Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ljubljana / Gledališče Glej / Slovenia
Concert date: 22.05.2012
Attendance: 40
Ticket price: €0.00
Katarina Avbar is a Slovenian singer-songwriter who put out her solo studio debut »Beležnica« toward the end of last year – RockLine review HERE. To present her first studio document, she picked the Gledališče Glej venue in the heart of old Ljubljana. That’s the spot where the valiant RockLine lost its innocence way back on 03.09.2006, catching the “incognito” warm-up show by the legendary Buldožer, ahead of their one-of-a-kind reunion gig at Križanke on 04.09.2006. Ah, sweet nostalgia. So Gledališče Glej is an old acquaintance of Katarina’s. Since 2009, she’s been developing the »Poslušaj« project there, which deals with creating music for theater and film.
The improvised stage stood right behind the entrance, level with the audience. In other words, there was hardly a stage at all. The room was packed mostly with fellow musicians and everyone connected to music one way or another (journalists, label reps, band managers, concert promoters, A&R agents, etc…), plus all of Katarina’s close friends, adding up to a crowd of 30-40 heads.
Katarina opened the show accompanied by Slovenian music veteran Peter Dekleva, who shared the stage with her for the whole set. His arranging and sound-shaping played a decisive part in giving Katarina’s debut »Beležnica« its look and feel. The duo kicked off the evening, a bit shy but sincerely heartfelt, with the song »Med besedo in molkom«. How could it have gone any other way with Katarina? Her wonderfully warm-toned voice instantly won over the room and carried everyone off on a special adventure, full of mood swings that rose and fell on the vivid vocal delivery of the messages in her verses. And Katarina knows how to paint pictures with her signature charming voice, convincingly stringing together countless images of deeply sensitive, flexible expression. She can be gentle, mysterious, and she knows how to lead the listener through her story in stages, building up the drama of the moment. She does it with a touch that goes beyond the “perceptible”, meaning the artist can hypnotize and sweetly cast a spell on the crowd, so they can fully and freely surrender to following her sermon.
Peter Dekleva was armed to the teeth on stage. He dressed the first two songs (»Med besedo in molkom« and »Kdaj pa kdaj se zgodi«) for the live outing in a ukulele arrangement, grabbed a bass guitar for »Igor« and »Sence in prah« (a copy of the Höfner 500/1 “violin Cavern vintage” bass), and filled out all the remaining numbers with acoustic guitar. The middle of the show brought two more musicians onto the stage: keyboardist Peter Kocan and Robert Rebolj on rhythm. The quartet performed »Ti in jaz«, »Oz«, »V odsotnosti nečesa«, »Sence in prah« and »Igor«, in a manner of strict warmth and organic sonic colors that effectively underlined Katarina’s vocal sentiment. A special moment came when Vesna Zornik (Katalena) joined Katarina on stage for »Ali – ali« and then »Ne reci nič«. Katarina wrote the latter for Vesna Zornik, who performed it in 2008 and 2011 at the chanson festival »La Vie En Rose«.
That evening everything revolved around a little hat, which Katarina used, not just through her choice of hairstyle and the performance of the lovely song »Klobuk«, but also through wearing it during the show, to deepen her theatrical stage presence. And with that, her artistic contour of mild, refined extravagance, which definitely boosts how the songs work live, as well as Katarina’s very stature and voice. Teasing.
In a good hour we got to hear a live rendition of the album »Beležnica«, a polished gem added to an already rich, confidently standing and expressively vivid mosaic of the singer-songwriter pulse and heritage in Slovenia. Genuine in the fullest sense of the word, playfully relaxed, intimately heartfelt, in strict harmony with Katarina’s personal, confessional notebook, which, let’s hope, gets a new studio brother or sister in the future. For her generously displayed sentiment of artistic insight, driven by the fully feeling, flexible substance of a feminine character, that’s the least she deserves.
Setlist
1. Med besedo in molkom
2. Kdaj pa kdaj se zgodi
3. Klobuk
4. Tja
5. Ti in jaz
6. Oz
7. V odsotnosti nečesa
8. Sence in prah
9. Igor
10. Ali veste
11. ALI – ali
12. Ne reci nič
13. Pesek v oči
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