DUBIOZA KOLEKTIV | LIVE REVIEW
The Globe, Cardiff, Tue 18 Feb
We’re often told that gigs are meant to be these wonderful collective experiences, but more often than not they fall flat in that regard, even when the music is excellent. It’s someone on a phone, someone talking too loud, or the band just going through the motions. Dubioza gigs, however, are entirely a Kolektiv experience.
At present, they are probably the biggest ‘alternative’ band from the former Yugoslavia – that is, they’re not a nostalgia act from back when the country was united, nor are they the kind of overproduced, oversaturated, discreetly nationalistic (and often mafia-connected, but that’s a whole other story…) pop stars that so often lead the charts in the former Yugoslav countries. They literally do provide an alternative – an inclusive, multinational band with openly political lyrics and plenty of party-starting hooks.
When they muddle through the UK’s preposterous visa scheme for Bosnians, their gigs here function almost like get-togethers for the ex-Yugoslav communities across the country – I counted Slovenes, Croats, Bosnians and Serbs amongst the crowd tonight, and one of the biggest cheers of the night arrives when one of the band asks who present at the gig is from the Balkans. Ironically perhaps, they play more to Yugoslavia here than they might do back home, even when performing at arenas.
The setlist here leaned heavily on the band’s English-language songs (they sing in both Bosnian and English) – opening with USA and Free.mp3 (The Pirate Bay Song), before running through a number of tracks from latest album #fakenews. The band’s sound – a mixture of hip-hop, ska-punk, Balkan brass, and much more besides, is geared specifically to partying, but the band’s energy has a habit of pushing the crowd into a frenzy every single time. Dressed in matching Dubioza-branded football shirts, they pump up the crowd at every opportunity, such that when Mario Ševarac breaks into another saxophone hook, the audience inevitably loses it. Finding space for an eight-piece band on The Globe’s stage is an interesting challenge, and at times it feels as if singers Adis Zvekić and Almir Hasanbegović are spilling out onto the audience.
As the night wears on and the audience tires, Dubioza don’t do much to give us a breather: the fact that these guys play up to 300 gigs a year is frankly insane. The second half of the setlist focuses on the Bosnian-language songs – Kazu and, in particular, Voleo BiH sending this writer wild. Dubioza Kolektiv are easily one of the best live bands around, but they mean something more to diaspora folks like me; it’s about the message and the mentality as much about the music, about that seething, blackly humorous, anarchic Balkan attitude. It’s always a pleasure to be a part of it.
words FEDOR TOT photos MATT BRENNAN