Reb Beach, ‘poredni pobje’ in detonacija Whitesnake, Purple, Winger in Dokken klasik v Bluesiani (2024)

Reb Beach And The Bad Boys
sobota, 12. 10. 2024
Vrba na Koroškem (Velden Am Wörthersee) / Bluesiana Rock Cafe / Avstrija

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

Reb Beach je kitarski as in k njemu se vedno znova radi vračamo. Še posebej zato, ker opravlja s svojo spremljevalno skupino The Bad Boys, redne samostojne turneje po Evropi, pri čemer se vsaj z enim terminom vselej konkretno približa tudi sončni strani Alp. Da, to je tisti konec stare evropske celine, kjer smo pretežno ‘skregani’ s povabili izvajalcem iz žanra hard rock. Zato se je treba na takšne koncerte voziti v tujino.

No, tokrat na srečo le malo dlje od Celovca. Do našega ljubega rock svetišča v Vrbi na Koroškem – Bluesiane, kjer se je sloviti kitarski as s svojimi pajdaši ustavil na prijeten, svež, jesenski sobotni dan, da zaigra nekaj Whitesnake klasik ter k temu doda še kak Deep Purple, Winger in Dokken sladkorček!

The Bad Boys, ki spremljajo Reba Beacha na evropskih turnejah sestavljajo odlični italijanski glasbeniki. Vsi šolani in tehnično izpiljeni, tudi glasbeni učitelji, skratka mojstri svojih obrti. Med njimi izstopa ime Michele Luppi. To je Rebov Whitesnake pajdaš, kjer ga poznamo po igranju klaviatur, pri Rebu pa je zadolžen za bas kitaro. Žal je prav koncert Bluesiani moral izpustiti, na bas kitari pa ga je nadomeščal jazzovsko urjeni basist Lorenzo Di Prima.

Reba Beacha in The Bad Boys smo si ogledali sredi decembra 2022 v italijanskem Proseku! Tudi na tisti turneji je dan prej nastopil v Bluesiani, z vnovičnim obiskom tega kluba, pa je v njem vknjižil že svoj tretji nastop.

Obisk odličen, energija na vrhunski ravni. Direndaja ni primanjkovalo. Ob šanku, ki je bil nabito poln, pa vse tja v smer proti odru, kjer so najbolj nestrpni že zasedli najboljše položaje za uživanje v vragolijah Reba in ekipe.

Bend je udaril pričakovano z dvema Whitesnake jurišema (Bad Boys in Fool For Your Loving) in vzpostavil na klubskem prizorišču precej soliden zvok. Poznalo se je, da Luppija ni, kar pomeni, da tridelnih vokalnih harmonij ekipa ni mogla izvajati, je pa vokalist Fabio Dessi znova odigral svojo vlogo na najvišji ravni, saj je odpel pravzaprav vse s popolno briljanco kombiniranja eksplozivnosti in čuječne perfekcije! Družbo mu je tokrat delal na vokalni spremljavi le Reb, ki pa je bil občasno preveč dvignjen v miksu. Četudi je narava tako majhnih prizorišč sila mačehovska do zvočnih tehnikov, ki skrbijo za zvok, so bili gradniki dobro slišni. A vse do skladbe Burn, ko je dodatni, sicer odlični kitarist Khaled Abbas dobesedno ‘ugasnil’ in ga je Rebova kitara vse do konca koncerta gromovito preglasila. Preostanek ekipe sta zastopala še bobnar Paolo Cariddi in klaviaturist Enrico Varisco, ki sta izvedla tudi vsak svojo solo točko.

Reb je pravzaprav predstavil enak repertoar kot decembra 2022 v Proseku. Le da je malo prevetril vrstni red ter vpel v koncertni repertoar svojo instrumentalno skladbo Black Magic, s čimer je opomnil na svoj še vedno aktualni, zadnji, in sicer odlični samostojni studijski album “A View From The Inside” (RockLine recenzija), ki je izšel pred štirimi leti.

Reb je izjemen perfekcionist. V tem oziru ga lahko vržejo iz tire popolne malenkosti. Med koncertom je namreč ves čas skušal popraviti pozicijo svojega ojačevalnika in zvočnikov, a mu to nikakor ni uspevalo, pri čemer je publika v krču opazovala, kdaj se bo z vrha ojačevalnika prevrnila flaša piva, s katerim je Reb med koncertom gasil žejo, in treščila ob tla! No dekleta in malo bolj zrela dekleta v prvih vrstah niso dale mnogo na zavore in Rebov menedžer je moral pri tem nekajkrat poseči vmes tako da je publiko v prvi vrsti opomnil, da mora ta od stojišč prve vrste, pa do roba odra držati ves čas en meter distance.

Ob takšnem rondoju klasik Whitesnake, Dokken, Winger in Deep Purple, je čas prehitro tekel. Obrnili sta se polni dve uri koncerta, ki je bil polno kipeče vedrine in samih pozitivnih vibracij. Uživali so vsi. Reb z ekipo, da publike niti ne omenjam! Reb si je vzel občasno nekaj prostora tudi za nagovore, pri čemer se je posebno čustveno raznežil, ko je razlagal ozadje njegovega komercialnega uspeha vezanega na prvi Winger single Madalaine s katerim so Winger s pomočjo MTV-ja postali čez noč zvezde! Tej točki sta delali družbo še perfektna balada Miles Away in superšus Headed For A Heartbreak. Lahko bi celo noč igral samo Winger klasike, a potem bi nas bilo v Bluesiani verjetno mogoče prešteti na prste ene roke (žal).

Spremljati koncert takšnega kitarskega asa, kot je Reb Beach, slab ali pa dober meter od odra, je posebna draž, posebno izkustvo, ki ga je težko opisati v nekaj besedah. Vrlega virtuoza smo velikokrat gledali z Whitesnake, enkrat celo z Winger, a takrat je bil vselej oddaljen od publike, na orjaških odrih arenskih prizorišč in festivalov. Zato je klubska koncertna kultura toliko bolj posebna in na nek način tudi toliko vrednejša.

Odlična predstava, lahko rečem da celo bolj kompaktna kot decembra 2022 v Proseku, ekipa z Rebom na čelu pa je po koncertu prišla pozdravit svoje privržence, kjer se je Reb podpisoval, se fotografiral, rajanje v Bluesani, pa se je tako raztegnilo še dolgo v noč.

To so ti nepozabni in enkratni trenutki, ki ti jih lahko ponudi le tak koncert. Zelo rudimentarno. Ob tem dejstvu je stik ljubitelja glasbe z izvajalcem toliko pristnejši. Prirejanja ni in vse kar se zgodi na odru je iskreno. Slišno, pa tudi vidno. Ob vsej sproščeni energiji, ki je polnila naše baterije, si na koncu lahko samo še vprašal: “Reb, kdaj se torej vidimo naslednjič?”

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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?”

Avtor: 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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