Venue: Križanke, Ljubljana
Concert date: July 11, 2009
Attendance: 2000
Ticket price: Presale: €37, day of show: €42
MORSO
Before Morcheeba came on, the stage belonged to the rockers from Rijeka, Morso, but they never quite managed to get the crowd on its feet. Technical problems played a big part in that: because of the delay, Morso only had half an hour to run through the songs from their debut IZLOG. Judging by what they did get to play, it’s a real shame they were short on time, because the band is musically very interesting and diverse. Both vocalists deserve a special shout-out, Stanislav Grdaković and especially the dynamic Ivana Bartolović. Their last track somehow managed to wake up the crowd and set the stage for the arrival of the Morcheeba lineup.
MORCHEEBA
Way back in 1996, just from listening to their first album Who can you trust, you could tell Morcheeba wouldn’t be just another flash in the pan. When music critics in the UK named their follow-up Big Calm (1998) album of the year, it was clear to everyone that they’d made it. The creative engine of the band is the brothers Paul and Ross Godfrey (Paul is the DJ, Ross the multi-instrumentalist). Until 2003 they were joined on two more albums (Fragments of freedom: 2000 and Charango: 2003) by the magical Skye Edwards, whose sensual voice won the hearts of millions of fans around the world. Then their paths split. Since then, a good number of vocalists have passed through the Morcheeba ranks, and none of them has stuck around for long. The Antidote (2005) featured Daisy Martey, who was replaced at live shows by Jody Sternberg, and the latest studio record Dive deep (2008) brought in a whole numerous and varied cast of singers (Judie Tzuke, Manda Zamolo, Thomas Dybdahl, rapper Calm Cool Pete and Bradley Burgess).
Morcheeba blend a ton of different genres. Some file them under trip-hop, meaning bands that make the so-called Bristol sound (think Portishead and Massive Attack), but those bands are mostly defined by a certain dark mood, which Morcheeba go beyond and build on. Their songs also borrow from other styles, from blues (Ross says his musical roots go right back there) to rock and reggae, and even country and folk. So you could say it’s a truly eclectic mix of moody, atmospheric sound.
The Sunday show kicked off, a little late, with those very Morcheeba-ish sitar sounds, probably meant to set a slightly spiritual or maybe even psychedelic mood. No surprise there, considering the name Morcheeba is closely tied to intoxicating substances (cheeba is slang for marijuana).
Ljubljana saw the premiere of French singer Manda Zamolo, who also appeared on their latest album and who, believe it or not, was found through MySpace. The Frenchwoman had always dreamed of working with this band, and that enthusiasm radiated off the stage on Sunday. During the last song of the encore she went a little wild: she helped pound the drums, messed with the sax player’s curls and generally danced ecstatically around the stage. I was pretty skeptical going in, precisely because of the vocals. Skye Edwards left some very big boots to fill, and the last album was more or less the work of at least three singers anyway, with Judie Tzuke and Thomas Dybdahl (who, in Ross’s opinion, sounds like Roy Orbison on heroin) being the ones I personally like a lot more. But hey, let’s be surprised. So, my verdict: solid. I have to stress that Manda really shone on Gained the world, which she also sings on the record. Too bad we didn’t hear more songs from Dive deep (only 4), because that would have made it easier for the Frenchwoman to step out of the shadow of the past and put her own stamp on the evening.
So our deep dive in Križanke mostly took us on a trip down memory lane to the good old days. The show started out pretty laid-back, even sleepy, but after a few chats with the crowd and short breaks between the opening songs, used for sipping beer, whiskey and the like, things on stage moved into livelier territory. Ross is a guitar virtuoso, and his passion for rock and blues came through. He also pointed out the influence of American folk music (Run honey run is a cover of a song by the late John Martyn). We also got some excellent sax parts, and on a couple of tracks (Run honey run and Sleep on it) Brad Burgess came to Manda’s rescue, adding a male vocal shade.
It made me really happy that you can fill Križanke and put on a great concert even in the middle of summer. The crowd’s reactions were mostly positive, though some people came and went with a bit of nostalgia in their hearts, and clearly they’ll never get over the legendary original singer, who in the meantime is already winning people over with solo projects.
Photos: Mojca Perdih
Setlist
1.Moog Island 2.Otherwise 3.Trigger hippy 4.Never an easy way 5.The sea 6.Enjoy the ride 7.Run honey run 8.Part of the process 9.Gained the world 10.Sleep on it 11.Let me see 12.Blindfold —encore— 13.Be yourself 14.Rome wasn’t built in a day
Photo gallery
