Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ljubljana / Rollbar / Slovenia
Concert date: December 26, 2015
Attendance: 200
Ticket price: €0.00 (free entry!)
The year has come full circle, and in keeping with tradition, all the Jarše »old-timers« gathered at Rollbar, led by their homegrown bands. First and foremost, that means the “notorious” veterans of the Slovenian rock scene, the boogie metallers Lene kosti, who at their old den of sin are practically forced every year to play this pre-New Year’s gig. Every single year. For their generation of loyal friends, near and distant acquaintances, and relatives, and of course for the offspring of that same generation, which brought two more bands from the Jarše side of town to Rollbar. Dandelion Children and The Ragtorns.
Since Lene kosti’s booze miraculously vanished before they even went on last year, the guys decided to take matters into their own hands and keep a tight grip on the consumption. So they chose to play first on the bill. Also so they could kick back afterward and »party it up among the home crowd«. The band hit the stage fifteen minutes past nine in the evening. The crowd was scattered at first, even surprisingly reserved, standing three to four meters from the stage. But the band didn’t lose any sleep over it. They chopped through their repertoire like always. Uncompromising and full throttle. The sound was more than satisfying, actually excellent. The band had some trouble because the members couldn’t hear their instruments well on stage, and Jan in particular couldn’t hear his vocals. You could tell, for instance, during Fly in the Sky, where especially in the chorus he drifted off the ideal vocal line. The band showed up in an even sharper shape than on September 11, 2015 at the gig at Marica’s, which counts as the debut of new drummer Matijas Severhen (also Kontraband). In the time leading up to Rollbar the guy had visibly and audibly progressed, and Lene kosti inched closer to the stage presence that defined the band’s gigs in the lineup with Miha Nedoh and Rok Večerin (Does anyone out there know where W.U.K.O. disappeared to?). The guy dedicatedly polished the tracks, which showed especially in the demanding Nightmare, where the double bass drum pedal thoroughly shook the place. It’s more than obvious that Matijas is a drummer tailor-made for Lene kosti.
The band played, as expected, their classic material, written in the eighties and available on the albums »Do Or Die« (2010) and »Park Bar« (1990), as well as on the newer and still current album »Penetrator« (2012). They also threw in a few covers, as always, and unveiled their newest song Reaper’s Hill (originally titled Electric Eel), which grabs you with a killer main riff and a hook-heavy, grabby melodicism. The single is really just a pinch away from release. Marc only has to record the solos, but that depends on his wrist recovering. Which didn’t cause him any real trouble during the gig. With his performance the guy once again reminded us that he’s one of the finest guitarists on Slovenian soil. With his recognizable sound and the approach he developed over the years and stuck with, it remains his very own trademark. Jan screamed everything there was to scream. So, everything. The guy again stunned with a voice like an air-raid siren. Dago, always flinty, sharply belted and dressed to the nines, again dug deep and rumbled away on his bass guitar. In the intro to Time for Love he hinted to a buddy in the crowd, Dare Brenk, that it’s actually Dare’s tune. Dare is Lene kosti’s original bassist (with Dago on vocals). That was the seventies, of course. Only Giovanni, shoved over to the far left end of the stage, seemed a bit reserved with his guitar during the gig. Maybe because of the crowd, which needlessly kept a several-meter distance from the stage the whole time.
No doubt about it. A great gig. Again. Now they urgently need to record the new album, and ASAP. There’s nothing else left for Lene kosti in their current situation. The band has slowly had its fill of playing the same old tracks over and over. Reaper’s Hill announces that the new album is going to be devilishly good.
Dandelion Children then confirmed with their set that they’ve kept the core of a unique collective, devoted to a special kind of fooling around with musical magic, which in a colorful and distinctive way merges experiment with the premise of alternative rock. With their quirkiness the band put on another great live show. The trio is and remains wild enough and nicely out there. Full of ideas and heartfelt cheek. In terms of creative firepower, given their relatively short run and a dozen released studio albums, they belong at the very tip of the Slovenian rock amusement park. As always. A great swing of the atmosphere into a whole new musical world.
But with the Dandelion Children set, valiant Jure still hadn’t wrapped up his evening duties at Rollbar. He came back to the stage with a third band. The Ragtorns. The quirk of this quartet, similar to Dandelion Children and to Anže and Jure, is that three members swap instruments during the set. So Jure, who handles the vocals, hopped from drums to bass to guitar. That makes three people on the team who play at least two instruments. In a more than solid performance, with a nice measure of tightness that convinced on their original material, and with decent stage sound too (only the keys couldn’t be heard at all), the band signaled that it’s still searching for itself a little, but right out of the gate it announces that it’s worth keeping an eye on. It’s hard to pigeonhole them by genre from the start, closest to alternative rock with an experimental mattress underneath, though you can also pick up elements of blues and metal in the songs. So let’s give it time. A pleasant and very likable experience.
The night at Rollbar was still long. So was the partying. In great company. The clock struck six-thirty in the morning all too soon, as the last “survivors” were saying their goodbyes, among them the man with the most horsepower, Lene kosti’s steely bassist Dago with his better half and his My Boogie Band comrade Čule (also The Sausages). See you again next year, then, at the traditional Jarše party at Seb’s, at Rollbar of course.
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