Venue: Jamski dvorec/Postojna
Concert date: 21.05.2008
Attendance: 150
Ticket price: 13 €
Well then, on to the second-to-last act of this year’s concert series, Blues Postojna. This time it was the Slovenian folk rockers Hiša who came to play outside the cave. Hiša unofficially got going back in 1981 as young guys, but a twist of circumstances pulled them apart for years, and they only got back together a decade later. What still united them was a love of music from the American West Coast. So in 1992 they put out their debut, and they’ve been releasing albums more or less regularly ever since. For the most part the albums were very well received by critics, and Hiša have picked up a few awards, including one for the album Illusion Anyway, on which they play Neil Young covers. So a real treat was in store, with legends of the Slovenian music scene.
Hiša kicked off with a surprisingly bluesy sound, though given that these are blues nights, that maybe shouldn’t have been so shocking. Right from the start it was clear that Andrej Guček is an outstanding lead guitarist who’s no stranger to playing in all sorts of styles. The band soon switched to those famous vocal harmonies we’re used to from this lineup. All three other members helped Andrej with these lush arrangements, and the end result is truly stunning. It’s hard to find a rock band in Slovenia with vocal lines this polished that also sound terrific live. Frontman Andrej Guček apologized for his voice, which he’d been having trouble with for quite a while. Apparently he’d been without it for a whole four months. That was part of the reason Hiša took a short break after three quarters of an hour.
After a fifteen-minute break the guys came back on stage and started off a bit differently. We got a more acoustic set, with Andrej Guček strumming an acoustic guitar and singing while the other three only provided backing vocals. That went on for a couple of songs, after which the members of Hiša slipped back into their standard poses and Andrej Guček picked up the electric guitar again. Since Andrej’s voice was still on the weak side, on two songs after that the lead vocals were taken once by the rhythm guitarist and once by the bassist. What followed was even better than the first part. I had the feeling they played better and better the closer we got to the end of the show. Like the first part, the second lasted around three quarters of an hour. But the concert was far from over.
After thunderous applause Hiša came back on stage and played one of their better-known tunes – Resnica je psica, sorry, ptica, once again in an acoustic version.
After Resnica je ptica they left the stage one more time. But it didn’t take much begging to get them back. They obviously always intended to play one of their biggest hits, Ledene ceste, on which Andrej Guček totally cut loose on the electric guitar, and right at the end an incredible solo delivered the high point of the night.
Hiša sounded very good, even better than I’d hoped. When Andrej Guček spoke his voice was hoarse and weak, but you couldn’t tell at all when he sang. His vocal was as clean as ever, and of course the other three members helped him enormously, all chipping in with backing vocals. It’s precisely these famous layered vocal harmonies, the kind that worm their way into your ear in no time, that earned Hiša the nickname the Slovenian Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. I won’t claim it’s a pure copy, because that would be unfair to Hiša, who have a strong character all their own, but just like with CSNY, the vocal lines are the strongest and most beautiful part.
Although Hiša are known for their melodies, clean production and above all exceptional vocals, that night they also proved to be a very diverse band. Besides pop, folk and classic rock, you could feel plenty of blues in the music (it is Blues Postojna, after all!) and some country too. I’d especially single out Andrej Guček’s contribution. In my opinion, if he weren’t in Hiša, he’d be one of the best singer-songwriters in Slovenia (like many singer-songwriters, he’s a multi-instrumentalist too), because his playing style, choice of instruments and way of composing recall the likes of Dylan, Mlakar and so on, and he’s got no shortage of humor either.
The show itself reminded me a bit of CSNY’s legendary live album 4 Way Street, a double record where half the concert is acoustic and half electric. I even thought Hiša might flip the order, since they did the opposite of CSNY, playing the first part electric and then carrying on with acoustic instruments. The difference was that Hiša switched back to electric in the middle of the second part, and that’s where the similarities ended.
Although there’s always a touch of sadness in the band’s music, the audience didn’t go home with that feeling in the end. Hiša showed that even after so many years they still know how to play the way it should be done, and that they remain giants of Slovenian music. Hiša deservedly wrapped up the Blues Postojna concert series for the 2007/2008 season, and now all that’s left is the two-day festival for all blues lovers, taking place in June.
Words: Rok Podgrajšek
Photos: Daniel Pavlica
Setlist
1. Robben’s Blues
2. Fatamorgana Blues
3. Zaman
4. Novo življenje
5. Oče
6. Brez tebe
7. Dež
8. Trbovlje
9. Deklice, ptice…
10. Maestral
11. Tišina
12. Nevarna razmerja
13. Ko čas odšteje dni
14. Neštetič
15. Nočna vožnja
Encore:
16. Resnica je ptica
17. Ledene ceste
Photo gallery
