Author: Urban Bolta
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Batuje / Športni park / Slovenia
Concert date: July 25, 2014
Attendance: 1,500
Ticket price: €20.00 / €32.00
Few Slovenian rock festivals build on a recognizable identity that could draw visitors from abroad. Most organizers play it safe, booking the bigger names of the Slovenian and former Yugoslav rock scenes. That guarantees solid attendance, while music connoisseurs are left with nothing but eye-rolling and long drives abroad, where acts of world renown play. This year the organizers of the annual Rock Batuje festival in the Slovenian Littoral broke the ice. They invited the legendary British heavyweights Uriah Heep, one of the most influential bands of their era and, four decades after their commercial peak, still a live institution worth sinning for. That put them on the wider music map, even at the price of personal financial risk.
The Littoral has always been rocker country, even if in recent years it too has been chronically short of young blood to carry the art form forward. Older visitors will tell you that the land between Koper and Gorizia once hosted eminences like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, Deep Purple…, and with Uriah Heep playing, the older generation finally got its due after a long wait.
The charming event, which involves practically the entire village of Batuje with its good three hundred residents, was opened by Pelhan, rockers from the Littoral who are building on last year’s achievement, getting their debut »V Neznano« off the ground (review here), with plenty of gigs this year. Pelhan proved a fitting opener for Uriah Heep, since they too draw inspiration from the old-school rock tradition with rich organic arrangements, even if their songs are more direct, catchier and friendlier to radio frequencies. This time Pelhan filled their slot exclusively with songs from last year’s debut »V neznano«. The usual pair of covers got dropped, which speaks to the increasingly confident approach of Aleš Pelhan and company. The Littoral crew showed great command of drama (Blizu je zadnji zdih), building tension (Če jutri umrem) and dynamics (V neznano), while skipping some of their originals with ballad roots. A solid crowd in front of the stage proved that Pelhan are slowly but surely winning over the hearts of rock devotees, who are already waiting (we’re waiting!) for new material.
Early in the program came the stars of the night, Uriah Heep! In the British rock camp, old age is never boring. They’re among the most active and consistent bands of the classic era of British rock, and even in their golden years they keep enriching their discography. Just a few weeks before coming to Batuje they released their latest album »Outsider« (review here), stepping into a new, post-Bolder era. Legendary bassist Trevor Bolder, also known for his work with David Bowie, left this world last year, and Dave Rimmer stepped into his shoes. Uriah Heep will never be the same, but even with the new lineup and reshuffled balance of power, they carry on with their mission.
The opening with Against The Odds from »Sea of Light« (1995) was identical to last year at Lent. A gentle touch of Hammond, as the hard guitar phrase kicked in, grew into a heavy rock confession with a strongly retro sound, one that would easily date the song two decades earlier. Overload followed, confirming the quintet’s great faith in the darkness of »Wake The Sleeper« (2008), since the track has stuck in the set for several tours in a row. After the initial feeling-out between band and crowd, the first tribute to the classic era, Sunrise, got things truly going! The atmosphere grew more intense with every song, and a frontman in good spirits, Bernie Shaw, poured oil on the fire, bending the grandeur of the stage to his advantage again and again. One moment he’s feeding verses to the front row from the edge of the stage, the next he’s smiling and clapping beside Russell Gilbrook’s drum kit.
Uriah Heep are famed for their exceptional vocal harmonies, and one of the band’s main sonic trademarks came alive in Batuje in all its fullness as they tackled the easygoing rock march Stealin’. Bernie Shaw can’t hide his years, of course. He remains a frontman with a born leader’s ability, but at 58 he can no longer afford the higher vocal excursions, so the backing vocals of the other four come in very handy.
The loudest ovations from the crowd naturally went to the classics Gypsy, Look at Yourself and July Morning. These are monumental songs built on an exceptional dialogue between Lanzon’s keyboards and Box’s guitar, and they wrung cheers even out of the least animated visitors, leaning in the far corners of the grounds. When Mick Box picked up the acoustic guitar, it was clear it was time for Lady in Black, the obligatory companion of every Heep gig. Far too early! The Brits judged that, given the circumstances (the fee paid), they had fulfilled their mission, and they shortchanged the Littoral crowd by two or three songs. But the crowd wasn’t about to be put off! The stretched-out version of Lady in Black, with plenty of sing-along, was the highlight of the concert for many. Quite a few gray-haired fans let their memories slip back four decades, to when they wore the vinyl of »Salisbury« bare spinning that famous anthem.
Back on stage, the crowd was addressed by Mick Box, the only remaining original member. He invited all the girls, moms and rock grannies up to join the band, and in the manner of Iggy Pop’s The Stooges they marched onstage and danced along to the band, who bid Batuje farewell with another evergreen, Easy Livin’. After all these years the band’s magic is still strong, and constant gigging keeps the rust from setting in. For every devotee of the classic rock tradition, this was an unforgettable night without a doubt. It skimped on only one thing: the set length. Unforgettable? The memory of a time when rock’n’roll was still young was successfully summoned, and that’s what we came to Batuje for in the first place.
The late hour quickly drove the Rockline crew back toward the heart of Slovenia, so we skipped the sets by Bohem and Heavenix, whom we’ll make up to with a proper write-up some other time. Fingers crossed that hosting a world-famous name didn’t blow a financial hole in the festival’s budget. If not, maybe we can look forward to another of the eminent names of the global rock fraternity in the coming years.
Setlist
1. Against the Odds
2. Overload
3. Sunrise
4. Stealin’
5. I’m Ready
6. Between Two Worlds
7. Can’t Take That Away
8. One Minute
9. Gypsy
10. Look at Yourself
11. July Morning
12. Lady in Black
—encore—
13. Free ‘n’ Easy
14. Easy Livin’
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