Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik, Jernej Vene
Location: Postojna / Titov trg / Slovenia
Concert date: 20.08.2014
Attendance: 300
Ticket price: €0.00 (free entry!)
If there’s anyone under the free Slovenian sun who fits the label »working-class hero«, it’s without a doubt the legendary Slovenian singer-songwriter Jani Kovačič. A man who never minces words, a sparkling mind, one of the last pillars of the Slovenian intelligentsia, which was shoved into wandering the underground long ago, or off to the far corners of the planet. The eternally young, evergreen Jani Kovačič made a big splash again during the protests in the winter of 2012/2013. He stood in front of a crowd of many thousands in the middle of Ljubljana’s Trg revolucije, and that 10,000-strong crowd sang his punchy working-class evergreen »Delam kot zamorc« in perfect unison. Inspired by the events of that spring of 2012/2013 that got frostbitten far too soon, Jani went on to write a dozen new songs, which he hasn’t recorded or put out on record yet, but they exist. And now he’s playing them. Live, of course. Backed by none other than the sturdy, beer-loving troubadours and incorrigible jokers Ana Pupedan.
Every August is packed with local festivals. Buried under evening programs sprawled across the days of the month. This year’s Zmaj ma mlade in Postojna wasn’t as strong as last year’s, but Jani Kovačič with Ana Pupedan was surely one of its highlights. A must-see. So what exactly do Jani’s new psalms, or this wreath of new angry songs, have to offer?
After a longer soundcheck, the band took a 20-minute break, then kicked off the real show a little past half past eight in the evening. History teaches us nothing. We basically have such a bad memory that most people today live considerably, considerably worse than back when we were told we had to get out of the common country so we could live better. What an absurdity. With the exception of the elite, of course. Because we obediently swallowed the neoliberal concept of capitalism, sold to us by the concept of the European Union, and traded freedom for the security offered by the new occupier under the guise called NATO.. Welcome to Doba tepcev, then, one of Jani’s current songs that rang out that evening in the middle of Titov trg in Postojna, where a decent 200 laid-back listeners had gathered. As usual, kids played at the front of the paving right by the stage, trying with their mischief to steal attention from the antics of the uncles up there.
Jani once again cut through the wall of relaxed decibels, quite convincingly, a few times over, with his piercing, biting, universally recognizable hoarse voice, which stays sharp, rough, accusing and down-to-earth! Truths on the tip of his tongue, razor-sharp points of a sparkling wit, he never runs short of them! Although his role as vocalist is also the role of leading the show, Jani often left that initiative to the much more talkative lifter of »alcohol weights« Simon Avsec (hair tied up in a samurai topknot), who was in charge of the violin this time. Jani, belted up with a bright red »f-hole« Yamaha guitar – he didn’t forget the bright red strap either, proved himself, besides his well-tempered stainless throat that has stood the test of time (and evidently the test of the glass too), as an excellent rhythm guitarist as well. Up front stood Jani, of course, with an earthquake of raging verses, entertaining the crowd and thoroughly skewering the system that enslaves us with the illusion of security in exchange for selling off our freedom. Despite the absolute attention commanded by the famous and esteemed singer-songwriter, it was interesting that he let the backing crew stretch out in the middle passages, and in the outros of the songs too. That gave the lineup the character of a real band, one that can quickly swing the mood from cabaret »rapture« into blues and rock heaviness.
The band isn’t 100% tight yet. The »cheat sheets« on stage made that clear, the stands with notes and lyrics that Jani and Simon kept glancing at. As for the »solos from the right«, as Simon would put it, from Boštjan Požar, one of the best Slovenian guitarists on the alternative rock scene, there’s no need to waste words. Boštjan is as fascinating as ever in his resourcefulness and quick hands. Still, that evening he made quite a few audible mistakes. A fair number of unclean notes rang out, and a few times he didn’t quite find the right key for stringing together the right note sequences at the very ends of solos, which left »holes« in the transitions. In the final part of the show, when the otherwise valiant guitarist showed visible signs of fatigue, quite a few such blunders happened. Unless Boštjan had »boiled over with alcohol«. Avsec too pushed a bit too often into gypsy ornaments on his violin, and a few times he literally got lost in the notes. In some spots those gypsy ornaments worked very tastefully and juicily, but in others they felt forced, which showed that the violinist didn’t quite know how to solve the situation more inventively in his solos. Either way, these are trifles next to the lucidly cheeky note of it all, and the solid rhythm duo of Doles/Žnidaršič alongside Jani’s confident rhythm guitar made sure things didn’t slip out of hand into possible musical chaos!
Considering that the repertoire from the Jani and Ana Pupedan team hasn’t really been played live many times, all these remarks can be forgiven on the spot. Jani Kovačič’s charisma overshadowed all those minor quibbles and washed them away in an instant. The crowd, which didn’t really know the new songs yet, suddenly came alive when Jani and his buddies tackled the classic Revolucija! Updated for new times and renamed Revolucija 12 skozi 13.
There’s no end to the charm of Jani Kovačič with Ana Pupedan. They know how to poke fun in a way that gets under your skin fast. The crew kept the mood cheerful the whole way through, effortlessly, and there was plenty of room for heartfelt laughs and fun. The sky threatened a downpour a few times, but the lightning flashed off in the distance, which means the wind blew the dark clouds onward and they were already merrily drenching the Ljubljana basin. A few drops, that was all! Let’s hope Jani manages to record these songs and put them out on an album. The singer-songwriter is going through a new creative spring, the poetry is colorful in content again and hits hard with its concise honesty. »Besne pesmi« deserve far more than to be immortalized on a new studio document. Jani is the voice of the people, and let’s hope that voice keeps ringing out for a long time, calling for a fight for justice and a better tomorrow.
Setlist
1. Grand Hotel S.
2. Doba tepcev
3. Demošisti & democisti
4. Popevka o človeškem dostojanstvu
5. Cestara bluz
6. Žleht
7. Krivica skazica
8. Kje so tiste stezice?
9. cA Ira
10. La Carmagnole
11. Štirje karte špilajo
12. Ukrajinske neveste
13. Ljudje govorijo
14. Besna
—15 min. break—
15. Pressing (Važen je)
16. Evina polka
17. Prekleti krokodil
18. Internacijonala
19. Trubarrep
20. Himna 1
21. Tarantela
22. Kanibali
23. Ameba
24. Revolucija 12 skozi 13
25. Zabava za reveže
26. Vabilo šarlatanov ali pesem o koncu konca
27. O, domovina
Photo gallery
