Author: Urban Bolta
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Venue: Cvetličarna / Ljubljana
Concert date: 10.11.2008
Attendance: 500
Ticket price: 20/23 €
On Tuesday, November 11, right on St. Martin’s evening, Ljubljana’s Cvetličarna hosted Štajerska noč. After last year’s first edition, the organizer clearly decided it wasn’t a one-off, so we got the second round of Štajerska noč. This time Preporod, Zoran Predin with his band Globoka Grla, and Mi2 played for all the Styrians, young and old, and for everyone who isn’t one but loves Styrian music and, if you like, Styrian wine too. The event has obviously gained some prestige as well: besides the familiar names from the music scene, the mayors of the three biggest Slovenian cities turned up in the crowd. The evening was hosted by yet another showbiz veteran, the man everybody knows, Lado Bizovičar.
PREPOROD
The name Preporod won’t tell the average Slovenian music fan much. The band, formed in the late seventies during the so-called new punk wave, left behind a legacy of vinyl records in just a few years of activity, and those records are, to put it mildly, hard to get hold of.
Half an hour behind the announced start, the handsome Lado finally introduced Preporod. The set kicked off in front of a still pretty empty club, but the very first riffs started filling the room fast. The energetic mix of punk and rock’n’roll the band plays went down well with the crowd. There were plenty of smiles on faces, and plenty of already half-empty wine glasses held high in the air. Judging by the lips of those closest to the stage, the lyrics were no stranger to them either. The five on stage looked like a gang of old rock tomcats, true to rock’n’roll since they were kids. Preporod played a set of nine songs, built from hard punk riffs as well as slow, melodic, danceable rock’n’roll. Their songs are about the problems of young people, the easy life, alcohol… And so it wouldn’t stay just words, they knocked back a few glasses of the noble liquid themselves during the show. Singer Smiljan Kreže, old-school rocker style, sunglasses on, naturally, kept the dance tempo going the whole time by hopping around the stage, while the rest of the band, given the genre, seemed almost too stationary. Guitarist Boris Bobek caught my eye, drawing attention to himself with a few solo bits. Judging by the grimaces on his face and the way he played in general, it was obvious the music had swallowed him whole. Over a good half hour on stage, he cared only and exclusively about his guitar. Charming, no doubt about it! In short, Preporod sound very solid live, and they were a proper kickoff before one of the legends of Slovenian music.
ZORAN PREDIN & GLOBOKA GRLA
There’s probably no rocker in Slovenia to whom the name Lačni Franz is completely foreign. In the eighties of the last century, the legendary Maribor band was among the leading acts not only here but across the whole former Yugoslavia. After the band split, Lačni Franz frontman Zoran Predin went on to an equally successful solo career, and these days he presents the brightest moments of both periods at gigs together with his backing band Globoka Grla.
They opened with the ballad Rad te imam. Love, Predin-style. Funnily enough, every single member of the band, Predin first of all, was dressed the same, all in T-shirts with the logo of the local radio station back home. True Styrians through and through, even at a gig in Ljubljana. Right after the opening song we got Predin’s standard “Where are the hands, where are the hearts?” That night he repeated the same line at least seven times, which ended up getting almost a little comical. But never mind, it’s his trademark after all. We got a selection of Lačni Franz songs, with a few of his own thrown in, plus Nipič’s Styrian anthem and the Russian Katjuša, in Slovenian. There’s probably no need to explain what kind of excitement swept the whole Cvetličarna at Nipič’s “Štajerska se veseli..”. Predin, or rather his music, is so present in everyday Slovenian life that the crowd had no trouble helping the guys on stage with their voices the whole time, so the atmosphere was really good. The sound was a whole other story… it could have been a lot better, and you practically couldn’t miss the band exchanging glances with the techs, hoping they’d fix it. Guitarist Marko Zorec, bassist Danijel Rajh, drummer Denis Janič and keyboardist Danilo Ženko (who also plays keys in Preporod) were, understandably, in Predin’s shadow throughout. Still, they did their job very well, practically without mistakes, despite Predin’s warning to the crowd: “Today is a full moon, which means we’ve got a pile of excuses”. Some of the songs got a slightly different outfit, with extended instrumental parts, and each member got a little time to show the crowd his musical chops on his instrument. Practically every song Predin seasoned with another of his signature moves: “lalala”-ing, in the melody and rhythm of the song being played, of course. The set ended with Ja ka pa te ti tu delaš, and Globoka Grla were already off the stage.
MI2
The closer was the only non-Maribor band of the night, Mi2, who hail from Rogatec. Predin & co’s music is meant for listeners of all ages, whereas Mi2’s target audience is mainly the younger generation. That showed here too, as the youngsters claimed the front rows by the stage. This was the Rogatec crew’s second Ljubljana gig in a week, since they’d played in Šiška just a few days earlier. In more than 10 years together, the members have racked up plenty of live experience, and it shows on stage. They’ve won over quite a few fans, and more than one of their hits has made it onto the radio.
We’ll start symbolically, continue cheerfully and finish sadly, the guys from Mi2 told us right after walking on stage. They opened with Topli jug and continued with Sveta Margareta, which of course got a roaring welcome in the form of jumping and singing along from below the stage. The song was dedicated to their roadie Miha, who just got engaged. Congrats to Miha from Rockline too! =) Mi2 play a mix of rock, at times even hard rock, pop and a few hip hop bits. The latter are the job of guitarist and joker of the band Egon Herman. Egon knows how to put a smile on every audience member’s face with his comments, and this time was no different. On the other side, lead vocalist Tone Kregar handles all the ballad-type and sentimental songs, which he knows how to get into really well. In Benzina they hung a rhyme on the word from the title, “ste videli kje Predina?” (have you seen Predin anywhere?), and it wasn’t long before Predin joined them on stage. He didn’t really have anything to do.. but he was there. The crowd went crazier with every next song, and a cover of the legendary Beli Gumb’s Sve ove godine wasn’t missing either. The set peaked, how could it not, with Toplice, sung together by the Mi2 guys, Predin and the audience. The live version of Oda Gudeki is interesting too: it’s really long, and the joker Egon takes the lead with his add-ons. Mi2 were the only act of the night to get an encore, playing Pa si šla and, just as they announced at the start, a more or less sad song, Odhajaš. Mi2 absolutely lived up to their reputation as a party band that knew how to bring the event home.
Some of us then headed home quickly, but for others the St. Martin’s party was only just getting started…
Setlist
Setlist Zoran Predin & Globoka Grla: 1. Rad te imam 2. Žarnica za boljši jutri 3. Maribor 4. Bolj star bolj nor 5. Lepa ko ti pride 6. Ne mi dihat za ovratnik 7. Štajerska se veseli 8. Zadnja večerja 9. Praslovan 10. Katjuša 11. Zadnja večerja 12. Mentol bonbon 13. Ja ka pa te ti tu delaš Setlist Mi2: 1.Topli jug 2. Sv. Margareta 3. Ti nisi ta 4. Gretica 5. Benzina 6. Samo tebe te imam 7. Najrajši sn pa s teboj pil 8. Sve ove godine 9. Ko bil sn še mali pizdun 10. Oda gudeki 11. Zdravica (jebi ga bluz) 12. Toplice ————- 13. Pa si šla 14. Odhajaš
