Author: Urban Bolta
Photos: Urban Bolta
Location: Otočec / Slovenia
Concert date: 21.06.2012
Attendance: 3000
Ticket price: 49€ (presale price for all festival days) / 70€ (on the day of the event)
Another year has rolled around, summer has kicked in, and with it comes the traditional multi-day rockers’ holiday, Rock Otočec. While bigger and smaller rock festivals (Švic, Klumpanje, Shengenfest, Gora Rocka…) have been popping up like mushrooms after rain in recent years, Rock Otočec is one of the few similar festivals on our turf that can rightfully bank on its continuity and tradition, which is why it has long since cemented its reputation among young people as a guaranteed weekend party. On top of the music, Rock Otočec offers its visitors a rich side program of workshops, improv league and stand-up shows, mud baths, swimming in the Krka river… so despite the loud negative grumbling, Otočec undoubtedly still ranks among the most enjoyable rock festivals on the Sunny Side of the Alps.
At this point we have to ask: what exactly (rightfully) rubs the nasty tongues the wrong way? Most organizers of rock festivals like this one, Otočec included, bank on the same circle of fifteen or twenty Slovenian and ex-Yugoslav acts they’ve been using for ages, and then sell that lineup as the craziest thing that will ever happen in the galaxy. Abroad it’s not like that. Even in neighboring Croatia, which is in an even tougher economic situation than we are, a good number of festivals have sprung up in recent years that feed visitors actual world-class stars, while in our dear Slovenia the organizers are still competing over who’s the big fish in the village instead of rushing to keep up with the times and hop on the European train.
Rock Otočec boasts a gorgeous location. It takes place right next to the medieval Otočec castle, and the beautiful backdrop of the Krka rapids and the river’s water habitat are inviting in their own right, so good vibes are never missing from the moment you arrive at the festival.
This year, hoping to improve the offer, the Rock Otočec organizers stretched it into a five-day event, which, judging by the turnout on the opening Wednesday, turned out to be a bold move. Despite the tempting promo presentation of the Človek z bombami project, created in collaboration with the European Capital of Culture Maribor, Wednesday evening was very poorly attended, and work obligations kept me away as well.
Then came Thursday, and with it a bigger crowd from all over Slovenia, even though compared to three or four years ago the festival grounds still looked half empty. The concert program on the main stage was kicked off at 6:30 p.m. by Mozirje rockers Up N’ Downs, followed by Styrian funkers Soundtopia, before the stage went to Ljubljana garage rockers Dandelion Children. Despite a rocky start, with frontman Jure tumbling across the stage after tripping over a cable, the band proved to be an artistically mature outfit with a totally original sound, and Jure and Anže added extra dimensions to the set by constantly swapping guitar and bass. Even though the space in front of the stage was almost empty, the opening three bands each successfully presented their own vision of rock’n’roll. Next up were Manouche, who try to present retro musical leanings in a modern way, but without a truly organic sound they struggle to win over their target audience. Keeping up with current music trends continued with the Swedes Movits!, who mix different genres in their own style and want to please the widest possible range of listeners. Johan Rensfeldt enriched the bouncy swing rhythms with hip hop bits, and what made them interesting above all was their unusual backing, shaped mostly by just a saxophone and keyboards. After them, Hladno Pivo returned to the Rock Otočec stage, the Croatian punk champions and probably the biggest rock band from the former Yugoslavia to find fame after its breakup. Despite a solid set driven by the classics Pjevajte nešto ljubavno, Ne volim te and Nije sve tako sivo, I have to admit I’ve seen the Croats in better form in the past. At half past midnight it was time for the festival headliners, the eight-piece American collective Gogol Bordello. The big lineup, led by theatrical frontman Eugene Hütz, turned out to be an inexhaustible source of energy, and their onstage antics fit well with their bouncy gypsy punk, which was the first thing that evening to wake up the far too sleepy crowd.
On Friday we woke up to a hot morning, and we killed the time until the evening’s music by lounging at the small stage on the island in the Krka river, connected to the festival grounds by two bridges. Morning workouts, stand-up, prize games and improv athletics carried us through the afternoon to the set by Džem, followed by Krško rockers Momento. More people than their predecessors were lured to the front of the stage by rockabilly bouncers Eightbomb, before promising local rockers Crossfire played in the style of melancholic rock typical of Dolenjska. Kultur Shock, old acquaintances of Slovenian stages, continued stylistically close to the sound of Gogol Bordello, only with more elements of ethnic music from various corners of the world. As frontman Srđan Jevđević said during the set, their music is an extreme mix of the music of all nations. Next in the line of foreign guests were New Young Pony Club with their electronic blend of new wave and post punk, but given the heavy advertising, we still expected more from them. The headliner role went to the Rogaška crew Mi2, a fixture of Slovenian rock for the past decade. Mi2 are distinguished by their exceptional tightness and the hosting skills of frontman Tone Kregar, who, riding on the band’s catchy radio hits like Sv. Margareta, Pa si šla and Toplice, had no trouble squeezing a hefty dose of kinetic energy out of the crowd. Playing dead last, just like in 2005 after Siddharta, were Orleki, who raised a toast with Vinska trta, took in Tri doline, climbed Kum, and pulled off live versions of the rearranged takes on their biggest hits, which have lived on in a stylistically richer form since the recent release of the album »Repete«.
Saturday pushed the mercury a notch or two higher, and the temperature at Otočec reportedly climbed all the way to 36 degrees Celsius during the day. Some cooled off in the Krka, others in the mud, and still others stuck to the more traditional cooling method: beer. The quantitatively richest program of the festival was kicked off at half past five by the winners of the Croatian qualifier for an Otočec slot, Pištolj na gumene metke, followed by D8 Dimension, while one of the festival’s nicest surprises came from El Kachon, who also squeezed in through the eye of the needle of the qualifiers. El Kachon bank on a classic rock confession of pure blues romance and a sonic hammond curtain, so if they keep grinding hard, we’ll surely hear more of them in the future. A real onslaught of punk aggression went by the name Deafness By Noise, before the Italians Passogigante entertained the already slightly tipsy heads with their ska chatter of hollow content in the evening hours. A new pleasant balm for the ears of old rocker souls came with Danilo Kocjančič and friends, who strolled through Danilo’s folk-turned-hits Tina ne verjame, Anita ni nikoli and Poišči me in a half-hour odyssey, and who also got special thanks for his services from the Minister of Culture and Education, Žiga Türk. Though noticeably short on rehearsals, the boldly billed oldtimers were an interesting change of pace in a lineup mostly geared toward a young crowd. As expected, the grounds filled up again during the set by Styrian Celtic-flavored rabble-rousers Happy Ol’WcWeasel. Their merry punk with touches of Irish folk and polka rhythms was, according to the youngsters, one of the festival highlights, while Vlado Kreslin and Mali Bogovi took care of a deeper touch of musical feeling. The man from Prekmurje played nostalgic songs about his beloved region, still deeply rooted in the album »Cesta«, on routine, and once again met a warm reception that made it clear he’s at home everywhere in Slovenia. Then came a jump into the heart of Belgrade with Bajaga and Inštruktorji, one of the most popular pop-rock acts in the wider region for the past decades. His set drew in somewhat older visitors, and Bajaga delivered an ever-pleasing combination of old hits and brand new songs from the album »Daljina, dim i prašina«. The main festival stage was closed with a long set by Macedonian electronic musician Kiril Džajkovski, a stylistically odd choice at first glance for a rock festival, but the smiles on the faces of those gathered proved that it wasn’t such a bad one after all.
And so the music part of the five-day Otočec came to an end. The festival kept mostly undemanding visitors happy with its music and side entertainment program, but the worrying part is that attendance has been stagnating year after year. The organizers will need to find an answer to why that is, and fast, because a shrinking crowd will in the long run leave them unable to pay all the bills that a project as organizationally demanding as Rock Otočec surely racks up.
The first thing that probably needs a refresh is the lineup – if Slovenian festivals are already two steps behind foreign ones today, maybe Rock Otočec is exactly the one that bears the responsibility to take a step forward in the future and at least get closer to the offers that promoters in our neighboring countries manage to put together. Of course there’s nothing wrong with a bunch of young, unestablished bands, who usually earn their Otočec slot with calloused hands; it just seems that innovation is lacking in the choice of mid-sized and big names. Sure, you have to please all tastes, old and young, party-minded and serious.. Anyway, with the 2012 project successfully wrapped up, all I can add is: best of luck putting together Rock Otočec 2013!
Photos: Oliver Rušković / Rock Otočec 2012 archive
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