was clear the moment guitarist Julijan Erič showed up with a upside-down white Fender Stratocaster. He went all out on the look too, with a headband and a seriously fantastic costume. And his take on Voodoo Chile by the legendary Jimi literally left the audience slack-jawed. Julijan doesn’t deny the influence of Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, of course, but nobody holds that against him, because he puts his whole being into his playing.
And it’s not just the guitar that deserves praise. Miha Erič on harmonica, with his dose of dynamics, gives off a hint of madness at times. But that madness sounds perfect. He and his brother Julijan wowed the crowd with solo spots, complementing each other and competing over who could repeat the other’s phrase better. Miha especially got so into it that it looked like he was about to snap his spine any second. Well, he’s still young…
With the rhythm section, jokingly dubbed “brat Gruvič” (Brother Groove) and made up of bassist Miha Ribarič and drummer Zlatko Đogić, we immediately see that the jokes about bassists and drummers who only manage to sync up at the very last gig don’t apply here. But it’s not just routine, they couldn’t pull this off without wholehearted enjoyment. The mischievous Đogić has studied the Deep South dialect down to the last detail and easily transported plenty of people to the Mississippi Delta. Near the end of the show, Ribarič, with Đogić’s help, pulled off a funky solo that thrilled the music nerds, and even those who had been shyly swaying and wiggling a bit before got more than they bargained for. If any layperson in the crowd had any doubts about the rhythm section, the two of them left them speechless.
Prismojeni profesorji bluesa completely won the audience over after the very first song, and before long a crowd gathered in front of the stage and gave itself over entirely to the music, dancing along. That doesn’t happen all that often at Kamfest. In the audience we also spotted a few well-known Slovenian musicians with serious road miles behind them, which gave the impression that this is no run-of-the-mill band.
I can say with ease that Prismojenci deserve that extra badge on top of “attraction,” since we haven’t seen such a polished performance in a long time. The guys don’t let up for a second, and together with their stage dynamics and incredible tightness they make a rounded whole. They’re still promoting their debut Family, but we’re already dying for the follow-up. The show deserves all the praise, and we can already look forward to September 16, when we’ll surely admire them in all their virtuosity at Križanke. Miha Erič said they’ll be recording their new album at that concert. I believe you won’t want to miss out on that recording.
Where do they go from here? Kino Šiška,… Križanke,… maybe Stožice next, or even further. The guys are ready, I can say that with ease. They’re proof that we don’t need to cross the border to get a dose of quality blues. Slovenians have quality at home that many probably aren’t even aware of. Keep it up, guys!
text, photos & video: Klemen Udovč
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