Location: Ljubljana / CUK Kino Šiška / Slovenia
Date: Friday, October 19, 2013
CUK Kino Šiška hosted a very special celebration last weekend: a glamorous show from the folk art rock outfit Katalena, backed by all of its musical factions and offshoots. Katalena never runs out of creative juice, and you can’t argue with that. It’s driven by the creative genius of six strong, sharply defined musical entities. Six musical worlds that have been building one singular world together for twelve years running. The unmistakable world of Katalena.
A proper four-hour musical spectacle, a show full of light games and contagious theatrics. The master of ceremonies was none other than Patty Diphusa, the famous alter ego of Boštjan Gombač, “sacrificed” for the occasion and backed by a top-notch rhythm section in the form of Žiga Golob and Sergej Ranđelovič “Runjoe”. Right from the start, Gombač had the packed hall roaring, just as expected. And not only thanks to the “finery” he picked: his vocal clowning alone is enough, swinging between his natural voice and the one he uses to become Patty Diphusa. The sheer contrast of Boštjan Gombač “bending” his vocal character is immensely entertaining. While the Patty Diphusa trio drew all eyes on the left stage, the right side was being readied for The Puzzled.
The quartet The Puzzled, made up of Tibor Mihelič Syed (bass guitar, vocals), Marko Brdnik (accordion), Mario Babojelić (guitar) and Marko Lasič (drums), used half an hour to present their excellent studio debut “Bad Times for Bedtime Stories”, released this year on Celinka Records. The complexity of the figures in their genre-hopping compositions, with Syed’s manly vocals weighed down by a Cave-like gloom, came alive in Time Without Her is Wasted, In the Name of G(o)ods and World Of Nothing. The brilliance of this remarkable, unusual coexistence of instruments makes it a duty for true music gourmets to check the band out live at the first chance. Especially because a large part of their message is built on coloring the soundscape with plenty of effects pedals, serving up the homegrown density of this excellent quartet’s wide sonic palette on a platter, a band sworn to shock therapy through the shrewd use of experiment.
Patty Diphusa doesn’t give up! Next she treated us to a hedonistic show of little piggies, joined by a female vocal choir of three Hail Marys: Ana Duša, Vesna Zornik and Polona Janežič. These seasoned stage veterans couldn’t quite escape Patty Diphusa’s mocking jabs from the right flank, though. Well, at least their facial expressions gave it away: all three girls in the choir were barely holding back their laughter.
The right side of the stage came back to life when Katalena’s chief Boštjan Narat stepped out with his backing band: Matevž Kolenc (bass guitar), Polona Janežič (keyboards), Blaž Celarec (drums, percussion) and Jelena Ždrale (viola). A fresh, totally unique musical experience of self-expression, philosophical above all. As a singer-songwriter, Narat is a master of getting a tangible message across through a refined, inventive use of metaphorical “hinges”. A master of wordplay, with sparks flying in his head. Narat and his bandmates presented the band’s current studio album “Konec sveta vedno pride nenapovedano” (2012) through vivid album cuts like Dvajset let, Egon, Režem ovinke, Zdi se and the closer Kako končati to pesem?, which, as expected, delivered the high point of his set.
After the last face-off of the evening with the “shapely and charming” Patty Diphusa, the stage was taken over by Vesna Zornik and her backing band TangoApasionada. Vesna was joined by Metod Banko, Rok Koritnik, Nikola Matošić, Ernest Miklič and Ana Duša. With vehemence, extraordinary confidence and, most importantly, with passion! Once again we witnessed the creation of a completely different vibe, a different experience, a different kind of artistic seduction. The album “TangoApasionada” is the trump card that swings the stage doors wide open for Vesna Zornik. The sinful, almost “cabaret-cut” tango carousel in the performances of Volver, Tango De Lengue, Muchacha del Circo, Yo soy Maria and La Cumparsita was hypnotically captivating! Vesna Zornik has found herself in tango, and the repertoire confirmed it, too! It included songs that aren’t on the album “TangoApassionada”, which means that Vesna Zornik’s research expedition into the world of tango is far from over.
Next, Patty Diphusa left in a huff, all offended, and an interesting combination of four musicians appeared on stage: Boštjan Gombač on hurdy-gurdy, Boštjan Narat on acoustic guitar, bassist Žiga Golob (double bass) and, don’t even ask who? The Slovenian pop-song diva of the seventies and eighties! Neca Falk. Out of four numbers, the one that really got the crowd on its feet was the evergreen hit Vsi ljudje hitijo from 1979, written by Andrej Šifrer. And Neca Falk? Her voice ages like wine! It’s just a shame she shows up on stage so rarely.
The big party was, of course, capped off by Katalena, in the well-seasoned (over the years) lineup of Vesna Zornik (vocals), Boštjan Narat (guitar), Boštjan Gombač (woodwinds, percussion and other “magic toys”), Polona Janežič (keyboards), Tibor Mihelič Syed (bass guitar) and Robert Rebolj (drums, percussion). The central highlight of the night. With all the demanded and expectedly over-the-top theatrics, created by the wit of the band’s front line in particular, that is, both Boštjans and Vesna Zornik. The repertoire centered on the current album “Noč čarovnic” (2011), including Noč čarovnic, Zvezda, Zeleni Jurij, Komur se dremlje and favorites like, first and foremost, Lisica and (Rad imel bi) jabuko rdeče, where the crowd instantly melted with the band into one body. There was also the experimental opener Ta solbaška, as well as the especially rock-heavy Le pijmo ga in the final stretch. The excellent reinterpretation of the folk song Zre(j)lo je žito certainly didn’t go missing either. Once more, the one-and-only Neca Falk jumped on stage as a special guest for a duet with Vesna.
The “sin” Narat committed in 2001 by inviting a handpicked bunch to Črmošnjice to have a bit of fun on their instruments is, then, not fading. It shines with undiminished intensity. It shines brighter than ever, and the band’s performance proved it. A big celebration with exceptional tightness, coordination and chemistry between the building blocks of the “Katalena story”, and plenty of respect for the audience. An inventive reconstruction of folk standards, reshaped across genres into a unique form that always draws you in with the sharpness of its arrangements. Katalena!
The unforgettable evening was rounded off by the superbly used acoustics of the Katedrala hall in Kino Šiška and the stage itself, which got above-standard lighting, laced with shifting colors, plays of light, shadows and mist. The venue was packed with an ecstatic crowd that sent the band off with thunderous ovations. The energy never dropped, and Katalena came back on stage for two obligatory encores. The four-hour marathon was over in a flash. It offered the exceptional charm of five bold musical figures, led by “mama” Katalena.
The event called “(Z)godbe ob Kataleni” succeeded in the best possible way. The experience of being “entranced” didn’t fail to show up this time either. The band’s unique world is so strong and shines so convincingly that it grabs you and carries you off into a parallel world of fantasy, where the rational switches off.
Once again, all I can do is wrap up my confession about acts of superlatives, and wish Katalena and the daughters and sons of The Puzled, TangoApasionada, Patty Diphusa and Boštjan Narat’s singer-songwriter presence many more years of invigorating creative inspiration. Let’s hope it finds its realization in plenty more adventures of witty, original flexibility, the kind with which the character and work of the Katalena collective have been spoiling us for 12 years running.
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
