Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ljubljana / Scratch bar / Slovenia
Concert date: March 5, 2011
Attendance: 80
Ticket price: €0.00 (free entry!)
A new era. An era of debauchery. Carnival Saturday. Yet another excuse to dive headfirst into the eternal cauldron of hedonism! This time it’s all about carrying on with the superstitions devoted to worshipping Shrovetide and grub. The scene of the crime? Anyone who knows me can guess it in a heartbeat, by pure reflex. Scratch bar on Trnovski nasip in Ljubljana. I probably count as part of the mandatory house furniture at this cozy rock bar, which has beautified and adorned the Slovenian capital since September 2010, a kind of asylum for all true-believer rocker souls, who have finally found their promised hangout land in it!
Organizing a blowout on carnival Saturday night calls for the right rock sounds, at least when we’re talking about a rock temple like Scratch bar. Inviting the always good-humored lads from Brežice, with their sparkling temperament and goofy spirit, who go by the name Broken Arrow, is practically an obligation in a case like this.
The guys are considered one of the better bands of the young wave of the melodic hard rock “revival” in Slovenia, if we can even talk about a “revival” (the melodic rock “revival” is a hot thing these days in the Scandinavian countries). Never mind that this music is totally out of fashion in Slovenia today and gets absolutely ignored by the stakeholders who should be looking after preserving its legacy! From the Ministry of Culture to most club owners and the bookers of their concert programs, who think it’s enough if bands play for a bottle of beer. And last but not least to the non-reading public, who isn’t really much to blame for that if the right information doesn’t reach them at the right time. Broken Arrow stubbornly persist and defy. They’ve got nothing else left.
Broken Arrow are brave and fearless riders who grew up on the wings of the legacy of melodic hard rock bands like The Scorpions, Whitesnake, Alice Cooper, Bon Jovi, Kiss, etc… and at the same time they’re a logical continuation of the tradition of Slovenian bands that kicked up a lot of dust when they showed up on the scene in the eighties, from Pop Design to Šank Rock and Chateau.
Scratch got, as expected, a jam-packed crowd. The place was bubbling with good vibes and positive energy wherever you looked or listened. All sorts of costumes adorned the feverish pulse of the Saturday night, heads were swarming with loads of cute silliness, and meanwhile Broken Arrow had already plowed deep into virgin soil with their set.
The quintet, dressed up as Catholic preachers, split their performance into two parts with a longer break in between. In the opening part they presented their songs We Ride from the historic demo “Hit The Streets” from 2005, the brand-new Cryin’ In The Shadows, and the song with one of their most recognizable original riffs, Zdaj, ko si sama from the second demo “Polet” (2007). In the second half they continued with Sanjam jo from the third demo “Broken Arrow” (2009), then Polet v nebo (“Polet”, 2007). There was also the newer To Her, and the always standout fiery Glam Till The End and Hit The Streets. The club owner, well-known music gourmet and guitar wizard Jure Jurca (ex-Chaosstar), helped the band shape an excellent sound in the room, thanks to the rich experience Jure has gathered along his musical path and, of course, his knowledge of the home turf, where he confidently handled every sonic trap of the bar.
The guys in the lineup loosened up pretty quickly and got along nicely on a few square meters despite the tiny stage, and the crowd, especially in the second half of the show, finally lost its brakes, so a few “hot chicks” started freely writhing right next to the stage of the jam-packed bar. Carnival Saturday allows everything. Puts up with everything, demands everything. Many people’s knees were seriously wobbling under the weight of alcoholic derivatives, and the band, who in keeping with a professional attitude stayed completely off the booze until the end of the show, we can with a clear conscience cut some slack for a few missed notes that occasionally and unintentionally crept in. So the night showed no sign of ending!
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
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