Venue: Cvetličarna Mediapark, Ljubljana
Concert date: 12.12.2007
Attendance: 500
Ticket price: 18€
What is the very heart of the untamed, roaring spirit of rock & roll from the former common state of Yugoslavia?! Those of you who first think of Bijelo Dugme, Smak, September and similar bands will bite your tongue pretty fast at the name Time, the band of the legendary Dado Topić, one of the biggest icons of the Balkan rock scene. Sure, they may be short on evergreen singalong hits, but Time, thanks above all to their incredible bassist and vocalist, definitely belong in the league of the biggest and most influential rock acts of the former country.
The legendary Time, in the lineup of Dado Topić, Vedran Božić and Ratko Divjak, proved once again, after last year’s brief visit to Šiška, that they’re an incredibly well-oiled machine, one that won’t be distracted at any price while it gives itself over to a nostalgic stroll through its enviable musical legacy. Worth pointing out here: it’s been thirty-six years this year since the baptism by fire in the early seventies that threw Time, then still a quintet, onto the merciless and consequently fiercely competitive music scene! And although the years have clearly taken their toll on Topić’s by now slightly loosened voice, you’d never in your wildest dreams guess he’s fifty-eight. Dado simply looks great, and his playing, years be damned, is still inspired, fiery, heart-driven musical agitation worthy of a true master.
Good old Dado spent the better part of a two-hour set showing genuine warmth and understanding, with a performance straight from the heart, both toward his own songs and toward the thrilled crowd. The latter, as we’re used to at gigs by rock legends, was young and old, this time mostly men, neatly lined up by birth year from the youngest “bloodthirsty” warriors at the stage to the general staff of the old rock guard, camped more or less right behind the front lines. The program the Time trio had prepared for the incorrigible rock souls was, in an utterly relaxed atmosphere, basically a complete delivery of the band’s greatest triumphs, expertly seasoned with the obligatory instrumental play, where elements of old-school rock met funk, jazz and, finally, of course, the mandatory orientally tinted motifs in the style of the indispensable Makedonija.
That Makedonija would be one of the highlights of the concert was clear to practically everyone from the start of the evening. Likewise, you didn’t need any special prophetic gift to make the hardly daring prediction that Život u Čizmama s Visokom Petom, Elizabet, Igraj, Narode Moj and the playfully upbeat Dok Ja I Moj Miš Sviramo Jazz would go off like bombs, and of course the same for the expected duet with Topić’s great friend Janez Bončina – Benč. More heartfelt than overly polished, “their” Majko Zemljo took Cvetličarna for a moment back to the days of brotherhood-and-unity slogans, to an era when, in Topić’s words, “everything seemed so honest and simple”. Nice, no two ways about it! And admit it, in such a homey atmosphere soaked in nostalgia, it’s really hard to pick the highlights of the night out of the cutthroat competition of razor-sharp riffing. Maybe it’s the infallible Istnina Mašina or Živjeti Slobodno, which, just like the gems mentioned earlier, always push the heartbeats per minute up to the maximum allowed. In the wild whirl of rock & roll, the slower songs felt like veritable “party breakers”, figuratively speaking of course, but certainly like moments that gave Topić’s unmistakable vocals, besides a welcome breather, a chance to give in to the seductive depth of his voice. Dali Znaš Da Te Volim, Kralj Alkohol and Za Koji Život Treba Da Se Rodim were all more than excellent, really the last finishing touches on an evening that was, all in all, a triumph in the truest sense of the word. An unrepeatable show by a monumental musical collective!
Text: Daniel Pavlica
Photos: Mojca Perdih
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