Midge Ure
četrtek, 24. 10. 2024, od 21.20 h do 22.40 h
Zagreb / Tvornica kulture / Hrvaška
Slovene version (for an English version please scroll down the bar):
Pridejo tudi takšni koncerti, ki se jih v naši regiji resnično ne nadejaš. Neverjetni James ‘Midge’ Ure, škotski kantavtor, edinstveni vokal legendarne new wave senzacije Ultravox, imetnik častnega odlikovanja britanskega imperija (OBE), prejemnik nagrad Ivor Novello, Grammy in BASCAP, lastnik mnogih zlatih in platinastih albumov, producent Band Aida in Live Aida in eden najbolj prepoznavnih vokalov vseh časov, pozabili pa smo še dodati marsikaj, se je 24. 10. 2024 oglasil prvič v svoji razkošni karieri tudi v hrvaški prestolnici Zagrebu! Kdor ga pozna in kdor pozna lik in delo Ultravox, natanko ve kaj je lahko pričakoval na njegovem koncertu v Zagrebu!
Tokrat je bil to eden tistih dni, ki se v novih časih, v letu 2024 in v nadaljnjih letih, ki sledijo, vse bolj redko pripetijo. na klubsko prizorišče hrvaške tvornice kulture je namreč prispel ikonski glasbenik, ki je sodefiniral gorski masiv enak Himalaji, ko govorimo o podobi pop rocka osemdesetih. Publika nanj ni pozabila. Tvornica kulture se je obilno zapolnila do 21. 15 ure, ko je kremeniti gospod Midge Ure (skovanka ‘Midge’ izvira iz situacije, ko ime Jim prebereš z desne v levo, se pravi iz nasprotne smeri), zavzel oder tega odličnega kluba kamor se vedno znova zelo radi vračamo.
Publika, ki ga je spremljala v osemdesetih in spoznala preko nepozabne serije zimzelenih hitov, ki jih je nanizal z Ultravox, je bila tega večera v Tvornici natanko tista, ki je z njegovo glasbo in glasbo Ultravox v osemdesetih živela svoja najstniška leta. Dame in gospodje v dobrih petdesetih plus do kamor je seglo oko. Bilo je seveda tudi nekaj dosti mlajših, po letih bi bili lahko sinovi in hčere, le da je bila situacija obrnjena. Abrahamovci so se tokrat trli v sprednjih vrstah, mladina pa je spremljala koncert v ozadju!
Tokratni koncert je bil popoln, lahko rečemo briljanten odsev vsega, kar ti lahko na oder ponese absolutni minimalizem. Prav ta minimalizem te dobesedno spravi na golo točko, ki te vrne v okolje percepcije glasbe z ušesnima polžema! Do primarne recepcije glasbe s pomočjo mehanoreceptornih organov in ničesar drugega. In elementarnost takšnega učinkovanja je bistvena pri prvinskem zbližanju poslušalca in glasbenega artizma posameznega umetnika (izvajalca). Kvartet, golo oprtan z instrumenti in mikrofoni, obsijan s svetlobo na nivoju parih brlivk iz katere skozi gosto meglo komaj prodre nekaj rdečih in modrih žarkov, brez slehernega ‘back dropa’ (česar avtorja te recenzije koncerta skozi bogate obiske tega prizorišča v vseh teh letih še nista doživela, op. p.). V črnih opravah, brez slehernega snopa bele svetlobe, ki bi vsaj malo osvetljevala obraze. Zato je tokratna fotogalerija – oprostite izrazu, ‘od absolutnega kurca’. A kot povedano! V prvi plan stopa glasba. To je tudi njen namen, ki ne potrebuje vizualnih efektov, saj brez tega kvečjemu na najbolj iskren način buri poslušalčevo domišljijo in prebuja v njem čustva in strasti. Po vse to je Midgeova publika ‘osemdesetih’ tega večera tudi prišla.
Midge in ekipa so vpadli v začetek z dvema samostojnima točkama njegove zavidljive kantavtorske kariere. Prva je bila Call of the Wild – nealbumski single iz leta 1986, ki je nastal v obdobju snemanja prvenca “The Gift”, a izšel v obdobju med prvencem in naslednikom “Answers To Nothing” (1988). Minorni single (v smislu komercialnega uspeha), a z nalezljivo refrensko melodijo, ki bi z lahkoto našel mesto tudi na kakšnem izmed najbolj znanih Ultravox albuma, je hipoma prebudil publiko in jo spravil v zibanje. A z navitim driveom, saj Midgeov črni Gibson (z njim je dejansko opominjal na svoje krajše pajdašenje s Thin Lizzy) nikakor ni skoparil s prodornostjo fraziranja, ki si je odstiralo precej prostora v miksu zvočne slike. Skupaj s skalovito formo navitih bas linij! To je dajalo celotnemu koncertu prvinski podton rudimentarnosti punk energije – to je točke iz katere so ob koncu sedemdesetih Ultravox dejansko izšli. Tu je edini single iz njegovega drugega albuma “Answers To Nothing” Dear God, ki je potrdil da je Midge v svojih zrelih letih obdržal vso krepostno vokalno formo. Vokal mu je skozi koncert odlično služil in mož dejansko ni izgubil niti trohice vsega, kar ga je povzdignilo na oltar bistvenih gradnikov artizma razkošne pop scene osemdesetih. Je pa posebej završalo v nadaljevanju, ko se je znašla v naboru “Rage In Eden” klasika I Remember (Death in the Afternoon) in z njo prvi Ultravox šrapnel, ki jo je nasledila v vsem pričakovani Visage hit Fade To Gray – absolutni poklon pokojnemu Steveu Strangeu.
Dejansko si nisi mogel tokrat pomagati, da bi lahko ubežal stiku z magijo, ki jo je ustvaril kvartet na odru. Glas, ki ostaja izklesan, pogonski ‘drive’ in grabežljivi ‘groove’. Midge ni mnogo govoril med koncertom. Nekajkrat se je iz srca zahvalil publiki, dodal da mu je v neizmerno čast zaigrati prvič v karieri tudi v Zagrebu, sicer pa je stopala absolutno v goriščnico tokrat le glasba. Midge se je konkretno ‘razstrelil’ tudi v mid-eight pasažah, kjer je kitara na izbranih tonih minimalizma toliko izdatneje ‘škripala’ in grmela.
Človek ne ve kje bi nadaljeval opis. Hit na hit. Bodisi solo kariere osemdesetih med katere je bil vpet tudi No Regrets, ki je njegov prvi solo single – sicer adaptacija Tom Rushevega izvirnika. v fokusu so bile seveda Ultravox himne. Passing Strangers, All Stood Still, New Europeans (absolutno presenečenje z albuma “Vienna”), je pa briljantno atmosfero razburkal na sredini koncerta If I Was, daleč največji Ureov hit, ki naj bi zaradi uspeha samostojne kariere, celo botroval kasnejšemu razpadu skupine Ultravox. Spogledali smo se. Kaj je to že konec koncerta? Navadno ga privarčuje v sklepnih delih koncertov. A brez skrbi. Od tu dalje pa do konca smo sledili nizanju največjih Ultravox hitov na čelu z Vienna, ki jo je bučno pela cela Tvornica, temu pa so se z lahkoto priključile težko pričakovane Hymn, The Voice (tu se je Midge prestavil na klaviature), tu je bil tudi non-Lament hit, to je šegava Love’s Great Adventure in seveda Dancing With Tears In My Eyes, ki je z zamahom orjaškega atmosferičnega krešenda sklenila regularni del.
Z “Lament” se je končal regularni del in pri albumu “Lament” smo ostali tudi v dodatku! Vedeti je treba da je bil v letošnjem septembru ta vrhunski Ultravox album ponatisnjen tudi v razširjeni vinilni deluks verziji (z Wilsonovim remiksom)! One Small Day je torej sklenil koncert! Upal sem vsaj na še kakšno Reap The Wild Wind ali We Came To Dance, Visions In Blue, The Thin Wall, Sleepwalk, Mine For Life, … Le en dodatek torej! A toliko slajši! Konec.
Kup hitov je še ostalo v rokavu tega izjemnega glasbenega umetnika, a kaj ko je čas v takšnih situacijah in koncertnih druženjih tisti večni rabelj, ki na koncu vedno vse pokvari! Koncert je minil hipoma! Odličen zvok, odlična forma legendarnega Midge Urea in njegove ekipe! Mož in njegovi glasbeniki so po koncertu prišli celo do privržencev, ki so Midgea v Tvornici kulture pričakali z vsemi potrebnimi rekviziti. Z njimi je kramljal še dolgo v noč. Bil je eden tistih, nepozabnih koncertov, kjer dejansko spregovori v ospredju in velikim naskokom le sporočilnost glasbene umetnosti, ki se dotika vsakega srca na samosvoj način! Globje in pristneje od takšnega stika ne gre! Da bi Midge tega večera zadovoljiv prav vse, bi moral odigrati tri urni koncert v dveh (uro in pol dolgih) delih. Kapo dol legendi! Upajmo, da to ni bilo naše zadnje druženje s tem pretanjenim škotskim umetnikom!
English version:
There are also concerts that you really don’t expect in our region. The incredible James ‘Midge’ Ure, Scottish singer-songwriter, unique vocalist of the legendary new wave sensation Ultravox, holder of an OBE, recipient of Ivor Novello, Grammy and BASCAP awards, owner of many gold and platinum albums, producer of Band Aida and Live Aida, and one of the most recognisable vocalists of all time, visited The Croatian capital Zagreb. Whoever knows him and whoever knows the character and the work of Ultravox, exactly knew what to expect at his concert in Zagreb!
The audience was exactly the same that lived their teenage years with his and Ultravox’s music in the eighties! Ladies and gentlemen in their fifties plus as far as the eye could see. There were, of course, some much younger ones, they could have been sons and daughters in terms of years, except that the situation was reversed. This time the older fans were in the front rows, while few youngsters watched the concert in the background!
This concert was a perfect, one could say brilliant, reflection of everything that absolute minimalism can bring to the stage. It is this minimalism that literally brings you to a bare point, which brings you back to the environment of perceiving music with your eardrums! To the primary reception of music by means of the mechanoreceptor organs and nothing else. And the elemental nature of such an effect is essential in the primal convergence of the listener and the musical artistry of the individual artist (performer). A quartet, barely armed with instruments and microphones, illuminated by few red and blue rays barely penetrate through the dense fog, without a single ‘back drop’. In black outfits, without a single shaft of white light illuminating their faces even a little bit. But as I said! Music comes to the fore. That is its purpose, and it does not need visual effects, because without them, at best, it stirs the listener’s imagination and awakens emotions and passions in the most sincere way. This is what Midge’s ’80s’ audience came for that evening.
Midge and the team got off to a flying start with two standalone highlights of his enviable songwriting career. The first was Call of the Wild – a non-album single from 1986, written during the recording of the debut album “The Gift”, but released in the period between the debut and the follow-up “Answers To Nothing” (1988). A minor single (in terms of commercial success), but with an infectious chorus melody that could easily have found a place on one of the most well-known Ultravox albums, it woke up the crowd in no time and got them rocking. Midge’s black Gibson (with which he actually recalled his brief stint with Thin Lizzy) carved out a lot of space in the mix of the sound picture. Along with the pulsating bass lines! This gave the whole gig a primal undertone of rudimentary punk energy – the point from which Ultravox really emerged at the end of the seventies. And there was the only single from his second album “Answers To Nothing” Dear God, too!
Midge has kept all his virtuous vocal form in his mature years. The vocals served him well throughout the concert and the man hasn’t really lost a shred of everything that elevated him to the altar of the essential building blocks of the artistry of the lavish pop scene of the eighties. The crowd woke up completelly when “Rage In Eden” classic I Remember (Death in the Afternoon) found its way into the set, and with it the first Ultravox shrapnel, followed with much-anticipated and unforgettable Visage hit Fade To Gray – an absolute tribute to the late Steve Strange.
This time you couldn’t help but get in touch with the magic created by the quartet on stage. A voice that remains unharmed, a grasping ‘drive’ and ‘groove’. Midge didn’t talk much during the concert. He thanked the audience from the bottom of his heart a few times, adding that it was an immense honour to play in Zagreb for the first time in his career, but otherwise it was only the music that was absolutely in focus this time. His guitar ‘squealed’ and thundered quite abrasive (noticed especially in mid-eight passages), where he carefully selected tones of minimalism.
Hit on hit. With No Regrets, his first solo single – an adaptation of Tom Rush’s original, too. The focus was, of course, Ultravox anthems. Passing Strangers, All Stood Still, New Europeans (an absolute surprise from the “Vienna” album), but the brilliant atmosphere was stirred up in the middle of the concert by If I Was, by far Ure’s biggest hit. What is this, the end of the concert? He usually saves this hit for the final parts of concerts. But no worries. From here on and up to the very end, a string of Ultravox greatest hits followed, led by Vienna, which was sung by the whole crowd, and so it remained also when much-anticipated Hymn, The Voice (here Midge switched to keyboards), a non-Lament hit Love’s Great Adventure, and, of course, Dancing With Tears In My Eyes, which closed the regular part with a swing of a giant atmospheric crescendo, were nailed one after another.
Encore! One Small Day closed the show! Just one more addition then? But so much sweeter! The end. I was hoping for at least one more hit! Reap The Wild Wind, We Came To Dance, Visions in Blue or The Thin Wall, Sleepwalk, Mine For Life, …
A bunch of hits are still up the sleeve of this outstanding musical artist, but at such concert gatherings, time is the eternal executioner that always spoils everything in the end! The concert went by in a flash! Great sound, great form of the legendary Midge Ure and his team! The man and his musicians even came out after the concert to meet with fans. It was one of those unforgettable concerts where only the message of the musical art really speaks out, and in a big way, touching each heart in its own way! It doesn’t get deeper and more authentic than that! To please everyone this evening, Midge would have had to play a three-hour concert in two (one hour and a half long) parts. Let’s hope this was not our last encounter with this legendary and very subtle Scottish artist!
Avtor: Edita Klemen & Aleš Podbrežnik
Fotografije: Aleš Podbrežnik & Edita Klemen
Setlist:
1. Call of the Wild
2. Dear God
3. I Remember (Death in the Afternoon)
4. Fade to Grey
5. Passing Strangers
6. No Regrets
7. New Europeans
8. Supernatural
9. All Stood Still
10. If I Was
11. Vienna
12. Love’s Great Adventure
13. Hymn
14. The Voice
15. Dancing With Tears in My Eyes
—dodatek—
16. One Small Day
