Just as I was slowly getting ready to pack away and leave my (frankly my dear) exhausting job, colleagues were asking me (with a just a little bit of envy) what will be the first thing I will do upon my arrival home. And I surely surprised them by saying that the very first thing will be to check what's happening around town, because although I am surrounded with luxury gifts, what really matters to me is a food for soul & heart & the brain, nothing material. This is quite unusual and it just shows how my perception of the world is different from people around me, who mostly can't see further than new pair of shoes, new watch, clothes, handbag and such - I guess we all treat ourselves with what makes us happy, one way or the other, so what matters to me are not material trinkets (because they are, after all, just material trinkets that will end up as another burden) but pleasure I get from seeing and hearing something that would inspire me and I might remember it and keep it in my heart long afterwards. So my answer was, I will treat myself with something that I really crave for and I had to deprive myself from, sailing from one part of the world to another, I will find some exhibitions, theatre, concerts and such to really enjoy my vacation and have something comforting because as much as we need material food, we also need food for thoughts, it has to be some balance. My work colleagues were slightly surprised but they probably expected this from someone who never drinks with them in a crew bar and spends his nights reading books - only Chinese colleague said something about her town having nothing as cultural repertoire, which surprised me, perhaps she simply wasn't looking properly into it.
So the very first thing I did upon my arrival was to excitedly check what's going on in my hometown and faced with Mozart opera in a National Theatre (no tickets unfortunately) and depressing Russian play (that goes on for 3 hours) what popped out at me was the best possible choice - evening in a small theatre, a tribute to my beloved songwriter/poet/singer, late Arsen Dedić who passed away last year and I cried bitter tears in some Napoli pizzeria when I found out about it. Tickets were quickly reserved, friends informed and we all went there trough the rainy mid-week evening, expecting ourselves to be the only people in the audience, because evening of poetry and music probably does not appeal to everyone.
To our biggest surprise, the wind & rain & cold evening did not stop the small theatre to be almost completely full - the word of mouth combined with gentle affection certain generation of middle-aged, urban and culture-loving audience feels for Arsen of their youth was the best possible recommendation and we hardly had place to sit. After all, he was our national treasure, the man who not only sung and composed some really beloved music but also published collections of poetry and in fact, was one of the people who established this very theatre we were visiting that evening. Earlier this year there was already a concert tribute from his wife & son, so this evening the performers were his old friend, singer Ksenija Erker and a guitarist. The idea was to create a small, heartfelt little happening, like something one would expect in a living room, with just Erker gently reminiscing about Arsen and her guitarist providing music accompaniment - the interest for these concerts was so huge that eventually the theatre decided to move them in to a larger stage and if I understood correctly these concerts are constantly sold out.
Very simple stage nicely lighted up, welcomed guitarist who started the evening playing a famous theme for TV series "U registraturi" that we all knew and loved, Arsen composed this decades ago and it set the tone for the whole evening, with tears welling in my eyes immediately as I knew we will all wallow in nostalgia from now on. Why is it so that we only cherish our heroes once they leave us and always assume they will be here forever? Erker than joined the guitarist on a stage, she is in her 60s now and naturally looks & sounds completely different than in her 1970s heydays but whatever the years have taken away, the sparkling charm replaced it all because she truly is a extremely lovable and likable person - for this evening she decided to combine her favourite music composed by Arsen with sweetly nostalgic anecdotes about him and their lifelong friendship. Completely aware that some other, more celebrated or bigger names will eventually say their evaluations of Arsen's huge body of work, Erker said her intention was to give gentle, small tribute to a man who she personally knew as a good friend trough the years and who was not only responsible for her start in music (she started singing in a children's choir on his 1960s recordings and as young hopeful singer was singing backing vocals on his records long before he composed her very first hit) but whose songs followed, inspired and comforted her trough the years. To prove this, she sang (among other things) Arsen's song "Otkako te ne volim" (Since I don't love you) hinting at her recent divorce and without explanations we all understood her. What surprised me most of all is how effective and strong the whole evening was - at moments it was pure magic, affectionate connection between audience and performer - even though there were no usual concert traps of choreography, lighting and special effects that we expect from live performances, in fact they mostly appear just a routine while this was purely heartfelt and beautiful evening, definitively the best choice I could have make. I recognised every single song Erker sang and laughed at little stories she shared about Arsen and their friendship (he might have been a curmudgeon but was always charmed by her) and best of all, was aware this is a wonderful moment right now and I know it and enjoy it very much. Very rarely I have experienced such moments and they are most treasured, relaxed and happiest moments of my life.
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