Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Venue: Orto bar / Ljubljana / Slovenia
Concert date: 22.09.2010
Attendance: 60
Ticket price: €0.00 (free entry)
Eskobars have literally exploded in no time. In two years of existence they’ve put out their debut “Eskobars” (RockLine review HERE) and presented it to the Slovenian audience at a release party, where else but at Orto bar. The packed space in front of the Orto bar entrance suggested a proper concert dive, but it turned out later that only a good 50 people or so were actually there for Eskobars. Whatever, it was a landmark day for Eskobars! No doubt about it And not just because of the freshly baked debut: Eksobars also introduced a new permanent member on stage, someone who until now had only occasionally helped the guys out at gigs. That’s Teo Collori, and with him the band has grown into a quartet.
This time I really have to praise the pick by the label Dallas, which backed a Slovenian band cut from the right cloth. Eskobars sound incredibly fresh, even though they’re not bringing any kind of musical revolution. It’s hard to say outright that they’re the Slovenian Kaiser Chiefs or Franz Ferdinand. Far from it. It’s only the approach to music that’s similar. Modern marching rhythms and even the use of gang chants (Sobotne noči, Cosmo Blues) come as a pretty nice surprise. On top of that there’s a heavy trek through retro impulses, rock n’ roll attitude and blues, and of course it wouldn’t work without punk. Eskobars are also interesting because they can be hugely convincing in intimate moments, leaning on completely natural sound structures. Their songs have a lovely balance of melody, compactness and a highly compatible verse-chorus pairing. At the same time they come across as original and recognizable, and that’s a crucial starting point that lets the band clearly define its status on the Slovenian music scene.
The guys marched onto the stage ten minutes past ten in the evening. In a bit under an hour they showed a new face of the band, one that, judging by their May gig supporting Skunk Anansie in Ljubljana, has grown as a unit in terms of how homogeneous they sound, at least as far as executing the material on stage goes. Jure looks even more confident and without a shred of pressure. And he’s got a big support in the new member and guitarist Teo Collori, who took over some of the more demanding guitar parts. That lets Jure focus even more on vocals and on communicating with the crowd, which a singer, one way or another, has to keep constantly “close by”, on a string. Eskobars also proved themselves with an upgraded vocal backing, with the whole quartet joining in on the choruses. In a good half hour they ripped through the entire debut live. They fired up most convincingly on Cosmo Blues, Sobotne noči, Girls From Klagenfurt, Cirkus, Čevljar and Zemljin sin, which in its “stripped-down” version picks up more bluesy elements. Special mention goes to the endlessly infectious Sobotne noči, where the guys, completely letting go, practically tear themselves apart on stage with all that rock’n’roll abandon and total immersion. They played that song once more later in the encore, and once again it proved its toxic rock infectiousness.
The small crowd really enjoyed itself and even danced around a few times to the cheeky rock beats of a young, unbridled band on stage. Not only was the launch a great success, but with their debut Eskobars have put out an album that can serve as an example to other Slovenian bands of an alternative rock (or indie rock, if you like) bent: how to approach the music without being weighed down by the achievements of world-famous acts in this range, and how to use that freedom from pressure to keep your originality and artistic independence. Slovenia has thus gained an incredibly mature, message-rich and different rock album as a debut.
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
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