Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ljubljana / Etno klub Zlati zob / Slovenia
Concert date: 16.01.2014
Attendance: 70
Ticket price: €7.00 (with reservation) / €12.00 (on the day of the show)
Behind the quartet Balladero hides a true one-of-a-kind, with the strong charisma of a heavy-laden musical mission, born from the creative mind of Dominik Bagola. Through January the man hit the road on a week-long tour across Slovenia called »I Guess« (named after a track from his debut »Club Deuce«). He worked our pint-sized »little hen« of a country from top to bottom and side to side with his live shows. One of the tour stops was, naturally, Ljubljana and the world-music club »Zlati zob« at Zaloška 69. Given the musical heritage in the Balladero dossier, you couldn’t pick a more fitting location right now. Especially not in winter days full of rainy, mournful nights that seem to last an eternity.
Alongside Dominik Bagola, Balladero includes three more musicians: Italian guitarist Lorenzo Corti, bass grandmaster Robert Jukič and drummer Jaka Berger. This time without any special guests on vocals and without vibraphonist Hana Šavel.
Balladero have an out-of-studio debut, »Club Deuce« (2012), which the quartet presented, as expected. In full, of course. The »Zlati zob« venue is famous for its exemplary acoustics, tailor-made for singer-songwriter performances, for ethno/folk acts, or, generally speaking, for any act that builds its musical mission on co-creating a collage of organically acoustic sonic interweaving, or at the very least on delivering the sophisticated expressive qualities of musical artistry that can be plugged into electric intensity at a room-friendly volume. A spacious stage. A spacious room. And in it, tables that were filled down to the last chair.
Balladero instantly conjured up the recognizable backdrop of a one-of-a-kind musical entity with a famously eclectic character, one that gives music critics serious headaches when it comes to »pigeonholing«. The likable and above all exceptionally charismatic Dominik Bagola, an all-round musician, sharp-witted composer and, newly, also a singer of concise poetry, is of course the central figure in the whole Balladero story. His musical perception fertilizes the form of the songs with traditional sonic veils inherited from the folk melos of Prekmurje. At first glance, though, that feeling is well disguised. It’s masterfully hidden, mostly because the verses are sung almost entirely in English, but also because of the approach the guitar takes in coloring the backdrop of the accompaniment. It moves along the lines of creating a soundscape that deepens the mood itself. The guitar work draws sensible parallels with an ace like Steven Wilson. And when Prekmurska rings out at the end with Slovenian lyrics, that Prekmurje link between, say, fellow countryman Kreslin and Bagola starts making a lot more sense.
With the songs pushed along by a sense of melancholy, Dominik Bagola’s sensuously subtle interpretation of the verses feels dreamy and mystical. The depth and sensuality Dominik creates with piano and vocals is extraordinary, and the effect is deepened in contrast by the other three building blocks of the »Club Deuce« album’s musical ID on stage. The quartet can conjure up a hypnotic mood in an instant, one that sucks you into a unique world of musical magic. The »Balladero world«.
The concert was split into two parts, which, for music as distinctive in its idiom as Balladero’s, is not the best idea. That very factor unfortunately broke the magical musical world built up in the first half of the show, and at a few points the quartet didn’t quite show a truly relaxed atmosphere either. There was a slight whiff of unease, since the show had to be adjusted a bit. Still. It’s a standard practice the world over, that the bar gets a few more coins out of the visitors’ pockets. And as a pro you sometimes have to bite the bullet and face the fact that the conditions for an optimal performance swing wildly from venue to venue, and now and then catch you out unpleasantly.
Dominik is a man who doesn’t rein in his emotions and passion. On top of that, he’s a seriously skilled talker. He makes masterful use of the pauses between songs. In them he’s gently self-ironic, with a dark, mischievous sarcasm that effectively breaks down the barrier between the audience and the band. The band is rather static, but they certainly don’t need any moves from the jazz ballet repertoire. A Balladero concert is one where, in full effect, only the music does the talking!
For an otherwise excellent performance that held back just a touch, with the feeling that the band couldn’t quite spread its wings, that it was a bit cramped and a bit tense, these are such good and seasoned musicians that no common flaws crept into the playing. The music stand next to Robert Jukič was a surprise, but that’s obviously more a matter of habit. Given this musician’s mastery, I believe Jukič could play the Balladero bass lines with his eyes closed, but the stand is simply his own business. An upright bass would also have sounded great at a few points in the show. In the mix, I’d have liked Corti’s guitar to be a touch louder. A few of the soundscapes he created, combined with all the other building blocks of Balladero’s musical language, gave me real goosebumps. Maybe an unimportant remark, but still. The band could do with a unified stage look. An evening »tuxedo«, a bit more built around elegance. The music they make is exceptional, and its elegance surely belongs more in the room of »high society« clubs than in the average concert »hole«.
The band stretched a few songs with extended improvised passages, handled on piano by Dominik, and a few times Lorenzo Corti joined him on guitar, very tastefully, in harmony with the effectively executed solutions of the »arranger’s calibration«. However much I split hairs, the overall experience was hugely positive! A concert that once again fully won over and seduced everyone present. The thunderous ovations from the audience at the end confirmed it, a crowd that got what it came for and didn’t lose a second of sleep over the mid-show break.
Setlist
1. Prekmurska
2. Shadow Street
3. Lioness
4. I Guess
5. Dream Come Lie
6. Pawnshop
—15-minute break—
7. . Shallow Creeks
8. Monsters
9. Long Distance To Ruin
10. Mirror See
11. Superbomber
12. Če bi
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