Venue: Delavski dom / Jevnica / Slovenia
Concert date: 17.05.2008
Attendance: 30
Ticket price: 0.00€
One of the most important reunions on Slovenian soil last year, the return of Niet, finally brings a bit of color and a healthy gust of rock wind to the empty, gray Slovenian rock scene. It should help the alternative wake up and get stronger again, and win back some primacy, media attention and public attention. The vagabond, rebellious picture book of their classic punk rock repertoire is becoming relevant again… let’s wait for the reactions.
If RockLine didn’t have such a fired-up Niet activist in its ranks, there’s no way I’d have ended up that evening at the Delavski dom in Jevnica, a godforsaken little place squeezed between the Sava embankment and the western slopes of Janče. The guys were holding their dress rehearsal for the big comeback show at Ljubljana’s Križanke at the end of May 2008.
The men were in a very sprightly mood before rehearsal and well motivated. They were even diligently punctual: at exactly 8:00 PM, the officially announced start of the dress rehearsal, they called over the handful of nosy souls present to say they were about to start sawing. Niet’s spring awakening, with Igor Dernovšek (guitar), Aleš Česnovar (bass), Tomaž Bergant Breht (drums), Robert Likar (guitar, also of The Drinkers), hot-footed newcomer Borut Marolt (vocals), Tanja Ukmar (vocals, backing vocals) and special guest Borut Činč (keyboards, Buldožer), a legend of Slovenian rock, took up battle positions with no brakes. Thirsty for rock and very, very loud. Especially the guitars. They were cranked way past the optimum, so the stage squealed and crackled with gleeful feedback all through rehearsal. Of course that suits the raw, primal energy of the punk rock tradition perfectly, a formula our good old Niet still diligently stick to in the new era, but they could maybe have shown a bit more mercy to the gear. And to the elder statesman Borut Činč too, whose organ only reached our ears during the intros of individual songs.
The main curiosity, of course, was the new singer, Borut Marolt. This guy is made of the right stuff. He’s got just the right voice for Niet, a bit lower in pitch, approaching it without illusions, matter-of-factly, with the necessary psychotic pinch of rage and agony, which of course belongs with Niet’s dilettante lineup! Tanja Ukmar still shines in all her wild glory too, rounding out the picture of individual songs with her female yelling.
Niet haven’t forgotten how to burn. They brought their classic repertoire back to life with fire. You could feel a certain enthusiasm and drive in the band, which is absolutely essential fuel for reunions like this. Especially since in these May days of 2008 they’re releasing their new album “Bil je maj”, a collection of their greatest classics played anew, with the new lineup and Marolt on vocals. Niet clearly still have all their toxic contagiousness, and what proved it during the Jevnica rehearsal was above all the committed performance of Borut Marolt, at times furious beyond all limits, who has so successfully slipped into the working-class garb of the late Primož Habič. A great indicator was also the dozen or so schoolkids who threw themselves around wildly to the band’s beats during rehearsal.
It didn’t go without the guys accidentally bickering with each other a few times while looking for a tighter groove, which was perfectly normal for a rehearsal. Still, the destructive power of their musical expression was convincing for over an hour and 20 minutes, which is how long it took them to hammer through a repertoire of 24 songs! So there’s no fear that ten days from now at Ljubljana’s Križanke the newborn Niet division won’t be warmed up to the right working temperature to fire up, enchant and hook the whole of Slovenia all over again. Good luck, guys!
Niet setlist:
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