Location: Volče (Tolmin) / Pri Lukatelu / Slovenia
Date: Friday, 30.08.2019
Same Babe, the cabaret-theatrical musical farce of a battle-hardened quintet, were supposed to perform in the northern Primorska region, specifically in the village of Volče near Tolmin (if Volče had a “J” in the middle, you could say Marko Voljč has his very own village in the Tolmin area), back in June of this year — but the concert got pushed back. Viki Baba fell ill, so it didn’t happen. Pushed back to the tail end of August, the second-to-last day of this beautiful August, which by evening was already hinting that September was right around the corner. It was cool out, very cool. When we arrived at the venue late, Same Babe were already on stage. Before that, the legendary Andrej Trobentar (NLP) and Dejan Pevčevič had played their sets — Dejan paying tribute to the late poet Vojan Kovač Chubby with the performance “Chubby Was Here”. Feo Volarič was also part of the event. He had access to all areas (“AAA” pass). The backdrop was enriched by two of his sculptures and one of his paintings behind the stage.
You generally don’t show up late to concerts like this, especially at venues like Pri Lukatelu. It doesn’t get more down-to-earth than this. The meadow dotted with standard-form orchard trees — the kind that drives “progressive Slovenian agricultural policy” up the wall — makes for a truly beautiful setting at Pri Lukatelu. Trees relieved of their pears, idyllic scenes scented with cut grass and hay slowly turning golden… And into this kind of setting along come Same Babe to wreck all those hard-earned good feelings and quiet inner zen. Quite the theatrical spectacle. I had never actually seen the band live in Volče before that day. You read plenty, you hear a lot, you even dare to write reviews of their albums — but on stage and in person, everything resets to absolute zero. Meaning you approach the essence of the band from scratch.
A few non-essential facts for the record. Same Babe are: the creative mastermind, the boundlessly perceptive driving force of the band, full of mocking yet flamboyant forays, Viktor Škedelj (Viki Baba, vocals, guitar), Marko Jelovšek (vocals, double bass, guitar), Marko Voljč (vocals, trumpet), Miha Nemanič (Holder, vocals, harmonica, tambourine), Uroš Buh (N3L, Buh, drums, vocals), and Matjaž Ugovšek Ugo (electric guitar, vocals).
And indeed. They really are a hell of a band. With their new, “hellishly good” album in their pocket, they confirmed that they hold the top billing as the perfect cure for lifting any grouch into a good mood. The weave of their poetry — let’s just call it the raw power of what they have to say — with the musical rhetoric of fused cabaret chanson, rock, blues, punk, and melos that feels deeply internalized and geographically native to Slovenians (folk), all lavishly doused in the theatrical performance of boss Viki, rarely reaches greater expressive punch. Measured, of course, through the senses and “aural” perceptive powers of the average Slovenian. It doesn’t get more Slovenian than this. All that content captures and lays bare a genuine psycho-analysis of Slovenianness and Slovenians. The blend of bittersweet wit and gallows humor, with the inevitable final downfall of the central character in every story, works brilliantly. In that spirit, the exceptionally well-matched pairing with Andrej Trobentar comes as no surprise — we were hoping the man would stay on stage for a few more songs, but together they performed two songs in the final third of the concert, and then Andrej immediately bolted off stage. Although he was once again a reminder of just how much charisma this man has, his jump on stage didn’t leave anything “deeper”. In truth, his departure was premature by at least a song or two. Krinko razkrinkaj, which followed, was written by Činč and Trobentar back in the first half of the seventies for the band Sedem svetlobnih let, and in its reworked form it also graces Same Babe’s new album. The performance of that song followed and at least briefly extended the sense of Trobentar’s spirit still being present on stage. The band devoted much of the set to presenting the new album, which is entirely right — frankly, it’s excellent and deserves many stage reinterpretations.
The concert was also something of an exclusive because you don’t find an audience like this anywhere else. How quiet they were, and how attentively they followed the show. A pity that the front rows were completely empty, which brought on that unfortunate feeling of the eternally awkward Slovenian bashfulness baked into our national character — but never mind. There was also an “alcohol prohibition” in place at the venue, and you can take that seriously. In recent years, the state has deliberately stepped into the role of enforcer, driving out social gatherings and human connection, and even concert organizing doesn’t escape this. For the answer as to why no drinks were served, read up on the “new” progressive legislation that continuously oozes from the (mostly empty) skull cavities of all these magnificent “architects” of the new Slovenian state. Slovenians are, after all, masters of self-regulation, with which we keep each other down — and that’s exactly how the “helpful and caring” mother state treats the poor Slovenian citizen too. Even the closing invitation from co-organizer Zdravko Duša — that the socializing was by no means over — couldn’t stop people from promptly drifting off into the dark night after the concert, each in their own direction (most likely home).
The sextet’s communication, their chemistry, their interactions, and above all their mutual harmony and tight interplay are all tuned to an excellent working temperature. Everything Same Babe do is executed with great distinction. To put it immodestly: in the glow of a unique genius (or the mind of a genius unique — whichever you prefer). Seasoned pros, born for the stage, wise to every trick, armed with multilayered musical receptiveness bolstered by a high expressive intellect and the resulting penetrating power that inevitably shakes and moves the listener. Playful cynics who have no shortage of barbs, nor of bite. Qualities that Frank Zappa would have gladly lent an ear to — especially for the incredibly intelligent black satire — if he were still around; qualities that today, following Buldožer, are channeled in a rather fine yield into the expressive rhetoric of Same Babe (alongside Slovenian bands N3L, the “post-Trobentar” NLP, Duhovi, Nula Kelvina, and a few others you might name — though not many are left). The band truly is wise to every trick. For instance: when needed, Ugo can completely and psychedelically “dissolve” on the guitar, and in the very next instant effortlessly ride in the footsteps of Carlos Santana’s sound and style.
Woven between tracks from the new album — played nearly in full — were older songs: covering, among other things, the avifauna of pleasant morning birdsong, the low-calorie menus of the average Slovenian household and the resulting longing for Terezinih ocvrtih jajčk, musings on the biology of chamois, descriptions of “smoking” (the tobacco prohibition being barely a hair’s breadth away, after all), the buxom abundance of women who love hairy men, and in cleverly adapted and rearranged fragments a nod to the memory of the character and work of the former Tolmin band Medrje. All this and more was thus “approved” that evening in Volče (in the context of yet another of the many songs performed), and with this concert Same Babe confirmed every quality of their rapacious stage acuity, punch, and intellectual rebel pose — all commanded by exceptional, singular, brilliant artistry of clear expressive character, repeatedly jabbing provocatively into avant-garde eclecticism. An extremely endearing rough-hewn quality that you instantly claim as your own.
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
