This multimedia experience had great production and stage performance was thoroughly thought through to the last detail. We were sincerely amazed by the concept that brought together comics, rock history, design, choreography and of course: rock masterpieces, great musicians and vocalists. By all this, this production stands out from all other foreign rock symphony performances we saw recently in Zagreb and hopefully this concept will grow into international success. Another specialty the performance introduced was performance of covers of rock classics adapted for choral and gospel singing, which functioned very well due to experienced choir and their charisma and stage choreographies that varied from fun, joyful to dramatic.
The multimedia rock show Z brega na dol included various combinations of performances from vocalists: PETRA ANTOLIĆ, DINO JELUSICK, MARIO HULJEVA, VALERIJA NIKOLOVSKA and THE Z 🌲(choir from Rijeka), which were accompanied by a rock band consisting of DARIO HORVAT, DANKO KRZNARIĆ, VIKTOR LIPIĆ, JURICA LEIKAUFF, KREŠO OREMUŠ, IVICA PREMELČ, VIKTOR SLAMNIG and ALEN SVETOPETRIĆ.
The meaning
The combination of animation and comics enriched the experience, as it presented some of the most exciting moments of the musical history of rock’n’roll, which was suitable for this kind of event. All generations attend these kinds of concerts and we are always thrilled when we see very young audience members who can get more motivated to investigate the classics of rock’n’roll and events that influenced musicians to create specific masterpieces in a specific time and circumstances.
The most interesting concept was presentation of bands and songs in short written facts though video projection. The comic book shots and that written short info instantly threw me back to my youth and those magical times when reading encyclopaedia of Rock & Roll and purchases of musical magazines and records was sort of a magical ritual. Mostly the bands didn’t need any introduction, but it was very interesting reading the facts about the background and meaning of songs, out of which some were very inspirational, insightful or fun! Usually, we hardly think about the real background of songs, as we attribute the meaning to them by ourselves and each and every person has special memories connected to the songs performed and experience them in that way, highly personal and emotional.
Absolute eruption of emotion and one of the brightest highlights of the concert were performances of: “Who Wants to Live Forever” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” which brought tears to my eyes out of sheer beauty. It was one of the hardest tests at the same time, as those magnificent masterpieces deserve only the best performances and we got it!
The highlights
It totally impossible to state all the highlight of the show, as it included great interpretation of numerous rock’n’roll masterpieces from the artists such as: THE ROLLING STONES, THE BEATLES, PINK FLOYD, ZZ TOP, LED ZEPPELIN, QUEEN, U2, JIMI HENDRIX, ERIC CLAPTON, PRINCE, ARETHA FRANKLIN, ELVIS PRESLEY, JANIS JOPLIN and others.
The concert was opened with a magnificent performance of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”, after which the four solo vocalists amazed all with their performance of „Help“! After that we knew a great evening was ahead of us! Dino Jelusick once again won everyone’s heart in the audience, this time with performances of „Can’t Get Enough” and „Tush“, but also with all others that followed. Since its impossible to rate and pick specific highlights, we will name the songs that especially impressed because of the performance and interpretation last night: „Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves“, “Piece of My Heart”, „Black Velevet“, “Stairway to Heaven”, “With A Little Help from My Friends”, “Tonight”, “Nutbush City Limits”, “Layla”, “All Right Now”, “Rebel Yell”, “Nothing Compares 2 U”, “Another Brick in The Wall”, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and many others. This time we will leave it up to the audience to pick out the favourite and most impressive ones!
The gift
The end of the concert was extremely heart-warming, as I’m always amazed when someone gives credit to all those that are not visible on the stage, which was done by Dobrivoj Posavec; director of the first Zagorje rock and blues festival “Rock and roll Z brega na dol”. All the musicians were individually presented and received great ovations and a very special moment was the celebration of Dino Jelusich birthday!
This was indeed an unforgettable night dedicated to the energy, healing power and raw energy burst rock’n’roll brings. It reminded us, through stories of desperation, grief, success and triumph: that there is no place to fear living, you just have to decide you will never quit and you will defeat all obstacles life throws at you! Those songs performed last night gave us the strength and belief to keep on believing that and our gratitude goes out to each and every participant of ROCK AND ROLL Z BREGA NA DOL! I think there’s no greater gift you can receive in life!
The gallery:
ROCK AND ROLL Z BREGA NA DOL, KD Vatroslava Lisinskog, Zagreb, 4.6.2024
