Venue: Hala Tivoli/Ljubljana
Concert date: 13.07.2008
Attendance: 2000
Ticket price: 45 €
The day after a terrible storm, the day after rainfall so heavy it felt like the great flood all over again, the first aftereffects could already be seen in Slovenia. A royal English seal with a brown belly and white flippers had washed up here. That was none other than Mr. Seal, one of the most recognizable exporters of British pop of the last few decades. And what the hell was he doing in Slovenia, where we haven’t seen a star of his caliber in ages? He was trying to bring back the old glory days.
So what did the man have in store for us? It all went more or less as expected. He sang us all his bigger hits, cunningly arranged in the set so that they didn’t come one right after another, and he also slipped in a few surprises and lesser-known songs. The first hit of the night was the cult classic Killer, where Seal is at his most convincing with the line “Solitary brother, is there still a part of you that wants to live?” Great lyrics, no question. The guy has a way with words, too. After Killer, fast four-on-the-floor house and dance rhythms alternated with slower ballads, which peaked with the performance of Kiss from a Rose. For me, the big surprise was his cover of Ultravox’s excellent Vienna. The rework turned out great and few could pull it off, but with Seal it all looks effortless. And of course Crazy, another huge hit, couldn’t be missing at the end.
Seal warmed up the crowd gathered in the small hall of Hala Tivoli with an extremely effective mix of dance rhythms, soul, funk, R&B, rock and whatnot. The mix was effective above all in that people could surrender to the rhythms completely, because Seal created a proper party atmosphere. Between songs he talked about how much he likes Slovenia and what warm people we Slovenes are. A cliché, somewhat overchewed strategy, but it still works, at least judging by the ovations from the crowd. He tried his hardest to convince us that the hall was full of love and that this concert wasn’t about a band keeping its distance from the audience, but that we were all one whole together. A lovely speech, no doubt. But something doesn’t add up. If we were all part of one whole, why did some of us have to pay so much for tickets, and why is Seal up on stage while we’re down there? Maybe he meant to prove how serious he was by pulling a girl up on stage, but I think stars like this would do better to bite their tongues sometimes and not blow smoke up our souls during concerts, when away from the venue they wouldn’t want to exchange so much as a glance with us, let alone a word.
Fine, if you’re a performer, you perform, and Seal performed and told us the things most people want to hear. Luckily, besides the showmanship there was also the musical side, which was executed superbly. Alongside Seal’s remarkably well-preserved voice and character, there were three charismatic musicians on stage. The guitarist didn’t make a big impression with technique, but he made very good use of various samples that he programmed on a synthesizer and played on the guitar. I don’t know if it was a real guitar synthesizer, but it was something along those lines. The bassist was good too, often sitting down at the piano, and he also helped Seal put on that proper show. The drummer was the least noticeable, though he had a really distinctive drum sound (at times as if it were programmed). The sound was solid throughout, and it was best somewhere around the middle.
Personally, I got a bit bored during the show, but that’s not Seal’s fault, since he did everything to pull the audience into his music. Once you’ve weaned yourself off pop, it’s simply hard to get back into it, no matter how much Mr. Seal tries to spice up his music. You can’t fault him for effort. He works to avoid falling into a routine and always tries to weave something new into his songs.
Seal is by no means predictable or, in any sense, redundant or outdated. He’s still full of fresh ideas and new arrangements, but apparently even that isn’t enough to keep the glory days of a big pop star from the past from being numbered. The poor turnouts at his concerts only show that a generational shift is underway, where the old guard of music will be replaced by new acts. You can see it in the ever-dwindling crowds for legends like Whitesnake, Deep Purple or Glen Hughes, too. So what big concerts are we in for in the future? Rebelde, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears,…? God help us, but everything points more and more that way. We’ll be forced to retreat into small stuffy little boats to hear something of the “real” stuff. I personally don’t see anything wrong with that, though it’s true that shows at big venues have a special charm.
But so I don’t spread too much negativity, let me say that Seal and his three helpers played very well and kept the audience on their feet the whole time (even the folks in the seats). Maybe the only thing that bugged me was that the show was only an hour and a half long. Everyone who paid 45 € for a ticket maybe deserved a bit more. Apparently Seal didn’t feel quite as much love for the audience and connection to Slovenia as he claimed during certain songs. But we knew it was all just showmanship and blowing smoke up the souls of the citizens of this little Slovenia, right? He could have taken the time to play another song or two, but apparently the tide went out and told him he had to slowly make his way out of our little bay and back into the big global ocean of pop music.
A heartfelt concert, but with a slightly bitter aftertaste.
Words: Rok Podgrajšek
Photos: Barbara Milharčič
Setlist
1. If It’s In My Mind, It’s On My Face
2. Amazing
3. Killer
4. Just like Before
5. Love’s Divine
6. Loaded
7. Dumb
8. My Vision
9. The Right Life
10. System
11. Kiss from a Rose
12. Future Love Paradise
13. Vienna
14. Crazy
15. Amazing (Dub)
16. The Beginning
17. Bring It On
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