Zdravko Čolić – Pula Arena – 18.8.2018

Sarajevan Zdravko Čolić has been entertaining the audience with his voice for 50 years. After six years, the old charmer returned to Pula, where he had the beautiful archeological remains of the amphitheater in the back as scenary. We decided to take a ride and watch this legend of the YU-pop scene live. We boughta tickets at Eventim, 150 HRK ground floor (cheaper than stands?). Already on Friday after work we drove to Barbariga with Sara and Ana. The next day we lied in the shade on the beach with a beer until it was time to go to the concert. Andreja and Vesna joined us there. We even met another Andreja from Koper. We entered the Arena around 9 pm.

He certainly did not disappoint the 10,000 head crowd. Despite the years, the color and strength of the voice were at an enviable level. The singer had 3 hours of the concert, which even some of younger collegues would not be able to do. Čola opened concert with “Dobro veče dragi prijatelji u predivnom i prekrasnom zdanju Pule, dobrodošli svi iz regije! Družićemo se večeras, ponovo nakon šest godina!”.

Initial songs with “Produži dalje”, „Mjerkam te, mjerkam“, „Kad pogledaš me preko ramena“, „Čija je ono zvijezda“, “Živiš u oblacima, mala “, „Jedna zima sa Kristinom“, „Tebe čuvam za kraj“, “Pisat ću joj pisma duga” – Pula mentioned in lyrics, “Mala”, where the audience follows him without a break. In the middle of the concert there were the old hit (“Stanice Podlugovi”, “Pusti, pusti modu”, “Glavo luda” and “Pjevam danju, pjevam noću”) and songs from the new album: “Ono malo sreće “, “Tebe čuvam za kraj”, “Ničeg nije bilo između nas”, “Šljive su rodile” i “Mala”. Of course we must not forget to mention the song “Loše vino” (Dedić / Bregović) accompanied by Nikša Bratoš. On the encore he performed “Zvao sam je Emili” and “Kao moja mati” also “Ti si mi u krvi” (Kornelije Kovač) shortly after midnight.

My concert summary would be: OK. The concert was performed on a level, the accompanying music was perfected, the energy and contact with the audience by the singer was also tuned. Maybe the choreography of the dancers on stage could be better. The old guy has been able to connect to the souls of his female audience for half a century. They knew both old YU hits and a new album. For me as a member of the opposite sex, it may have been too sweet at times, so I walked a few times too many to the bar, still humming some of the old hits that were on at the time.

After the concert we went for a drink, I sat down at the next table, on the way home we got lost somewhere. The next day getting up late, looking for a phone, eating something in Vodnjan and slowly going home in the evening. Nice weekend in the company of close people.