Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ljubljana / Biljardna hiša / Slovenia
Gig date: 28.12.2013
Attendance: 220
Ticket price: 7,00€
The grand finale of Slovenia’s live calendar, at least as far as »rocking and rolling« goes, came courtesy of San Di Ego with one more show in Ljubljana. A freshly baked super rock outfit, a quartet made up of Sergej Škofljanec (vocals), Matic Ajdič (guitar), Martin Rozman (bass) and Jure Doles (drums). Given the quartet’s reputation, all the past »social networking« on the Slovenian music scene and the renown these guys enjoy as individual musicians, Biljardna hiša gathered the cream of Slovenian rock in one big heap that night.
The band split the show into two parts with a proper break in between. A classic business move at the venue boss’s request, to coax a few more coins out of the crowd’s pockets and into the till behind the bar. Okay, fair enough. The guys on stage were fired up and in top form! They’re in demand, after all, and so regulars on concert stages in all sorts of musical formations. The interesting thing is that writing original material doesn’t exactly come fast to the band. San Di Ego have been playing live since around March this year, but I’m not sure they’d put together more than four originals by this day. Anyway, given that a good chunk of the basic philosophy of arranging songs is baked into the experience and seasoning of the individual members, gained through a wealth of past work with notable studio achievements, I doubt the quartet will run into that obstacle called a lack of songwriting imagination. So let’s wait and see!
Most of the set belonged to rock evergreens, and when a band tackles a demanding song like Boston’s »More Than A Feeling«, and Škofljanec lifts the vocal line to that insanely tough register that only the late Brad Delp could handle, right before the last chorus, it’s not out of place to say that Boston’s own illustrious boss Tom Scholz should have been at Biljardna hiša that night.
Into that rich bundle of reinterpreted rock evergreens, they slotted their own »up-and-comers« »Sonce ja tam, kjer si ti«, »Zadnji cent«, »Copata« and »Domina«, which will hopefully get some »buddies« soon, and with them a studio debut. The quartet stood firm like a fortress. They radiate an incredible hunger for playing live! The guys play tight, united, confident, relaxed but hungry, as if it were their first time on stage and they were itching to prove everything. The chemistry and dialogue between them is outstanding. With all the positive energy vibrating through the place, there’s not a moment to waste on unnecessary words. The view was gorgeous. The bulk, let’s call it the core, of today’s Slovenian hard rock pulse, and partly the metal one too, all gathered in a single spot! You don’t get to see that every day. As united as it gets. The people who’ve sworn their love to the alternative rock sound were few and far between, since they most likely found their comfort at the Aktivna Propaganda gig at Metelkova the same night.
We can say San Di Ego, with their arrival on the scene, are sensibly filling the gap left by the retirement of the venerable bands that were the flagships of the Slovenian scene through the eighties and nineties too (Šank rock, Chateau, Martin Krpan, Rdeči baron, Bombe,…). That’s assuming, of course, the quartet starts putting out original work documented on studio releases. The feeling is excellent. The Slovenian hard rock scene is finally waking up and getting some kind of recognizable core to the movement. A movement that will hopefully, through further bonding between the new and old guard of musicians, finally get the validation and standing it deserves in Slovenia. Until now, Slovenia’s hard rock troops have been thoroughly scattered. The event at Biljardna hiša heralds a real renaissance in that direction. Of course, this paragraph rests on a hypothesis. Let’s hope this positive core doesn’t get wiped out by Slovenians’ second-favorite national pastime. Let’s just call it a trade. Backbiting and envy (first place is reserved for corruption).
The sound, especially in the first half, wasn’t the best. The guitar roared indistinctly in places (the riffs), while the bass was nowhere to be heard. Luckily, Škofljanec was having his big vocal day! The seasoned frontman hauled the San Di Ego wagon forward with gusto and had the crowd instantly hooked, eating out of his hand without a care. All, of course, under the safe cover of the bulletproof drumming of the excellent Jure Doles. These guys are the devil. They also play in Extreme, Van Halen, Winger. Devilish, indeed! Among all the evergreen hits they picked, the one that really stands out is the Bee Gees’ Stayin’ Alive, masterfully dressed up and rearranged in the spirit of hard rock!
It’s a pleasure to watch San Di Ego! From head to toe. In the second half they fixed the sound, which of course only a handful of us, the »slightly disturbed« hair-splitting critics, were bothered about, while the crowd happily »switched off« to classics by Whitesnake, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Free, AC/DC, Judas Priest,… The night was still young! Hot, happy and hungry! That’s San Di Ego rock ‘n’ roll for you! Instantly combustible, an invasive old acquaintance! A sinful mass of rock-fueled scandal! A proper dose of hard steel straight to the forehead!
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