Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ljubljana / Patrick`s Irish Pub / Slovenia
Concert date: 21.12.2013
Attendance: 100
Ticket price: €0.00
On Friday night the compass needle swung toward Ljubljana’s Patrick’s Irish Pub! Hm… It’s already half past ten at night. Ah, that autumn weather witchcraft again. Rain, fog,… On my way from SiTi Teater, where Avtomobili had just wrapped up their gig, I barely find a parking spot near Kino Dvor, and then it’s a two-legged march to the other end of Ljubljana! I stagger from ATM to ATM! Finally I find one that can still spit out a tenner or so. Roxly Bar also happens to be on my route. In front of it, a crowd of bare-eared youth, totally (modestly) satisfied with the accompaniment of shallow “nylon” sound structures (insultingly called music) pounding out of the club’s speakers. I’m close. A bit further on, down Prečna ulica to be exact, a completely different view opens up. In front of Patrick’s Irish Pub a bunch of rockers is milling about, having jumped outside for a smoke. Lene kosti had just played the first part of the show and “treated” the audience to a 20-minute break.
Familiar faces, cheerful, everywhere. It was great to see them again. Even better was the view of the stage as the members of the regenerated Lene kosti marched on one after another, taking up their positions. Marc and Giovanni Kavaš and Janez Dagarin »Dago«. Three original members of Lene kosti. On drums, the no less experienced drum master Vlado Janež (Teška Industrija, Neda Ukraden, Moj Boogie Band,..) and a barely 22-year-old »enfant terrible« by the name of Jan Tehovnik (also of Pyroxene), who has taken on what is surely the most important role in Lene kosti’s career at the moment. The role of vocalist!
The place was packed. Like matchsticks in a box. Breathing was seriously difficult. Full of positive energy. Everywhere. And unbelievable! Quite a few eminent musicians were watching the gig from a respectful distance. And they were enjoying it. That’s a good sign. The fairer sex was well represented too, which means the »charm« of Lene kosti hasn’t gone anywhere in the past year, when they barely showed up in public, if at all. Maybe they’ve even gained some. The show proved that the band still plays the whole album »Do Or Die« live, while from »Penetrator« they pick mainly the tracks whose arrangements sit closer to their boogie roots. Like the title track, which the band closed the gig with, Let’s Rock and Spread Your Legs! Lene kosti surprised everyone who knows their 1990 album »Park Bar« when they tackled Lady Evil. It got a radical overhaul of the arrangements compared to the original, and it can now hold its own in a set list alongside the songs from »Do Or Die« and »Penetrator« without any trouble. A bomb! One of the new lineup’s goals is in fact to re-record the whole »Park Bar« album. With new arrangements. And Lene kosti have clearly started moving in that direction. The first part of the show also included Highway to Nowhere.
And the performance? What we were most curious about was what Jan Tehovnik is capable of. The vocal color? Would it settle into the band’s »boogie metal«? Absolutely. The very timbre of the singer’s clean, melodic approach sounds great. At times he even recalls Milan Krušič, but there’s an important difference between them. Jan can easily sing every section of the demanding songs on both albums, especially »Do or Die«, like Iron Dragon, Time For Love and of course Russian Girl, with which the guys started warming up the crowd in the second part of the show. With the band tuned the same as in the Krušič era, Jan can squeeze even more out of his voice. He can sing extremely high, you see. And it’s in the highest passages that he develops a distinctly powerful vocal performance. It even happens that he sings too high in places. Which isn’t bad at all. Not by any means. Even if you occasionally use it deliberately in a performance. Of course, you mustn’t overdo it. It’s a great »garnish«, provided you know how to color songs with it in the right places. Something like that was exploited in his best years in the mid-eighties by Rob Halford at Judas Priest spectacles. Yes. Jan Tehovnik is a young singer. Barely 22 years old. In that respect he’ll have to pay a bit more attention in the future to holding the right key in individual songs (Sunrise). Sadly, I only managed to catch the second part of the show. The first part also featured Uninvited Guest (as the opener – Jan reportedly nails it phenomenally, as Giovanni confirmed in a later chat). There were also I Got The…, Stones Of Death, Rock Power, Play With Fire, and the band closed the first part with the breakneck Warrior and Nightmare.
Speaking of Nightmare, the band played it once more, instead of Russian Girl, at the loud musical request of one of the band’s first fans, its former member and the man who’s always on time on the shutter button, Dare Brenk. And that was the end of the concert.
Sound gorgeous. Energy gorgeous. Considering that Lene kosti haven’t played much this year, in Slovenia only in Prekmurje’s Gančani, followed by a few gigs in Hungary, they’re remarkably tight. The band plays great. As for Dago, we can say the »prodigal son« has returned to the fold. Where on earth has he been wandering all these years? The charismatic bassist provided a few fun moments, including climbing right up onto the bar in the closing part of the gig. Vlado Janež, with his wisdom and experience, proved to be a hugely reliable drumming matador, worthy of all trust. You can feel how hard Jan is trying and giving his max. With such a committed singer on board, the renewed Lene kosti have nothing to fear. They can calmly, totally relaxed, start polishing new arrangements for the revamped »Park Bar« and, what’s key, what’s essential! With the kind of energy that filled Patrick’s Irish Pub, they can create material for their new studio album in a relaxed, unforced atmosphere! The prospects are outstanding! Let’s hope the band plays more often next year too!
I’d make just one little remark. Personally, I think the song Refuse To Die, which wasn’t on the set list at Patrick’s Irish Pub, should absolutely be included in every Lene kosti gig. Otherwise, what a bomb of a show!
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