Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ljubljana / Orto bar / Slovenia
Concert date: March 27, 2013
Attendance: 150
Ticket price: €0.00
A new rock supergroup on the Slovenian scene! San Di Ego. Sergej Škofljanec, Matic Ajdič, Martin Rozman and Jure Doles make up San Di Ego. The names speak for themselves! A new band, new original music! And of course, new gigs! So let the ego do the talking, the one that isn’t Andro Knego!
Orto bar was packed with some of the most prominent rock musicians around, people whose past work has written a major chunk of Slovenian rock history, one way or another. Some of them are still shaping it successfully today. You don’t even know where to start counting when you’re bumping shoulders with Cveto Polak, Franci Zabukovec, Grega Samar, Sergej Pobegajl, his C4 buddy Billy, and a third C4 member, Boštjan Vajs, and there’s no end in sight … Then there’s the younger generation of rockers fronting their own bands, preaching their own vision of the Slovenian hard rock legacy, from Shutdown to Tomcat, and they’ve got studio albums under their belts too. The feeling was unreal when you looked around the crowd. Can the Slovenian rock scene possibly get any stronger than a lineup of 150 heads?
And of course the fourth estate was in the house. A familiar face, voice and build, and a musical guru both outside and inside Val 202 – the one and only Dragan »Dr. B« Bulič! The man steps on stage and, through a short overture of generously measured sentences, leads us to the premiere airing of the video for »Zadnji Cent«. A new version of rock ‘n’ roll debauchery is in sight and within reach.
The screen drops and the band immediately kicks in with a live rendition of their original single »Zadnji cent«. Dressed to the nines and slicked up. Orto is bursting at the seams, and the foursome shows off a toughness that comes from a long stretch of road mileage. The sound was spot-on, the energy in the room even more so! The original material served up a kind of mix of everything the guys have waded through in their careers. A blend of classic rock with modern touches, but hard-rocking and debauched. And of course with a full helping of melodic plasma, courtesy of one of the most recognizable and most in-demand rock vocalists in Slovenia right now, the lead throat of San Di Ego, His Excellency Sergej Škofljanec.
To make the measure of lucidity full, alongside the more or less expected classics from evergreen acts Whitesnake, Deep Purple and Van Halen, with their originals »Copata«, »Domina«, »Zadnji cent« (played at the opening and once more in the encore) and »Sonce je tam kjer si ti« slipped in between, the band completely surprised us with an excellent take on »Anyway You Want It« by cult AOR aliens Journey, and spiced up the evening with a great version of the big Bee Gees hit »Stayin’ Alive« (congrats to the band on those beautifully pulled-off vocal harmonies).
Short and sweet! But enough to feel how popular the foursome already is right at the start of their shared journey. Great live energy the whole way through. In all its authenticity, it delivered to everyone there exactly what they came for. A switch-off and a good time that pulls you away for a moment from the cruel daily grimace called slaving for capital. The band is on the prowl for an outstanding performance. Simply brilliant. Heartfelt, with just the right dose of letting loose, poking fun, and at the same time clear proof that when it comes to performing, it’s not healthy to mess with San Di Ego! So the studio debut of the new Slovenian rock supergroup is on the horizon, and we die-hard rockers are already, and rightly, waiting for it with bated breath!
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