Author: Sebastijan Videc
Photos: Jerneja Jerak
Venue: Channel Zero, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Concert date: 02.10.2014
Attendance: 50
Ticket price: 20€ (advance), 24€ (day of show)
Let’s face it: the world of rock and metal is mostly a man’s domain. With a few exceptions like Doro and the ladies of Arch Enemy, most women ended up in symphonic and folk bands. Entirely female bands are rarer still, even though we have two well-known ones in Slovenia, in different genres. That made a show by a band like this from Stockholm an even bigger treat.
In a way, Junkstars had a pretty thankless job as the first support act. The trio hails from Stockholm and only started making music together two years ago, yet they’ve already put out two albums in that short time. The small crowd initially made the whole show feel a bit dismal, but song after song they built a more genuine connection with the people there; frontman Max ‘Diesel’ connected with every individual almost on a personal level, and as a reward and a pat on the back the band even got a round of shots from an enthusiastic fan! The low-slung guitars and simple rhythms clearly showed the band’s punk roots, though musically they wandered into more rock’n’roll territory too. Despite the thin turnout, the band looked happy and played a professional set.
Sadly, the floor didn’t fill up much more for the next act, which I personally had been looking forward to with great anticipation. Supercharger are a rock band from Copenhagen, Denmark. What’s interesting is that, much like their countrymen Volbeat, they also play a distorted, modernized take on fifties rock’n’roll, but that’s pretty much where the similarity ends. While the more famous Volbeat play a polished, more commercial version of rock’n’roll, Supercharger went for a rawer, garage-style sound. With the sugary sweetness and hordes of teenage girls out of the picture, the Danes probably won’t be filling stadiums any time soon, but quantity isn’t a precondition for quality. The small CH0 stage was noticeably too small for a sextet this time – the keyboardist squeezed into one corner, the guitarists jostling in front of the drums and trying to leave some room for frontman Mikkel. A harsher, faster, dirtier guitar sound fills a club space like Channel Zero perfectly, and the charismatic Mikkel, even better than Max before him, used the tiny room to talk with the crowd. Harmonicas, Hammond organs and fast piano runs, distorted rock’n’roll rhythms and fun lyrics, plus the comic banter between songs, made sure we were all having a blast, some of us even danced, and the hour or so of their set flew by way too fast.
Crucified Barbara managed to get the hall filled up at least somewhat. The female quartet from Stockholm started out in the late nineties as a punk band, but the girls soon turned into hearty rockers and have stayed true to the genre to this day. Just under a month ago they released their fourth album, In the Red, which was, as expected, the red thread of the evening. The start was uncompromising – blow after blow, song after song, no breaks. They only took a short breather for a drink after the fourth song and then carried on in the same manner – with minimal interaction, but never mind, because the music did the talking this night. Frontwoman Mia Coldheart’s cold stare never thawed, and even rhythm guitarist Klara Force’s infectious smiles were accompanied by chillingly icy looks. No, the ‘Barbaras’ aren’t just another female band selling curves on stage; with them and for them, only the instruments do the talking. Mia’s voice at moments recalls the legendary Doro, and their hard-nosed rock is soaked in all kinds of influences – from Motörhead and Alice in Chains to the big names of the eighties glam movement. The instruments felt that their music shows no mercy, too – Mia’s Gibson Flying-V has its top edge worn down to bare wood, while Ida’s bass is in even worse shape. The girls don’t disappoint, whether in a distorted or an acoustic version! And Mia’s vocals are damn addictive – from a proper heavy metal voice in The Crucifier to the gentle velvet voice in ballads like Jennyfer, it seems like there are no obstacles for her. Definitely a concert that will stay in the hearts of everyone who was there, and definitely a band I want to see live again!
Setlist
Crucified Barbara:
1. The Ghost Inside
2. The Crucifier
3. Shut Your Mouth
4. Sex Action
5. To Kill A Man
6. Everything We Need
7. In The Red
8. Rock Me Like the Devil
9. Jennyfer
10. Count Me In
11. Lunatic #1
12. Sell My Kids for Rock’n’roll
13. In Distortion We Trust
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14. My Heart Is Black
15. Into the Fire
16. Electric Sky
Photo gallery
