Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ljubljana / Channel Zero / Slovenia
Concert date: October 29, 2014
Attendance: 100
Ticket price: €7.00
Before the year wraps up, Tide have squeezed a few more shows into their schedule. As usual, they swung back through the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana, where they played Channel Zero in Metelkova for the very first time in their career.
This past summer the band went through a radical shake-up of its lineup. Andrej Rot stepped in as the new Tide guitarist, and alongside him Tide now also have a new drummer by the name of Damjan Paljk Unlike the last time we caught them, when the band played a great show at Orto Bar in Ljubljana, the guys decided to move the new songs from their current album »No. 4« (2012) from the middle of the repertoire to the start of the set list for the Channel Zero gig. The first thing the refreshed Tide delivered was a turn toward an even grittier sound. The guys unleashed an incredible wall of destruction with the solidity of reinforced concrete, and it ground everything in its path. The band also decided to spice up the set list with some extra heavy “shrapnel” in the form of covers of household-name acts like Nirvana (Breed), Pantera (Mouth For War) and, in the obligatory encore, Motörhead (Ace of Spades – that one was sung entirely by bassist Matej, mic stand tilted sharply downward, »Lemmy-style«). It goes without saying that every single cover came out sounding »Tide-style«. The band plays them their own way, true to their musical charisma and clearly defined direction, which is the only right way to do it.
All eyes and ears were on how the new guitar duo of Koradin and Rot would work. On one side, the seasoned commander of the group, Kevin Koradin, and on the other, the potent newcomer Andrej Rot, an extremely ambitious young guy with plenty to prove. It’s safe to say Kevin found an exceptional stage partner and a solid backbone in Andrej! The two communicated brilliantly. Andrej also won people over with a few great solo acrobatics and showed he’s a classically trained metalhead, which the band put to use in the selected covers, while the original material, in its refreshed new sound, got extra-nasty barbs of destructive noise, plus a more tightly locked-in delivery. Tide keep up their proven trademark of exceptionally fat sound and voluminous, thickened groove built on trendy crushing riffs, into which the rattling, tearing bass and the rock-solid kinetics of new drummer Damjan fit »naturally«. With chemistry like this in the crew, Kevin can really let go completely. And that’s exactly how the man came across on stage that night.
Even though Kevin opened by complaining about an injured finger on his left hand, he quickly turned the “drama” into a joke when he said later on that he’d patched up the wound with good old cyanoacrylate Super Attack glue. You couldn’t notice any dip in his form on stage because of the injury. Tide, true to their tried-and-tested manner, delivered an outstanding show! Professionally played. Executed at a high level. They came, hit hard with the new opening track Don’t Look Back, and then confidently brought the whole of Channel Zero to its knees.
The band brought the classic Strange Day from the debut »Seven Days« (2005) back into the set list, and it proved it has stood the test of time and is still one of the strongest Tide songs from the early part of their career, one that still works great live, so it would be worth playing again at upcoming shows. As expected, Gianni Poposki jumped on stage this time too. The frontman of Nocitferia, as expected, “went gnarly” on the Channel Zero crowd from every angle, effectively tearing the place apart as the band tackled the Rage Against the Machine mega-hit Killing in the Name Of. It works great with Gianni. Gianni stayed on stage for one more song, Brain Damage from the studio debut of the band TIde, which closed the regular part of the show. A perverse closer for the finale! A bomb and a real »bull’s eye« hit right between the eyes!
Tide’s music has a solid character. At its core, of course, remains Kevin’s figure, his infectious rebel glow, backed by the tight cohesion of the other three. The quartet delivers a straight-up rock’n’roll punch, and only unhitches from it in the infectious balladry of songs like Love is Gone, where Kevin Koradin’s great sense of musicality as a composer especially sparkles. It’s also nice to see a solid crop of teenage girls, let’s round that up to 20-year-olds, who (still) regularly come to Tide shows, which means this is a band that, with its energy and honesty, definitely reaches the most intimate corners of the human soul and makes the emotions flare up. If women closely identify with the message in your music, combined with your stage presence (charisma, stature and voice), you stay forever young, potent and, of course, attractive. In every respect! That’s the very magic of rock ‘n’ roll!
So Tide burned Channel Zero to the ground with their tightness, huge confidence, a great feel for the new lineup, and the chemistry between the four of them. With the punchy, expressive power of their trademark modern hard rock sound, which has always given them a special place on the Slovenian music scene, they delivered a truly great gig. Props also go to the sound guy on duty for the excellent sound throughout the show!
Setlist
1. Don’t Look Back
2. Mud
3. Riot Act
4. The Urge
5. Release My Gun
6. Love is Gone
7. Hold On
8. Breed
9. Strange Day
10, Nio Place Left to Go
11. Like it Slow
12. Not a Whore / Bullet
13. Adieu
14. Mouth for War
15. Master of puppets / Evolution
16. Intro / Rain
17. Killing in the Name Of
18. Brain Damage
—encore—
19. Shooting Straight
20. Ace of Spades
21. Kick Out the Jams
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