Božični rock koncert 2010! (2010)

Arhiv Arhiv Last updated 11 June 2026

Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik

Location: Športna dvorana / Postojna / Slovenia
Concert date: 24.12.2010
Attendance: 1200
Ticket price: 13,00€

For the seventeenth year in a row, Postojna hosted the traditional Božični rock koncert. An event worth your trust and attention, then, and every year one of the bigger closing events in Slovenia, wrapping up the live music pulse of the year. Not necessarily just the Slovenian one, maybe even the European one. That depends, of course, on how keen and frequent a concertgoer you are, as well as on your personal reach, expressed (and consequently materialized) in the hunt for quality live offerings (hence the need to define it with the wider area of Europe).

We’re at the scene. It’s ten to nine in the evening when the leather-clad heavy metal fillies Hellcats plug into the power supply at lightning speed and take their positions. They were, after all, the first and only band of the festival thrown onto the stage without a “soundcheck” (the “big” Tabu supposedly spent a full 40 minutes on theirs beforehand). So singer Valentina Plaskan’s greeting rings out, echoing almost hollowly through the empty sports hall. Yep, the Postojna folks evidently run their clocks on Primorska time, and around here we know life only begins after eleven at night. Oh well. A confident attitude demands emotional invulnerability. Sometimes you just have to dig into your instruments in front of an empty auditorium, but when you’re part of a big event like the Božični rock koncert, that’s a pretty good mitigating circumstance. It guarantees you at least a “fat” media presence. The girls warmed up the sparse crowd with original material. In there was The Master’s Night, which Valentina introduced as the former Vladar noči, performed by Hellcats for the very first time (live) entirely in English, and right there in Postojna at that. Also on the list were Heavy Metal, Steel Rider, Sanjam demone, Divja pot and the closing Hellcats. A big plus for Hellcats is the polish of their stage look and the tasteful roasting of femininity with leather and guitars. High heels, miniskirts, flirty glances. All of it, of course, works in the band’s favor. On such a substantial, spacious stage, the “mere” hair-flailing of bassist Saša and guitarist Katja gets a bit lost, so despite all their activity they gave the impression of a band that’s somewhat less mobile onstage, while this “apparent ease” was rescued by singer Valentina running intensely across the stage. The girls play very solidly, the odd bizarre note still crashes in, but the fact is that Hellcats are improving. Onstage too, since they play better from gig to gig. We also got plenty of original material, so there’s nothing more to add. Hellcats are on the way up. It’s a concept that’s excellently set up and, what matters most, the girls built it themselves and believe in it. Let’s hope a studio debut capitalizes on it as soon as possible.

Mary Rose are the true embodiment of the Božični rock koncert. If they’re not on the bill, then there’s no Božični rock koncert either. They’re a joy to watch onstage. Their mix of cult rock and metal hits (Iron Maiden, Queen medley, Van Halen, Whitesnake, Divlje Jagode), to which they added a few originals from the excellent album „Feniks” released on Christmas Day 2006 (Izgubljen v času, Kralj za eno noč, Sam, Akcija), is always a bullseye in any rock concert roulette. Singer Žanil Tataj – Žak, originally from Rijeka, remains one of the finest singers on the Slovenian rock scene in 2010 too. For him there are no insurmountable obstacles on the trip across a wide range of keys, through which he carries his vocal power with feather-light ease. With this show Mary Rose proved once again that they’re a true hard rock attraction, one that sadly plays stages far too rarely. The guys promise a new record in 2011, so let’s hope the situation with the band’s rare appearances on concert stages gets a radical turn in favor of more gigs. The sound wasn’t the best. The guitar burst out indistinctly a few times, and Eki had some technical problems onstage (at one point his guitar went completely dead). The revamped lineup, bolstered by David Debevc on drums and keyboardist Sandi Trojner, thus remains a synonym for top quality, keeping alive the legacy of hard rock in Slovenia, with a strongly emphasized melodic element. Mary Rose were the band that around ten in the evening drew a serious crowd to the front of the stage, proof that they remain a highly valued band in the eyes (and ears) of the Postojna audience.

The first band to crack all the acoustic traps of the sports hall that day was Rock Shock. The guys had promised a surprise, and they served it up by handing the first ten minutes of their set to their colleagues from Mit, who stepped onstage and, in honor of Rock Shock’s tenth anniversary, played one of their songs, then opened the show with an original from the debut „Stik” (2009). A great gesture of friendship between the two bands, who have been successfully presenting their current records around Slovenia for two years now, united in the „Rock Stick” tour. In the remaining time Rock Shock showed off a great new show, playing mostly songs from their studio debut „Rock Shock”. In the first part of the set Rock Shock were joined onstage by their colleague and Ema 2005 winner Omar Naber, who briefly stood in for singer Matej Zalar. So the guys tackled Omar’s Vse kar si želiš and then returned to the Rock Shock repertoire with Glej me v oči. The whole combination warmed up the crowd nicely, and they didn’t hide their great mood, and as for Rock Shock, we can say they confidently held on to the credibility of their spot on this year’s Božični rock koncert lineup.

Around midnight the short-pants crew Elvis Jackson stormed the stage, undeniably one of the best “live” bands around our parts. On top of that, they’re one of the few local acts that successfully tour foreign stages and are known across the wider European scene. This time they brought somewhat fewer artifacts, among them the indispensable inflatable cushions, balls and rolls of toilet paper that we’re used to in much bigger quantities from their own headline shows. But even without that, the band, perfect for parties dominated mostly by a younger crowd, delivered a great party. The repertoire was classic. We heard some material from the excellent new album Against the gravity, and of course we weren’t denied Buda’s acrobatics either, who entertained us with all sorts of gymnastic elements and skillfully maneuvered between monitors and security guards on his excursions into the crowd. The organizer’s choice couldn’t have been better, and it looked like the concert had peaked with the Elvises’ set. But that wasn’t the case.

After a short break, Tabu took over the stage. At first glance a slightly unusual choice, since the leap from the Elvises’ extravagant guitar rock to Tabu’s polished pop is a hefty one. But the tightness, the professionalism and above all the good music from this year’s Christmas Eve headliners dispelled any such doubts. If the Elvises are more like clowns and entertainers (in the most positive sense of the words, of course), with Tabu the music comes first. Their undisputed trump card is also a pile of well-received radio-friendly hits that have delighted us over the last decade, including Dobra vila, Divje and Lahko sem srce. But Tabu are of course more than that. What sets them apart from other local pop acts is above all their inventiveness and musical intelligence (to which the thoughtful choice of producers for their albums undoubtedly contributed) and of course an excellent stage presentation. It’s also clear that listeners adopted singer Tina long ago, as she’s fully established herself and polished her performance over the last three years, and that the other lineup changes didn’t hurt the band in the slightest either. The band thus confidently justified its role as the stars of the night and whipped up a superb atmosphere.

The Tabu guys handed the stage over to Klinar’s Rock partyzani, who successfully brought the night home in the early morning hours. This year’s Božični rock koncert in Postojna was thus once again a huge success, and we could even say there are few events in Slovenia that draw such a good crowd year after year. With that observation comes an invitation to the next Postojna guitar party on 30. 12., which will be ruled by Requiem and Lene kosti.

words: Aleš Podbrežnik (Hellcats, Mary Rose, Rock Shock) & Tomo Jurca (Elvis Jackson, Tabu)

photos: Aleš Podbrežnik