Reb Beach, ‘poredni dečki’ i detonacija Whitesnake, Purple, Winger i Dokken klasika u Bluesiani (2024)

Reb Beach And The Bad Boys
subota, 12. 10. 2024
Velden am Wörthersee / Bluesiana Rock Cafe / Austrija

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(for an English version, please scroll down the bar)

Reb Beach je gitarski as i njemu se uvijek iznova rado vraćamo. Pogotovo zato što sa svojim pratećim sastavom The Bad Boys redovito odrađuje samostalne turneje po Europi, pri čemu se barem jednim terminom uvijek konkretno približi i sunčanoj strani Alpa. Da, to je onaj kraj stare europske celine u kojem smo uglavnom ‘posvađani’ s pozivima izvođačima iz žanra hard rocka. Zato se na takve koncerte treba voziti u inozemstvo.

Pa, ovaj put srećom tek malo dalje od Klagenfurta. Do našeg dragog rock svetišta u Veldenu am Wörthersee – Bluesiane, gdje se slavni gitarski as sa svojim pajdašima zaustavio u ugodnoj, svježoj, jesenskoj subotnjoj večeri da odsvira nekoliko Whitesnake klasika te im doda još poneki Deep Purple, Winger i Dokken slatkiš!

The Bad Boys, koji prate Reba Beacha na europskim turnejama, sastoje se od izvrsnih talijanskih glazbenika. Svi su školovani i tehnički izbrušeni, ima među njima i glazbenih učitelja, jednom riječju, majstori svog zanata. Među njima se ističe ime Michele Luppi. To je Rebov Whitesnake pajdaš, kod kojeg ga poznajemo po sviranju klavijatura, a kod Reba je zadužen za bas-gitaru. Nažalost, upravo je koncert u Bluesiani morao propustiti, a na bas-gitari ga je zamijenio jazzom odgojeni basist Lorenzo Di Prima.

Reba Beacha i The Bad Boys pogledali smo sredinom prosinca 2022. u talijanskom Proseku! I na toj je turneji dan prije nastupio u Bluesiani, a ovim ponovnim posjetom tom klubu upisao je već treći nastup u njemu.

Posjeta odlična, energija vrhunska. Galame nije manjkalo. Uz šank, koji je bio dupkom pun, pa sve prema pozornici, gdje su najnestrpljiviji već zauzeli najbolja mjesta za uživanje u vragolijama Reba i ekipe.

Bend je očekivano krenuo s dva Whitesnake juriša (Bad Boys i Fool For Your Loving) i na klupskoj pozornici uspostavio prilično solidan zvuk. Osjetilo se da Luppija nema, što znači da ekipa nije mogla izvoditi troglasne vokalne harmonije, no vokalist Fabio Dessi opet je odigrao svoju ulogu na najvišoj razini, jer je otpjevao zapravo sve s potpunim briljantnim spojem eksplozivnosti i pažljive perfekcije! Društvo mu je ovaj put na vokalnoj pratnji pravio samo Reb, koji je povremeno bio previše podignut u miksu. Iako je priroda tako malih prostora silno maćehinska prema zvučnim tehničarima koji brinu o zvuku, sastavni dijelovi bili su dobro čujni. Sve do skladbe Burn, kad je dodatni, inače odlični gitarist Khaled Abbas doslovno ‘ugasnuo’, a Rebova ga je gitara sve do kraja koncerta gromoglasno nadglasala. Ostatak ekipe činili su još bubnjar Paolo Cariddi i klavijaturist Enrico Varisco, koji su izveli i po jednu solo točku.

Reb je zapravo predstavio isti repertoar kao u prosincu 2022. u Proseku. Samo što je malo promijenio redoslijed te u koncertni repertoar uklopio svoju instrumentalnu skladbu Black Magic, čime je podsjetio na svoj još uvijek aktualni, posljednji, i to odlični samostalni studijski album “A View From The Inside” (RockLine recenzija), koji je izašao prije četiri godine.

Reb je izniman perfekcionist. U tom ga smislu mogu izbaciti iz takta potpune sitnice. Tijekom koncerta neprestano je pokušavao popraviti poziciju svog pojačala i zvučnika, ali mu to nikako nije polazilo za rukom, pa je publika u grču promatrala kada će se s vrha pojačala prevrnuti boca piva kojom je Reb tijekom koncerta gasio žeđ i tresnuti o pod! No djevojke i malo zrelije djevojke u prvim redovima nisu baš pritiskale kočnice pa je Rebov menadžer nekoliko puta morao intervenirati te publiku u prvom redu podsjetiti da od stajanja prvog reda do ruba pozornice cijelo vrijeme mora držati metar razmaka.

Uz takav rondo klasika Whitesnakea, Dokkena, Wingera i Deep Purplea vrijeme je prebrzo teklo. Okrenula su se puna dva sata koncerta, koji je bio pun kipuće vedrine i samih pozitivnih vibracija. Uživali su svi. Reb s ekipom, a o publici da i ne govorim! Reb si je povremeno uzeo malo prostora i za obraćanja, pri čemu se posebno emotivno raznježio kad je pričao o pozadini svog komercijalnog uspjeha vezanog uz prvi singl Wingera, Madalaine, s kojim su Winger uz pomoć MTV-ja preko noći postali zvijezde! Toj točki društvo su pravile još savršena balada Miles Away i super šušur Headed For A Heartbreak. Mogao bi cijelu noć svirati samo Winger klasike, ali onda bi nas u Bluesiani vjerojatno bilo moguće izbrojiti na prste jedne ruke (nažalost).

Pratiti koncert gitarskog asa kakav je Reb Beach, jedva ili dobar metar od pozornice, posebna je draž, posebno iskustvo koje je teško opisati u nekoliko riječi. Vrlog virtuoza često smo gledali sa Whitesnakeom, jednom čak i s Wingerom, ali tada je uvijek bio udaljen od publike, na golemim pozornicama arenskih prostora i festivala. Zato je klupska koncertna kultura utoliko posebnija i na neki način također vrjednija.

Odlična predstava, mogu reći da čak kompaktnija nego u prosincu 2022. u Proseku, a ekipa s Rebom na čelu nakon koncerta je došla pozdraviti svoje štovatelje, gdje se Reb potpisivao, fotografirao, a ludovanje u Bluesiani protegnulo se još daleko u noć.

To su oni nezaboravni i jedinstveni trenuci koje ti može ponuditi samo takav koncert. Vrlo rudimentarno. Uz tu činjenicu je dodir ljubitelja glazbe s izvođačem utoliko iskreniji. Nema namještanja i sve što se događa na pozornici je iskreno. Čujno, a i vidljivo. Uz svu opuštenu energiju koja nam je punila baterije, na kraju si se mogao samo još upitati: “Reb, kad se onda vidimo sljedeći put?”

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An English version:

Reb Beach is an ace guitarist. And when he in his backing band, The Bad Boys, do regular solo tours of Europe, you simply need to be there! At least on one show!

Among confirmed dates, there was also Bluesiana Rock Cafe at Velden Am Wörthersee and Reb was headed there for a third time. This venue is located in austrian part of Carinthia region and very close to Slovenia, so this visit was for our media RockLine actually an obligation! it is a nice, pleasant, crisp, autumn Saturday perfectly fitted for a show full of Whitesnake classics, with addition of some Deep Purple, Winger and Dokken candies!

The Bad Boys, who accompany Reb Beach on his European tours, are made up of great Italian musicians. All trained and technically proficient, including music teachers, in short masters of their craft. Michele Luppi, famous Whitesnake companion and keyboard player, who plays bas guitar when gigging with Reb, is also a part of The Bad Boys. Unfortunately, he had to miss the Bluesiana concert and was replaced on bass guitar by the jazz-trained bassist Lorenzo Di Prima. And Lorenzo did a great job on bass guitar.

The attendance was excellent, the energy was top-notch. There was no shortage of spirit. And all the way to the stage, where the most impatient had already taken the best positions to enjoy in Reb’s guitar wizardry and mastery!

The band hit as expected with two Whitesnake detonators (Bad Boys and Fool For Your Loving) and established a pretty solid sound in the club scene. It was noticeable that Luppi was absent, which meant that the three-part vocal harmonies could not be performed by the team, but vocalist Fabio Dessi once again played his part at the highest level, singing pretty much everything with the perfect brilliance of combining explosiveness and sensual perfection! This time he was accompanied only by Reb on backing vocals, who at times got almost to much exposure in the mix. As mentioned, the sound was quite well balanced for a club venue. But only until Deep Purple classic Burn. From this track and till the very end of the show the additional, otherwise excellent guitarist Khaled Abbas literally ‘faded out’ and was thunderously drowned out by the Reb’s guitar for the rest of the set. We need to point out also a great job from drummer Paolo Cariddi and keyboardist Enrico Varisco.

Reb presented in fact the same repertoire as in December 2022 in Prosseco (Italy – near Trieste). Only he changed the order a bit and introduced his instrumental “Black Magic” into the concert repertoire, reminding us of his excellent last solo studio album “A View From The Inside” (RockLine review), which was released four years ago.

Reb is a perfectionist. Everything must be perfect¨! And during the concert, he was not satisfied with the position of his amplifier and speakers. He tried to correct this position, but was very unsuccesful. At the same time you could noticed terrified looks from the audience which were fixed on Reb’s bottle of beer, placed on the top of his amplifier. Everybody was waiting when this bottle will fall down and crash to pieces! Well, the girls and slightly more mature girls in the front loose the brakes, and Reb’s manager had to intervene a few times by reminding the audience in the front row to keep at least a distance of one metre from the stage.

With such a rondo of classics from Whitesnake, Dokken, Winger and Deep Purple, the time passed too quickly. It turned into a full two hours of a concert! Everyone enjoyed it. Reb and his team and not to mention the audience! Reb got particularly emotional when explaining the background to his commercial success tied to the first Winger single Madalaine, which made Winger overnight stars with the help of MTV! This Winger gem was accompanied also by the other two Winger hits – the perfect ballad Miles Away and Headed For A Heartbreak. Reb coudl perform only Winger classics all the night, but then we could probably be counted on the fingers of one hand in the Bluesiana (unfortunately – this is Europe).

Watching a guitar ace like Reb Beach play at club gig is a special treat, a special experience that is hard to describe in a few words. We have seen guitar virtuoso many times with Whitesnake, once even with Winger (Trezzo Sull’Adda near Milano – Italy at Frontiers Rock festival, years ago). But on those gigs, he was also standing far away from the audience – on the giant stages of arenas and festivals. And suddenly when you arrive at club like Bluesiana, he is standing one meter away from you! Incredible! That makes club concert culture all the more special and, in a way, all the more worthwhile.

A great show, even more compact than in December 2022 in Prosseco, and the team with Reb at the head came to greet their followers after the show, where Reb signed autographs, took photos, and the rave in the Bluesana stretched on long into the night.

These are those unforgettable and unique moments that only a concert like this can offer you. Everything that happens on stage is sincere. There can be no fakes. Everything is at hand. Audible, but also visible. And nothing can be hidden. Fantastic show, filled with positive vibrations and true celebration of Reb’s ongoing musical career. At the end of this show you could only ask yourself: “Reb, when will we meet again?”

Autor: Edita Klemen & Aleš Podbrežnik
Fotografije: Aleš Podbrežnik

Setlista:
1. Bad Boys
2. Fool For Your Loving
3. Headed For A Heartbreak
4. In My Dreams
5. Love Ain’t No Stranger
6. Crying In The Rain
7. Is This Love
8. Black Magic
9. Tooth And Nail
10. Slow An’ Easy
11. Slide It In
12. Miles Away
13. Madalaine
14. Burn
15. Give Me All Your Love Tonight
16. Here I Go Again
17. Still Of The Night

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