Location: Postojna / Slovenia
Concert date: 12/29/2006
Attendance: 2,512
Ticket price: 1,800
Well, it was finally time for the annual Christmas Rock Concert in Postojna. This time it was happening for the thirteenth time, and yet I was only there for the very first time, so I finally lost my innocence too. It’s simply the perfect day, an event that’s hard to overlook or dodge, mostly because it has a rich tradition and mostly because the Postojna end of Slovenia is the part of the country where you can catch one of the most authentic rock parties around. Just one step out of the foggy Ljubljana basin and people are having a blast without hunting for the glow of the spotlights, right, you spoiled Ljubljana with your burnt-out, MTV-degenerated generation of pampered adolescents?
After all my exhaustion and emptiness, when I felt I needed peace of mind, needed to retreat into solitude, with my fill of concerts for this year, I simply couldn’t forget the friendly, spoken invitation from Eki, guitarist of the legendary Slovenian hard rockers Mary Rose, when we bumped into each other in Ljubljana about a week earlier. That meeting was what decided it, and I headed off to Postojna. My head was a proper balloon, and yet that day I simply had nothing smarter to do for my own good. It’s a holiday, no work, RockLine has already had its daily “up-date”, damn, is my life really that boring? Then Jani’s call cheered me up, since the two of us had a loose pact for a possible raid on Postojna. It was the holidays, after all, and heads were switched off, even though I craved the peace that Christmas always promises, but this year my December was anything but festive, it was bloody with work.
Friendliness everywhere you look. From the security guards and the police to the girl handling the accreditation lists and ticket sales at one of the windows. What soon put a grin on my face was the RockLine crew running into the RTV holy trinity of Prpič – Bulič – Vene. The backstage canteen was already busy and cheerful, and familiar faces kept pouring into the room one after another. Eki was there too, and for him this day was definitely something special. His Mary Rose released their new album “Feniks” on the very day of this festival, and the band was already merrily selling it at a proper Christmas price: a laughable buck plus a fifth of it (200.00 SIT). Well, that’s how it goes. On this day Eki and Mary Rose saw “Feniks” born, while someone else left us for good (James Brown r.i.p.). Homeliness, authenticity, positive energy, a bottle of Canadian Club goes down and the true rock spirit is here. No doubt about it. Postojna. Welcome.
Here we go. 8:30 PM. Outsider hit the stage. The excellent sound and lighting surprise me. It’s barely begun. The guys are improving with every round. And there’s a new drummer in the lineup, nice, nice. Of course it doesn’t work without guitarist Žika, and the band’s driving force, charismatic Miško, was totally unbothered by the view of an empty floor, raging and firing up the handful of people under the stage. I last saw these guys at Biker’s Festival in Hruševje this August, and both he and the whole band felt completely at home in Postojna. The singer’s excellent vocals and confident playing hit their climax right at the end, when Outsider smashed out Bijelo Dugme’s legendary Ne spavaj mala moja.
Well past 9 PM, the still almost totally empty floor was warmed up by Sons, who offered their take and vision of melodic rock templates woven into a modern “groove” vibe. A nice follow-up, a mix of original songs and covers. What was missing was a bit more commitment on stage, a bit more anger and aggression, which will surely come. Absolutely, guys! I’d wish you more people under the stage, but sadly the situation hasn’t ripened yet. Of course Shiora wasn’t missing from the repertoire! The guys are happily racking up mileage, and let’s hope their own recognition along with it!
Around 10 PM the duo of two hardworking boys, Da Phenomena, stepped on stage, with drums helping and backing them up, of course. Their expression, carried into the present from the legacy of seventies disco funk, rests on a solid, compact rhythm line that’s the foundation of everything. Without it Da Phenomena could freeze in a heartbeat. Nothing special by world standards, but a nice enrichment of the Slovenian scene, no doubt. Pretty boys, pretty songs and the occasional naughty glance. Straight for the girls. The floor was better attended by now too, thanks to the later hour, which worked out better given the running order. The crowd’s reaction was much bigger than for Sons and Outsider before. As said. A polished, confident performance. In short, three people and a full sound, thanks to the excellent rhythm line and the communication between bass and drums, plus prerecorded female backing vocals that embraced the “boyish androgyny” of the lead vocal. Da Phenomena are actually a potential harbinger of a commercial phenomenon in Slovenia. They’re building their image to the taste of the Slovenian masses, which is crucial for a breakthrough, success and getting paid for the work you put in. On the other hand, they’re far from being, say, a potential Slovenian Grand Funk Railroad when it comes to energy of performance and quality of tooth enamel.
11 PM. Mary Rose are already tearing it up on stage. A few more people had filled the hall. The band hits right away with their own original material. As I mentioned at the start, this day was something special, something magnificent for Mary Rose. The band officially released their second studio album “Feniks” at the same time (after the debut “Rocks Off” from way back in 1990). I didn’t hide my feverish euphoria before their set, because with the lineup they have, they’re reaching for the very top of the Slovenian hard rock scene and practically belong to the handful that keeps the honor of classic hard rock roots alive. Those roots, caricatured, span the glam/sleaze rock of the years in which they were actually born, along with the eternal legacy of the classic Rainbow – Deep Purple hard rock school.
The original songs Sam, Izgubljen v času, Strah pred užitkom, Krivda, Najdražja and the closing Kralj za eno noč, into which they mixed The Trooper (Iron Maiden, just the main theme and first two verses), The Final Countdown (Europe) and the golden surprise of their set, Video Killed The Radio Star (The Buggles), where Davor (keyboards) and Žak (vocals) naturally stood out. With a revamped lineup Mary Rose really do breathe like the phoenix bird. You can feel the drive and the creative back-and-forth of the whole quintet, you can feel the guys carry a vision and breathe together toward the same goal. The band finally blew us away with their take on The Show Must Go On (Queen). This is no bragging, and yet after what I saw I can safely say Brian May could call up our Žak to sing Queen classics in place of Paul Rodgers (ex-Free, Bad Company). I don’t know whether the singer was just having a special day, but his voice was warmed up to optimal “working temperature” and his delivery was breathtaking. Especially the songs with English lyrics. The knottiness of Slovenian with its č’s, ž’s, š’s and r’s takes strength in the articulation to pull them off, while the softness of English lets you keep the power and even build it up as the songs go on. Davor on Hammond and Eki on guitar, in excellent communication throughout, even stage a witty crisscross of solos, and the rock-solid rhythm section of the two youngest members (bassist Mitja Kobal and drummer Jure Doles) is tight as a Swiss watch. Žak didn’t forget to bring in the glam when he came out dressed as a priest. The already tall singer looked even taller and more authoritative on stage in that getup. Great idea. Glamour belongs to Mary Rose and the guys should keep building on it in their look going forward. Their hard rock simply has “English” balls, which Slovenian bands – gray mice – almost as a rule lack, and that’s the hidden ace in the hole Mary Rose have earned. We lovers of melodic hard rock, ossified to the bone, but through the prism of a revived Mary Rose charged with freshness and the bursting drive of their own action, have finally got something we can be proud of on a Slovenian scale too, just like the Swedes can be proud of Europe. A new rallying cry since Martin Krpan is here! The quality peak of the festival was Mary Rose’s set, with all its fire and its desire to prove themselves. Moral winners of the evening. No doubt, on top of that the home turf did its part. Of course Mary Rose still have to feel out the crowd’s reaction during their sets by including covers of well-known foreign acts, but at the climax of Mary Rose’s set the whole festival rose atmospherically by a clear notch.
Midnight was the ideal time to play this festival. And so Šank Rock took the stage. Almost like Mary Rose, they’re mandatory, nearly annual guests at the Christmas rock festival in Postojna, legendary hard rockers who’ve earned respect, renown and standing over all their years and releases, and they were the first to fill the hall practically to the last corner. 1,800 wild heads in the age range of high-school obligations were having their delirium and going nuts over the folk-classic songs: Laški pir, Jaz nimam noč za spanje, Pravljica o mavričnih ljudeh, Rokerji, Delam, kar paše mi. And of course the evergreen of all evergreens, Metulj, wasn’t missing, a punchy ballad where I missed a touch more softness in Petkovič’s solo, both in touch and tone. Otherwise, hats off. Standard. Comparisons between the current Šank Rock and Zuljan’s Šank Rock after Zuljan’s departure are redundant and irrelevant. The band is decisive and mature, has a polished routine, and anyone at the festival that day could simply go by past experience of the band, following the rule: “What you seek is what you get”. The view of the hall was extraordinary, especially the floor, where the temperature climbed dangerously to boiling point and the whole floor rose and bounced in unison to the tones of Šank Rock. In short, Šank Rock at an ideal hour on the scene. They don’t let up – proven. Let’s wait and see what the new record brings.
The headliners this year were Big Foot Mama! How popular the band is here hardly needs mentioning. One look at the red-hot hall said it all. The band was enjoying the situation immensely. The Mama’s big paw crew didn’t even need any huge effort to drive the crowd wild. The floor got damn tense, more than overtense and hellishly tight. The girls’ heads were spinning and quite a few euphoric group screams rang out from their maturing throats in the pauses between songs from the front rows, while somewhere on the other side of the hall at the bar counters, the many staggering folks kept themselves conscious by tirelessly quenching their thirst with beer. Tradition, know-how, routine and determination, authority. The fruit of experience and a long musical road. Naturally Sam prjatla, Lajf, Dolg nazaj, Vrn’ se k men’ and a few more proven hits caught fire. No doubt, all things considered, counting the madness in the hall during the set, Big Foot Mama, with seemingly far less effort, naturally took first place among the performers. The band’s popularity is extraordinary.
The sound was excellent throughout the festival. The sound engineers devoted themselves to their bands. Standing out most among them was the “rastaman” who looked after Da Phenomena. He practically danced through the band’s repertoire while playing with the “mixer knobs”. You also couldn’t miss how well the performers were used in the stage lighting, plus a big stage, so the bands could make good use of the chance you get to really let loose to the max.
Sadly I too felt the weight and burden of a packed concert schedule, and the weight of alcoholic concoctions did its part, further buckling my knees, so the AC/DC cover band were condemned to our ignorance. Their concert was announced for 2:30 AM. The night was still long and ravey. No hard feelings, guys!
Friendly beer prices, half-liter glasses, relaxing positive energy, laughter, enthusiasm, exuberance spreading from everywhere. A shame it only happens once a year, and yet that’s precisely the greatest charm, which the crowd’s impatient anticipation of this event turns into a unique atmosphere that you can feel only here, at the traditional Christmas rock festival in Postojna. True, I mostly roam around abroad, spoiled, at this kind of festival, and yet I’ve got nothing to add. Practical perfection in approach and in organization. Thanks to the organizer for such a welcome! See you at the merry Christmas revelry again next year!
Setlist
1. OUTSIDER 2. SONS 3. DA PHENOMENA 4. MARY ROSE 5. ŠANK ROCK 6. BIG FOOT MAMA 7. AC/DC COVER BAND
