Location: Postojna / Parking lot in front of the municipal building / Slovenia
Date: Sunday, September 4, 2022
It was just over nine years ago — August 24, 2013, to be precise — that Avtomobili first performed as part of the annual Postojna festival Zmaj ‘ma mlade. Back then, the opening slot ahead of the worthy ‘four-wheelers’ went to the rockers from Ajdovščina, Pelhan, after whom the reins were taken by the always ‘stressfully and passionately entertaining’, strapping rock jabbers from Pivka, Ana Pupedan. And here we are again. Same place. Just on the other side of Titova Street. In the parking lot in front of the municipal building, which is where the festival now takes place. In these nine years that have flown by, the festival’s lineup has shrunk considerably compared to previous years. The rock scene is fading — no surprise there. Everything seems geared toward keeping people from getting together as much as possible. In person, of course.
No support acts this time! Avtomobili kicked off just after eight in the evening. There was a time when you’d have to wait for bands like Avtomobili until ten at night — that’s how the schedules used to run back then. Well, you know, to sell as many drinks as possible. In some other, more peaceful, laid-back and relaxed era. These days, setting up chairs at events like this has become a full-blown tradition, and sure enough, the front row of seats was pushed back some seven meters from the stage once again. A fantastic setup for building genuine concert chemistry between the band and the crowd — if you catch the sarcasm. Even the iconic Marko Vuksanovič, Avtomobili’s frontman, hinted somewhere around the one-third mark that it would be very much appreciated if the audience moved a little closer to the stage. The chairs were forgotten in an instant. There’s still hope, then.
Now, unlike Friday night, when Brkovi had drawn lovers of leather gear and steely clatter to the same venue, Sunday evening with Avtomobili was an almost family-friendly affair. Well, not entirely — but the crowd that showed up for their concert was the polar opposite of a good chunk of Friday’s fiery hordes. An older, more settled audience, then. Plenty of people in it who spent the eighties as teenagers. Who grew up with Avtomobili back then. Yes. And haven’t forgotten a single lyric from the band’s classics. Not in all these years. Any way you look at it, selling out the beer was simply not going to happen this time, unlike Friday night with Brkovi. One more thing: you could count on there being no police patrols, even though considerably less was being consumed. It is, after all, a Sunday evening. And sure enough, there weren’t any.
Avtomobili are releasing a new studio album in mid-October this year. Yes. You read that right. It’s called »Sijaj« and it’s coming out again on ZKP RTV Slovenija. Six years on, it will follow its predecessor »Daleč« (2016, RockLine review), which was still heavily represented in the Postojna setlist. Avtomobili, who put in a fine run of live dates this summer, have already slotted material from the upcoming new record into their current set. They opened the show with their latest single Pridi na obalo, which has been out for a while. A playfully mischievous opener, then. The new album clearly carries songs that radio frequencies will happily adopt. Through the first third of the set, the band was mostly running through tracks from the last two albums. That stretch included Pot domov, from the album »Mraz« (1992). On that note: on August 25, 2022, the band delighted their fans on Facebook with the news that a vinyl reissue of that album is in the works, planned for the first half of next year.
The band plays brilliantly. Marko’s vocals caress the ears just like in the golden years — you could say they’re still maturing, season by season. Avtomobili remain a tightly-locked unit. Mirko and Marko are undeniable icons. The great conductors and architects of the band’s stature and sound — and not just within the band itself; over the years they’ve grown into bona fide legends on both the Slovenian rock and pop mainstream scene. The three younger guys, who’ve been playing alongside them for well over a decade, have brought a genuine renaissance energy to the lineup that shows no signs of letting up — not on the stages of 2022 either. It’s worth pointing out that Avtomobili like to approach their live performances a little differently from the studio originals. Alongside the brilliant rhythmic drive of the two Davids, the natural counterforce comes from the fine-fingered guitar craftsman Bushy and, of course, the elder statesman on keys, Mirko Vuksanović. Their way of filling mid-eight passages and other transitions remains thrilling and never fails to impress. There’s no shortage of skill in quietly slipping jazz moments into the very heart of certain songs either — a welcome touch that only deepens the artistry of the band’s singularly expressive voice. And the chemistry of this quintet shows no sign of fading. That’s why, after a very solid and not-so-modestly-round 40 years in the game, Avtomobili can still make a new album!
Let me ‘fast-forward’ a bit, though. There’s the excellent April (»Mesta železniških postaj«, 2006 — RockLine review), followed by the dramatic Netopir and the rousing Poslušaj (both from »Pozna pomlad«, 2012 — RockLine review). Then comes that great classic — Sama (»Krenimo«, 1988), which gradually sets up the rondo of classics that carried us into the second half of the concert. Emotions ran high, the crowd came alive. The nostalgia was kept burning by the brilliant Argentina (»Skozi leta«, 1994), immediately followed by the always intensely infectious Mraz (let’s just call it ‘contagious cold’). During Ljubezen ne stanuje tu, the band had to stop mid-song because Bushy ran into a logistical snag right at that moment. At first it looked like we were in for a jazzy/acoustic variation on the track — which, given Avtomobili’s performance style and lineup in 2022, would not have surprised anyone in the slightest. But it would have been a minor crime to flip the core of a song built around such a distinctive guitar riff — one that demands a serious dose of distortion — into anything else. Especially into something that could, in extreme cases, veer toward (dear God, please no) cabaret territory. Marko stops the song. He does it with total calm, as if nothing happened. Wins the crowd over with a smile. The vocalist remains utterly infectious with his unique charisma. A few moments later the problem is sorted, and Avtomobili slam it back into high gear. The hit Gospodar always delivers its own particular brand of entertainment — Marko practically has to do a full workout, firing sharp, jerky gestures at the crowd to stop them jumping into the chorus too early. Every single time. Not just before the first chorus. Part of the crowd always gets it wrong. And everyone loves it — the band and the audience alike. Same story this time. Drugačno nebo (»Mraz«, 1992) for the final stretch, followed by the mystical »Enakonočje« and the closing, quietly-anticipated V mrzlih dvoranah (»Mraz«, 1992). The concert was over all too soon.
Avtomobili come back for the obligatory encore, opening it with the phenomenal classic Hvala za pisma, then flooring it again with another beloved crowd-pleaser, the joyful Enkrat v življenju. Whether it’s late spring or early autumn, it doesn’t really matter. Avtomobili keep the standard. Quality. Nostalgic. The band holds it together, and long may that continue. So with »Sijaj« just around the corner, Avtomobili shone bright and true in Postojna once again. The gleam in their eyes isn’t going anywhere.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Edita Klemen
