Mjesto: Bluesiana Rock Cafe / Velden am Woerthersee / Austrija
Datum koncerta: 14.12.2007
Broj posjetitelja: 50
Cijena karte: 27,00€ / 30,00€
Prosinac 2007. i dalje je lud kad je riječ o posjetima vrhunskih izvođača u blizini Slovenije. Kamo drugamo nego opet u Velden u Koruškoj, u tamošnji klub Bluesiana? Ondje se naime javio slavni basist Thomas Michael Stevens, skraćeno T.M. Stevens. Riječ je o jednom od najboljih basista na svijetu. Njegov razvikani ugled i renome okrunjeni su suradnjom s plejadom vrhunskih izvođača i veletrgovaca glazbenim poslom, počevši od pokojnih Milesa Davisa i Jamesa Browna, pa dalje preko (još živih) Joea Cockera, Cindy Lauper, Tine Turner, Billyja Joela, zatim Pata Traversa i Carmine Appicea, The Pretenders, Steviea Salasa, Richieja Kotzena i naravno Zappina đačića Stevea Vaija. T.M. je basist gorostas. Kad navuče tradicionalnu šarenu zulu opravu i stavi sunčane naočale, pobješnjeli kanarinac napokon je pušten iz kaveza da se razleti u svojoj slavnoj funk metal tradiciji posvuda, do kamo god njegovu buku mogu ponijeti plemeniti decibeli!
Sretno slijetanje u Bluesianu, zahvaljujući vremenu koje još jedva zadržava snježne mećave u kasnom prosincu 2007., duboko se isplatilo. T.M Stevens i njegova skupina Shocka Zooloo, udarni trio u kojem su uz T.M. Stevensa (vokal, bas gitara) još gitarist Micahel “Master Blaster” Barnes i bubnjar Gary “Gman” Sullivan. Naravno, sva trojica su marljivo našminkana po licu. Kao što je već dulje vrijeme u lošoj navadi austrijskog naroda i njihovom ignoriranju ovih odličnih koncerata koje priređuje prva dama Bluesiane Gudrun, i ovaj put je posjet kluba bio ispod svake kritike. Jedva 50 ljudi okupilo se u klubu. Skupina je odugovlačila s početkom u nadi da će se klub ipak malo bolje napuniti. Tako je skupina napokon, znatno nakon deset navečer, zauzela borbene položaje na pozornici. Kako i dolikuje predstavljanju upravo izdanog albuma “Africans In The Snow” (2007) – RockLine recenziju pročitaj OVDJE, trio je počeo prvom skladbom s tog albuma, naslovljenom What. Nakon nedužnog uvoda u tradicionalnom afričkom etno motivu, dečki su opalili svaki po svom instrumentu kao da je sudnji dan. T.M. Stevens se nekoliko puta doslovno tresao kao u transu, toliko je bio uživljen u nastup. Svojim hrapavo glasnim, niže intoniranim, strahovito eksplozivnim, da ne kažem gotovo grubim vokalom tipa James Brown, kao za šalu je razdirao stihove i tijekom nastupa djelovao kao inkarnacija prave biblijske zvijeri.
T.M. Stevens je poznat po tome što napravi pravu žurku! Odmah je srušio barijere koje se obično pojavljuju na relaciji publika – skupina. Čim je izašao na pozornicu, odmah je u obraćanju naglasio da je večerašnje druženje, što se skupine tiče, privatna kućna zabava. Za klub poput Bluesiane i njezinu srčanu šeficu Gudrun to nije moglo biti veće priznanje. T.M. je večeras u Bluesiani nastupio već četvrti put, a večerašnji koncert bio je pretposljednji na cijeloj aktualnoj turneji, koja je uglavnom bila ograničena na posjete Njemačkoj i Italiji.
Svaki trenutak iskoristio je za zahvalu Gudrun. Tako ju je pozvao na pozornicu i učio je svirati bas gitaru. To je njegov stari štos koji koristi na turnejama. Ubrzo nakon toga pozvao je sve ostale “tigrice” Bluesiane, koje nikad ne propuštaju nijedan koncert u ovom klubu, i nagovarao ih da svaka pokaže svoju guzu. Naravno, to naposljetku nije upalilo, ali je zato na šefovu zapovijed u prvi plan doplesao bubnjar Gary, koji je kroz nekoliko sumnjivo izazovnih pokreta trbuhom na kraju šokirao publiku kad je povukao hlače dolje i širom svijeta reklamirao svoju preplanulu stražnjicu. Šef T.M. ga je ubrzo otjerao natrag za bubnjeve da mu ne preuzme primat. Nije prošlo mnogo minuta, a na pozornici je već bila cijela gomila posjetitelja koja se previjala uz funk ritmove što ih je generirala usijana trojka.
Svaki iz trojca ponudio je i svoj solo. Prvi je naravno bio T.M., zatim Gary, a kao posljednji svoju je solo točku izveo Michael Barnes aka “Master Blaster”. Nakon opsežnog batrganja po žicama zapamtio je motiv i pustio ga kroz “delay”. Na pozornicu je postavio dvije stolice, dovео obje konobarice iza šanka, posjeo ih na njih, sjeo pokraj i počeo solirati preko ponavljajućeg motiva. Dakle, T.M. i njegova dva kompanjona doista su došli razveseliti publiku, a logično su se najviše predano posvetili pripadnicama ženskog spola. No među njima je jedna gospođa osjetno zrelijeg izgleda otišla malo predaleko kad je, vidno opterećena težinom alkoholnih napitaka, cijelu stvar shvatila vrlo ozbiljno, čak i Stevensovo naklapanje da je nakon koncerta rezervirao hotelsku sobu samo za njih dvoje u Veldenu i da će je tamo vruće čekati nakon koncerta. Žena se ubrzo pojavila s čašicom Jägermeißstra i ponudila ga T.M.-ju, koji se plemenitog “lijeka” nikako nije branio
No, iz ovoga možeš zaključiti da je riječ o jednom od najspontanijih nastupa koje možeš zamisliti. Da je set lista uvijek imaginarna i nastaje usput na pozornici, to uopće ne treba spominjati. Jednostavno nije teško tu spontanost iščitati iz igre njezinih aktera. Toliko spontanog štosanja s nastupom, iskazivanja beskrajnog uživanja u sviranju, vrhunskog međusobnog osjećanja, što je rezultiralo vrhunskom uigranošću. Jednostavno, ta se trojica tipova jedinstveno osjećaju.
Dečki su nakon What, među ostalim, još udarili s Up, Fight, Fight, Fight, Spank, Gotta Get My Move On, Mama Said, Thumb, The River Flow, No Good w/Out The Bad. Koncert su zaključili posvetom Bobu Marleyju i skladbom Maximum Respect, koju su odsvirali u bisu.
Koncert je trajao znatno više od dva sata, dva sata i 20 minuta. A prošao je u tren oka. Dečki su došli s namjerom da priirede veliku zabavu. To im je uspjelo bez po muke. Šteta što je u klubu nedostajalo ljudi. Skupina si je priuštila podizanje glasnoće koje je znatno premašivalo kapacitete kluba. Sve je skupa bilo osjetno preglasno. A dečki su tijekom koncerta još pojačavali gumbe. Isprva je zvuk bio posve ugodan. Ali nakon podizanja glasnoće ozvučenja najviše je stradao T.M.-jev vokal, koji je gitarski riffing doslovno nekoliko puta pregazio.
T.M. je definitivno najluđi, a istodobno i najcool basist. Teško je naći pristupačniju i ljubazniju figuru. Činjenici da se sve skupa vrtjelo tako brzo kumovao je sam T.M.-jev pristup, koji je publiku cijelo vrijeme držao budnom uz sebe tako što se neprestano obraćao masi sočnim šalama na vlastiti račun, nekoliko puta se obješenjački rugao pojedincima u publici, a naročito je žene poticao na “gluposti”. Nastup začinjen silnom energijom razorne funk metal erupcije izazivao je žmarce! Za to treba zahvaliti izvanrednoj izvedbi Shocka Zooloo. Smjesa maksimalno navijenog groovea, koji razvija jedinstveni bas majstor T.M., dizala je na noge baš svaku dlaku na tijelu. Tome se jedinstveno uklopio Barnesov metalski pristup izravnog rifanja, a sve to bilo bi uzalud bez uliveno preciznog diktiranja tempa ritma Garyja Sullivana. T.M. je naravno požnjeo glavninu ovacija. Odlično pjevanje u interakciji s nenadmašnim sviranjem basa čini ga iznimno jedinstvenim i prepoznatljivim. U Bluesiani je priredio nezaboravnu funk mekku, koja je temeljito zatresla temelje kluba, pokrenula kotačiće malobrojne publike, čije pripadnice nisu skrivale opće oduševljenje, mjestimice čak i delirij. Nezaboravno!
besedilo: Aleš Podbrežnik
fotografije: Aleš Podbrežnik
December remains crazy as far as the gigs of top musicians near Slovenia are concerned. Where else but again to Velden am Woertersee in Kaernten, Austria and their Bluesiana Rock Cafe? The club witnessed a famous bass guitarist Thomas Michael Stevens, T.M. Stevens in short, who is one of the best bass guitarists in the world. His reputation and renown are crowned by his cooperation with numerous top performers and big earners in the music business, starting with the deceased Miles Davis and James Brown, continuing with (still living) Joe Cocker, Cindy Lauper, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Pat Travers, Carmine Appice, The Pretenders, Stevie Salas, Richie Kotzen and of course Zappa’s schoolboy Steve Vai. T.M. is a gigantic base guitarist. When he puts on his colourful traditional Zulu outfit and sunglasses this mad canary is finally let out of his cage to whiz in his well-known funk metal tradition all the way his precious decibels can carry his noise.
The lucky landing at Bluesiana, thanks to the weather which can hardly hold back snowdrifts in late December 2007, paid off immensely. T.M. Stevens and his band Shocka Zooloo form a striking trio, with two other members. Besides Stevens (vocal, bass guitar) there is also Michael “Master Blaster” Barnes on the guitar and drummer Gary “G-man” Sullivan. All three of them, naturally, have colourfully painted faces. For some time now it has been a bad habit of the Austrian people to ignore these outstanding performances, organised by the first lady of Bluesiana Gudrun, and this time the number of visitors was beneath criticism again. Hardly 50 people gathered in the club. The band were delaying with the beginning, hoping that it would fill up a bit more. Thus “the Zooloos” finally took their military positions on the stage far after 10 p.m. As it befits the presentation of the newly released album “Africans In The Snow” (2007) the trio started with the first song called What. After the innocently played introduction in the traditional African ethnic motif the men thrashed their instruments as if it were Judgement Day. T.M. Stevens was so into music that he was literally shaking a few times as if in trans. With his hoarse voluminous voice of lower intonation, powerfully explosive, not to say almost a rough vocal a la James Brown he handled the verses with great ease and during the performance acted like an incarnation of a real biblical beast.
T.M. Stevens is known for giving a good party. He immediately overcame the barrier which usually builds up between the public and the band. As soon as he stepped onto the stage he pointed out in his speech that as far as the band were concerned that was a private house party. It could not have been a bigger compliment for a club like Bluesiana and its hearty boss Gudrun. T.M.’s concert in this club was the fourth and at the same time the one before last on the whole current tour, which was basically limited to Germany and Italy.
He used every single moment to thank Gudrun. He invited her on the stage and taught her how to play the bass guitar. That is an old trick of his which he uses at the gigs. Shortly after that he invited the rest of the “tigeresses” of Bluesiana, who never miss any of the club’s performances, and tried to persuade them to show their bottoms. Naturally it did not work out, but Garry the drummer swayed to the front of the stage to the boss’s order, made some provocative belly moves and in the end astonished the audience by pulling down his pants and proudly showing his bronzed backside. The boss T.M. quickly made Garry return back to his drums so that he would not take his primacy. It did not take long when there was a crowd of visitors on the stage, twisting to the rhythms of funk music generated by the feverish trio.
Each of the three also offered his solo, the first of course being T.M., then Gary and as the last one Michael Barnes aka “Master Blaster”. After an extensive hitting of the strings he memorised the motif and let it through the “delay”. He put two chairs on the stage, brought both waitresses from the bar, seated them on the chairs, sat next to them and started his solo over the repeating motif. So T.M. and his two companions really came to cheer up the audience, logically they devoted most of their attention to the female members of the public. One of the women, of a considerable appearance, apparently suffering from an overdose of alcohol potions, took the whole thing very seriously when T.M. said he had booked a room just for them two in Velden after the gig that night and that he would be waiting passionately for her. The woman soon turned up with a glass of Jaegermeister and offered it to T.M., who did not refuse the precious “medicine”.
After all this you can conclude that this was one of the most spontaneous gigs you can imagine. The fact that the set list is always imaginary and comes into existence simultaneously on the stage need not be mentioned. It is not hard to notice this spontaneity and so much fun during the gig, the musicians showing immense pleasure in playing, superior sensing each other, which all resulted in a topmost accordance. These three simply sense each other uniquely.
After What the men among others hit with Up, Fight, Fight, Fight, Spank, Gotta Get My Move On, Mama Said, Thumb, The River Flow, No Good w/Out The Bad. They concluded the gig with a dedication to Bob Marley and the song Maximum Respect, which was played in encore.
The concert was far beyond two hours long, two hours and 20 minutes to be precise. But it seemed it was over in a blink of an eye. The men came with the purpose of throwing a big party, which they succeeded with great ease. Pity though there was a shortage of people. The band turned up the volume to the extent that exceeded the capacities of the club a great deal. It was all just way too loud. The sound was very agreeable at first, but the men turned the buttons during the gig up. T.M.’s vocal suffered the most damage after the increase of the sound, since it was literally run over by the guitar riffs a few times.
T.M. is definitely the craziest, but at the same time the coolest bassist. One can hardly find a more affable and friendly person. The fact that everything was going on so quickly was due to T.M.’s approach. He was constantly keeping the public on the alert with juicy jokes on his own behalf, roguishly making fun of some individuals in the public and trying to persuade women to act foolishly. An outstanding performance of Shocka Zooloo, filled with immense energy of funk metal eruption, causing tingles and goose bumps! A mixture of groove developed to maximum by the unique bass master T.M. raised every single hair of the body. Barns’s metal approach of direct riffs suited it excellently. But everything would be in vain without immaculate Gary Sullivan’s tempo. T.M. received the biggest part of ovations, of course. His superb singing in combination with unsurpassable bass makes him extremely unique and recognisable. He performed an unforgettable funk mecca in Bluesiana, which thoroughly shook the foundations of the club and set in motion the small number of visitors, of which especially the female members openly showed their rapturousness and at times even delirium. Unforgettable!
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