Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ljubljana / Orto bar / Slovenia
Concert date: 11.01.2014
Attendance: 100
Ticket price: €5.00
Tribute bands are always a welcome guest, since they bring the organizer a solid crowd, and that goes for the bar too. Kula, a Croatian band from Čakovec in Međimurje, devoted to the persona and work of the mighty Led Zeppelin, found their way onto Slovenian stages as well, specifically to our beloved Orto bar. On their visit they threw a proper little orgy, one that rock-devoted souls could really get behind, the ones who have a hard time accepting that Led Zeppelin will never play again. There were plenty of Croatian fans in the crowd too, which was a pretty big surprise.
Any band-aid on the wound of the cruel realization that Led Zeppelin are no more comes in handy. And anyone who knows me knows I don’t go to »tribute band« gigs, so Ljubljana must be in a real concert drought these January days. And Kula are by no means illiterate when it comes to the Led Zeppelin repertoire. Orto bar got an hour and a half of the band’s most recognizable tracks, and it only filled up nicely once the band had actually stepped onto the stage. All told, some hundred people went wild for the evergreen Led Zeppelin rock ‘n’ roll marches. From the opening Good Times Bad Times to Rock ‘N’ Roll, Ramble On, Communication Breakdown, Black Dog, the expected Stairway to Heaven, Kashmir, Nobody’s Fault, Immigrant Song. The band came up with a great trick to amuse the Slovenian crowd even more. Before launching into Whole Lotta Love, which needed quite a bit of extra technical prep to adjust the sound for the song, the guitarist theatrically slipped in the raw, cranked-up opening cut of Siddharta’s song Napoj. And of course the long, psychedelic, improvised bit with the violin bow on the guitar didn’t go missing, either in Whole Lota Love or later in Dazed And Confused.
The quartet plays with confidence. They nailed the originals nicely. From the vocal color, with a real soul vibration in the tonality, to the properly sung high sequences (okay, some »sloppiness« in shaping the melodic lines was to be expected) that characterize Plant’s unique vocal dossier. The guitar, for Jimmy Page’s arsenal, sounded almost too technically polished, schooled and filed smooth. A touch too sharp in tone, a touch too cranked. All well and good, the basic figures were once again nicely delivered, it’s just that in the solos the guitarist doesn’t need to show off how fast and skillful he is. We believe he’s very good, so there’s no need to add any special embellishments to the originals. If he poured a bit more of Page’s unique »feel in the grip« into his fingers, the whole thing would work even better in the future. Of course there were inaccuracies, like in Stariway To Heaven (in the transitional passage »..makes me wonder…«, while the solo itself was laid down very nicely). The rhythm section, meanwhile, provided an excellent framework on which Kula successfully, confidently and safely carried the show from start to finish. Heartbreaker (the guitar-vocal combo) gave the band quite a few headaches, as they showed some real lack of coordination in the timing of the transitions.
All in all, I can speak of the show in praising terms. Nothing else for it. Still, it might be very good for the band in the future to liven up their sets even more by including acoustic-flavored numbers like Going To California, Friends, Gallows Pole, not to mention the almost obligatory inclusion of songs like Babe I’m Gonna Leave You, the erotic, darkly balladic bluesy drama beauty SInce I’ve Been Lovin You, or the ever magically gazing Rain Song. As for special kinds of surprises, like Achilles Last Stand, No Quarter or In My Times Of Dying, we can probably only dream. The band would also gain by intensifying the feelings, for instance by upgrading their stage look and their »bad ass attitude«. All in good time. So, one more lovely Saturday night at Orto bar.
Photo gallery
