Location: Postojna / Jamski dvorec / Slovenia
Concert date: September 20, 2007
Attendance: 300
Ticket price: €13.00
I don’t know about you, but last night I approached the Predjama Castle in Postojna with the feverish anticipation of an eager young blues enthusiast. Understandable, of course, since this was the opening concert of the eagerly awaited fourth season of the by now highly respected Postojna Blues Festival. It unfolded in the pleasantly electrified atmosphere of the wonderful Predjama Castle, where us blues lovers were once again given the chance to indulge in the dirty sounds of this utterly unpredictable and therefore all the more tempting form of musical expression. To warm up our vital organs, the proudly standing male ones and the slightly less suspicious female ones alike, Ian Siegal and his band of three excellent Italian musicians, going by the name Mike Sponza Band, delivered a bombastic display of the energy and power of the traditional blues school. The latter in particular, with their inspired and dominant stage presence, helped chase away more than a few prejudices about the proverbial incompatibility of Italians with music of strong character, and above all with the blues.
Mike and Ian are two very different characters. While the former, besides his recognizably impressive minimalist approach, isn’t shy about flirting with fast-fingered guitar tricks, Ian likes to dwell in more laid-back atmospheres, where the sensuality of his expression reaches its full range. As for the intensity of the passion on offer, saying that Ian has more of it in his bag would do our Italian friend a great injustice. These are simply two completely different approaches, and they complemented each other beautifully through last night’s chilly Postojna evening.
Mike Sponza opened the evening with the compact, thoroughly polished blues/funk of KK Blues and 19 Years, and with them he immediately announced the presence of his impressively smooth voice, full of emotional charge, reminiscent of an unusual combination of the Guy and Cray vocal schools. Mike, at least vocally, has clearly studied the legacy of both blues giants in depth, and his voice now strikes a middle path between them. Just as impressive is the man’s guitar playing, which Sponza delivers with astonishing ease and control. The splendid Mike made full use of the chance to show off his interpretive qualities, which later vanished suddenly in the flood of the Brit’s Yankee-style swaggering outbursts, once Ian took the lead of this funny herd of blues vagabonds. Next up is Sugar Rush, a dynamic Siegal track. A gem of the modern blues school, it shows off Ian’s versatile vocal “impersonations” of blues greats, from Albert Collins to the swaggering gargle of Howlin’ Wolf. Ian basically stays true to this unique legacy of the Mississippi Delta throughout. From a listener’s perspective, the pairing of Sponza’s smooth, I’d almost say pop-blues rhetoric with Ian’s untamed Southern lyricism manages to capture an unexpected kind of magic, out of which an exciting blues scene gradually grows. The bouncier rhythm of Little By Little is a veritable showcase of that vocal interplay, and soon after it veers into an eruptive and humorously crafted guitar interlude. Hats off to both of them.
With such dominant musical expression up front, it’s easy to forget the two remaining protagonists, who are of course still very important links in the chain. The superior guitar spotlight is successfully challenged by the Hammond of Michele Bonivento, who, besides the occasional, more bashful solo attack, also keeps up a constant supply of the choppy bass lines the blues so badly needs. Moreno Buttinari built on these superbly all night long. This interesting rhythm duo offered both guitarists lasting, quality support, on which the likes of Elmore James’ She Got The Devil, the brilliant Big Boss Man, Albert King’s I’ll Play The Blues and the gorgeous ballad Fallin’ On Down were built. The simply conceived motif of the latter, thanks to its more listenable nature, rightfully earned loud applause from the audience, which was completely swept up in the melancholy swaying. For a performer who tries to the last detail to adopt the image of a disobedient Southern country boy, the ability to show a more refined, distinctly sensual side was very welcome, in contrast with the big-mouthed posturing. The moment for blues with a hint of funk arrives with the brilliant Butter, where Michele finally gallops off across the black and white keys again after a long time. A funny little number, it gets even more entertaining when Ian directly spells out his type of dream woman. “I don’t want no skiny woman, I want a woman with some meat” are the guitarist’s words.
The fantastic blues rock excursion ends with an impressive You Cant’ Always Get What You Want, a grand finale and a nostalgic nod to the times when “cowboy” Ian Siegal was sweating it out opening a concert for Bill Wyman. It honestly doesn’t get much better than this!
Text and photos: Daniel Pavlica
Setlist
1.KK Blues
2.19 Years
3.Sugar Rush
4.Revelator
5.Little By Little
6.I’ll Play The Blues
7.She Got The Devil
8.Big Boss Man
9.Fallin’ On Down
10.Butter
11.You Can’t Always Get What You Want
Photo Gallery
