Location: Murska Sobota / MIKK / Slovenia
Date: Tuesday, December 14, 2010
This November and December are packed at the Youth Information and Culture Club Murska Sobota (MIKK), which is celebrating 15 years in business. The main hub of Prekmurje, where young people can spend their free time in a way that’s actually worthwhile, has beefed up its cultural program even more for the pre-holiday season, so there’s something in it for everyone – from guitar and drum workshops and assorted other workshops all the way to a colorful lineup of gigs across different genres. One of them went down on the coldest Friday night of the whole of December, when Muškat Hamburg and No Rules took the stage.
That night MIKK was hit by a familiar syndrome, typical above all of gigs in the Primorska region or in Italy.. I’m talking about the late start, probably in the hope of squeezing in a few extra punters, or just a better turnout. On that front, the night was a major letdown, since you could count the crowd on the fingers of two or three hands. The surface-level reason was the extreme weather – heavy snowfall and Siberian cold that day probably kept plenty of people from coming out – but the second, more serious reason runs much deeper and lies in the sheer misery of the Slovenian rock scene, where kids these days only listen to whatever the commercial TV channels serve them on a platter, and digging into music is no kind of challenge for them. To be honest, I knew next to nothing about either of the two bands before the gig was announced myself, but that was, if anything, just one more reason to show up and treat myself to another rock’n’roll night in the company of quality musicians.
MUŠKAT HAMBURG
First up (not until half past midnight!!) were Muškat Hamburg, a relatively long-serving band working the Maribor – Gornja Radgona axis. The quintet knows exactly how to carry a decade and a half of accumulated musical experience onto the stage, because their show was delivered with pro polish and “with balls,” something assorted teenage punk rock “attractions” can only dream about. An uncompromising stage setup, excellent stage antics built mainly around the charismatic bassist Silvo and the goofball vocalist Madam Fucker, and total command of the gig from start to finish are qualities that some people are simply born with. The Styrians didn’t let a completely deserted club cramp their energetic performance one bit, which earns them all the praise. In a set lasting a good hour, Muškat Hamburg served up a retrospective of their career and (me) won over with their cross between punk melodies and out-of-tune guitars with a rock’n’roll rhythm section. The short, punchy songs are all cut from the same cloth, but they’re mighty tasty fruit once they come alive in the Styrian musicians’ live delivery. Wound-up guitar lines and a never-relenting, expressive tempo get the blood pumping faster, the ultra-melodic guitars and vocal harmonies in the choruses make the songs catchy, and a healthy dose of goofing around in the performance itself is the cherry on top. Their positive attitude to music, a knack for writing original material with a recognizable style, and a confident show all back up the theory I picked up when their album “Umri Pokončno” (2007) came out: Muškat Hamburg are the golden goose of the Slovenian punk scene.
NO RULES
The headliners of the night were No Rules, a band from Tuzla that has been playing its vision of blues rock ever since 1999. Over a decade-plus career, No Rules have put out three albums and played plenty of gigs around the region, including a few shows in our little country, and the Bosnians probably count their Sarajevo show as the peak of their career so far, when they warmed up a crowd of fifteen thousand ahead of the legendary Deep Purple. No Rules went for gentler but no less energetic rhythms than the band before them. Following the example of older heroes Partibrejkers, the music of these likable Bosnians took us deep into the world of pure-bred blues riffs, with occasional dips into funk and rock waters, backed by lyrics in their native Bosnian. The guitar duo of bandleader Goran Čampara and lead guitarist Dražen Mulaosmanović shone, the latter making his mark with inventive guitar moves and virtuosity in the longer instrumental passages. In the style of good old ZZ Top, No Rules even had a few choreographed bits worked out, and the one who contributed most to the stage show with his fully immersed playing was the technically superb guitarist Mladen. The repertoire was led by songs from the album “Homesick Blues,” released this past fall. During the set No Rules reminded me here and there of our own Don Mentony Band, but with one key difference: the Bosnians’ songs are built on dynamic instrumental compositions that evolve as they play and keep the listener hooked with their energy. No Rules shone this night too, and proved they deserve far more media support than they get.
Let me add in closing that picking two bands from totally different tastes was no accident, since Muškat Hamburg and No Rules are friends, so at this gig in Slovenia the Bosnians were really guests of the Styrian-Prlekian tag team. Despite the dismal turnout, both bands gave it everything, and those of us who were there got to enjoy an intimate atmosphere and see with our own ears what it means to make and play music from the heart.
author: Urban Bolta
photos: Urban Bolta
Muškat Hamburg setlist:
1. Banda prihajam domov
2. Manijak
3. Tukaj si sam
4. W-T woman
5. Punči nocoj
6. Odpri oči
7. Nekega lepega dne
8. Jacuzzi man
9. Kongo
10. Ona
11. Ne daj se motit
12. Rupurut
13. Nicht hin
14. Vse sem si zaslužo
15. Delaj & papaj
