Postojna’s 14th Christmas Concert Goes Pop Rock This Time! (2007)

Christmas: the season of love, harmony, mutual respect and, above all, understanding. For years now in Postojna (this time it’s the 14th year in a row, to be exact), tradition has offered an alternative way of spending free time. It’s mostly for those who, after what I’m sure was a turbulent midnight mass, can’t be bothered to spend yet another day in the company of second-rate feature films, soaked to the brim with moronic religious themes. The Božični Rock Festival was once again held in the high-school atmosphere of the Postojna sports hall. Compared to its predecessor, it served up a more varied repertoire this time, from lesser-known to already established names of the home music scene. And of course one eminent musical name from abroad.

ROCK SHOCK

Santa or Grandpa Frost, whichever, the good fairies had a sensation lined up to open the traditional Postojna festival: youngsters Rock Shock. This up-and-coming hard rock outfit, which by the way has been kicking and screaming since 2001, wisely and shamelessly pins its hopes on original material. The guys crowned it with a surprisingly confident take on Hold The Line by Toto! Despite the understandable nerves, probably also a result of getting used to playing big events step by step, Rock Shock’s years of musical activity show at every turn. Vocally and performance-wise it was an excellent set from a band with huge potential and charisma. Even with the time limit that’s understandable for an opening act (the guys were only allowed four songs), they left an exceptional impression and had us longing for more with high expectations. Keep at it, guys!

Words on Rock Shock: Daniel Pavlica

PAIN IN THE ASS

Nejmaš kej! It’s common knowledge that these days shit in various shades of color is hitting practically everyone, everywhere. This time not even Postojna managed to escape the sharp whiff of authentic homegrown crap! Just when you think you’ve seen it all, Pain In The Ass happen to you, and the point of freedom of speech, freedom of movement, hell, even the right to breathe, becomes one of the hottest topics of the post-communist era all over again. Horror of horrors! A bunch of four apes, strategically shaved and then wrapped in rags of highly dubious origin, led by a mindlessly jumping creature with spiky hair, is definitely one of the most feeble-minded attempts at defining the very concept of musical art. For a bare thirty minutes of second-rate circus cabaret we witnessed impotent, utterly expressionless spitting in every direction, typical of spoiled, ego-stuffed high-school kids. On top of that came a hard-to-fathom selection of covers of dubious quality. Sweet Dreams, Bandiera Rossa and Lep Dan Za Smrt are obviously Pain In The Ass’s main trump cards, and next to them any form of anal penetration, however numb, feels like a picnic in the countryside!

Words on Pain In The Ass: Daniel Pavlica

BILLYSI

At last came the moment for the set in front of the legions of not-yet-defiled teenage girls, the ever warmly received Billysi. The band, which recently knelt before radical liposuction procedures, is currently enchanting Slovenia with its latest product, Magia. From an experimental, stylistic point of view, Billysi are an interesting musical product. Their concept now combines a tasteless mix of modeling, easily catchy hooks, first-class posing and, amazingly, even rock & roll at the end. Despite the changes mentioned, the band’s biggest trump card obviously remains the crystal-clear, angelic voice of Urška Majdič. As expected, she successfully set the Postojna youth’s mood on fire. They returned the favor by obediently responding to the well-known BPP motifs, with the latest single Hello Hello reigning supreme. Heard a hundred times already, predictable, not to say boring, and with no standout moments whatsoever.

Words on Billysi: Daniel Pavlica

LUNN-A-PARK

So we’re staying with the polished, rather radio-oriented pop rock. Lunn A Park, the high-flying hope of the Slovenian rock avant-garde, stick to the formula of simple pop-tune rampaging just like Billysi before them, this time with a pinch more sex appeal, or eroticism, for a change. By old Slovenian tradition that’s supposed to be mostly the domain of the band’s most attractive member, vocalist Apolonija. Its deliberate escalation storms diligently across every front of pop rock, but alas, they still lack real character for more tangible sonic punch, and as a result the much-desired exceptionality of their musical expression suffers too. Despite all the pains and effort, it stays more or less out of reach. So it’s no wonder that instead of the long-awaited rock debauchery on Tuesday evening in the “luna park”, we got a not-at-all-shattering presentation of the band’s latest product, the recently released album AREA, whose hit Črn Oblak has already topped most Slovenian charts. After what we saw yesterday, not the least bit surprising!

Words on Lunn-A-Park: Daniel Pavlica

FORGOTTEN EDEN

Well, I’ll be damned! After the carefree pop rock bopping, a time jump awaited us, deep into the eighties of the last century (how creepy does that sound, right?). It was a sort of retrospective journey through an era that today’s youth, I’m sure, mostly doesn’t know (read: finds boring), directed by local hair metal warriors going by the name Forgotten Eden. It was surely one of the more interesting sets of the night. Imposing riffs and pompous sing-along choruses, rounded off with the glaze of characteristically kitschy outfits, delivered the first in a mini-series of more serious temperature spikes. That was mostly thanks to the tremors of the all-familiar Jump, Here I Go Again and the slightly less conventional but all the more welcome Long Live Rock & Roll! Such and similar, albeit very brave, toying with rock iconography predictably leaves plenty of room for doubt, at least as far as vocal interpretation goes. The band’s Achilles heel is still the lack of their own material, on which the Forgotten Eden image could be fully retouched. One single lone attempt at breaking the ice with an original, It’s My Love, for which the guys got a one-time chance to shoot a video, is far too little to seriously test the band’s real reach.

Words on Forgotten Eden: Daniel Pavlica

MARY ROSE

Time for rock & roll! The set by our big friends Mary Rose is, as the previous words suggest, always an eagerly awaited happening. And rightly so! Mary Rose remain the leading rock outfit in Slovenia, with a considerable lead over the competition, which they confirmed once more with an energetic and meticulously polished Postojna show. With the recent departure of longtime member Davor, the band admittedly lost a fair chunk of its primal oomph, but Mary Rose evidently refuse to be fazed. Which is, in the end, just as it should be! A punchy setlist, filled to the last corner exclusively with strongly conceived original material by the one and only Feniks, backed by the indestructible Žak and Eki, makes up a compact, unstoppable rock icebreaker. It doesn’t let up in showing off its wanton raunchiness even in sentimental moments like Najdražja. Mary Rose are definitely the winners of this year’s Christmas rock festival. Kralj Za Eno Noč, Izgubljen v Času, Akcija and Sam were the gems that ruthlessly swept away any opposition, which clearly points to the band’s exceptional form. Hopefully the guys will crown it as soon as possible with a new album!

Words on Mary Rose: Daniel Pavlica

DIVLJE JAGODE

A distinctive upgrade of the already electrified atmosphere followed with a nostalgia-tinged set by the legendary Divlje Jagode. It began with some slightly boring guitar drilling from the band’s driving force Žele Lipovača, which in the intro gave no hint whatsoever of the explosion of enthusiasm to come. But don’t worry. Just a few opening bars of good old Autostop are enough and the hall blows to pieces. It was like someone had tossed the last available Viagra into a horde of vice-hungry NSi voters! Divlje Jagode sawed their way through it without any particular strain, routine and confident, as befits legends. The gentlemen simply know how. The audience’s insatiable snapping at the sharply served “forest fruits” peaked with a guest spot by Jagode’s old pal Žak, who was obviously in great spirits. The delirium that the uncompromising Divlje Jagode kindled, partly thanks to him, and the by now genuine biker evergreen Motori understandably raised the roof of the Postojna sports hall one last time that evening. Bombastic, no two ways about it…

Words on Divlje Jagode: Daniel Pavlica

OMAR

The evening went on in a fairly laid-back style to the notes of Omar’s Kareem. The guy chose this gig more or less to promote his new album, which came out a good month ago. Sadly, the album is pretty much identical to his debut, so this step showed absolutely nothing new. That showed in the revelling crowd too. They didn’t care who was on stage as long as the music was loud and they were happy with a beer in hand. I won’t even mention how many people had to leave the hall because the alcohol had flooded their brain cells a bit too much. Omar delighted mostly with old hits, but sadly he didn’t convince me personally with those either. I just don’t feel his music, the guy sings with no emotion at all, and he was way better even on the talent show Bitka talentov! Even more paradoxical was when he played two ballads and then said: “Enough ballads and crying now!” Well, he spat in his own bowl! Not to mention that he hawks his album like a fishwife flogging lettuce at the market. The sound in the hall during his set was decent, still not top-notch, but compared to the bands that played before him… The crowd warmed up most when they heard the by now legendary guitar riffs of Green Day’s “Basket Case”. The partying in the hall just carried on, with more people drunk by the minute, and sadly there was no Christmas atmosphere, let alone a genuine rocker one. Honestly, I could hardly wait for Omar to leave the stage (considering how many bands came before him, and that I actually liked two of them). Sorry Omar, you’ve got lots of work ahead of you if you really want to earn your bread with music!

Words on Omar and Kareem: Špela Macuh

DAN D

Next up was Dan D. Who on our turf doesn’t know them? It’s perhaps a bit unusual that they released the album “Katere barve je tvoj dan?” way back in 2004 and are still so incredibly popular. The gentlemen have made a name for themselves, earned respect and won most of the crowd over. When they started playing, people began streaming down to the floor in droves. Probably many had been waiting all evening for Dan D and Dan D alone. They lined up quite a few of their hits: “Plešeš”, “Roke” and “Počasi”. The partying in the hall seemed to have no end. In the end, Dan D are truly convincing on stage (especially compared to the earlier acts). Their sound was pretty decent too. There’s one more thing I find insanely funny, though. It’s hard to find a musician around here who doesn’t have their own roadie. If that isn’t the peak of being spoiled, I really don’t know what is. Is it really so hard to carry a guitar onstage, tune it quickly and plug a cable into it? Never mind though, Tokac and his companions proved that a show can be pulled off nicely and a rock-hungry crowd can be fed.

The festival’s verdict? Lots of Slovenian bands, but not much rock’n’roll!

Words on Dan D: Špela Macuh

Photos: Jani Lah