Photos: Jerneja Jerak
Location: Ljubljana / Križanke / Slovenia
Concert date: June 6, 2014
Attendance: 3,500
Ticket price: €22.00 (on the day of the show)
Momčilo Bajagić – Bajaga made a stop at Ljubljana’s Križanke as part of the 30th anniversary of his band, Bajaga & Instruktori. In an incredible 30 years together, they’ve sold over 3 million records and played more than 2,500 shows. He kicked off his sprawling music career at the tender age of 14, when he took on the role of singer in the band TNT. Before launching his solo career, he also played in Riblja čorba, where he was the rhythm guitarist. During his time there he recorded five studio albums with the band and had a hand, at least in part, in many a hit.
The long-awaited evening started at 9 p.m., when Magnifico took the stage first and entertained the crowd with Slovenian versions of some hit songs. Then it was the jazz players’ turn in the spotlight, with Magnifico wishing them a good evening and praising their playing. That was followed by some philosophizing about how the years fly by while we just watch. And that’s exactly what makes us wiser and happier, apparently. He also touched on the joy he feels when he hears “electric music”.
After that comic opening, the star of the evening, Momčilo Bajagić – Bajaga, walked out. The show began with the song “Još te volim”, and from there we got plenty of other hits from his rich repertoire. They sent the fans into a state of pure euphoria, singing along to every single song Bajaga served up. After the first break, a Bajaga in great spirits popped up on stage again and handed a lit cigarette to a female fan in the front row. Later he got a gift of his own, when another fan brought a bottle of rum up on stage, only to take it back again later because he’d paid it no attention.
As had already been advertised for the show, a number of guests joined him on stage. First up was Lado Leskovar, who sang one of his biggest hits – the song “Poslednji vlak”. During “Tišina”, the band was joined on stage by Slaviša Stojanović, currently the most popular Ljubljana native in Serbia. Pero Lovšin also showed up on stage twice, though he didn’t exactly shine as a singer: he didn’t know the lyrics to “Moji drugovi”, and his second attempt, on “Samo nam je ljubav potrebna”, went wrong as well. Bajaga’s guitarist, Žika Milenković, also stepped up to the mic. And the birthday boy, Saša Lokner (keyboards), got his moment too, as the crowd (at Bajaga’s urging) sang “Happy Birthday” to him.
Catching a Bajaga & Instruktori show is a must for every fan of good, quality music, because belting out their practically folk-anthem hits really fills you up with positive energy. With their performance at Ljubljana’s Križanke, the band definitely exceeded our concert expectations and left us hungry for a repeat of that “authentic Balkan rock party” as soon as possible.
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