On Nov. 3 Kyiv’s International Culture and Arts Center, better known as the former Zhovtnevy (October) Palace, hosted a spectacular 20th anniversary concert by the legendary group Vopli Vidopliasova. It also marked the group’s third creative stage, something long awaited by their fans (after the concert VV left Kyiv to tour Ukraine). The group started celebrating its anniversary at the end of last year by releasing the album To buly denky (Those Were the Days) and staging a same-titled photo exhibit. Some of the rare photos on display are the finest graphic evidence of the times when Soviet audiences could only watch three television channels and when no one knew about the FM waveband. Instead, lots of books and poems were written, men and women fell in love, and trusted friends shared bottles of cheap wine in small kitchens, desperately trying to discover the ultimate truth.
The other photos on display were more personal, showing Oleh Skrypka & K first performing at one of Kyiv’s “houses of culture.” The group was instantly accepted as a member of the Kyiv Rock Club. But then they began to experience all the perils of Soviet rock clubs, with doorwomen on night duty switching off the electricity while a rock concert was in progress on rented premises somewhere in the provinces; janitors tearing the rock group’s posters off walls; and the militia evicting the most passionate fans from concert halls. In a word, this VV concert was a tribute to those days, and the group performed songs from various periods.
The audience, made up of people of various age groups, sang along with Skrypka as he performed such popular stand-bys as Vesna (Spring), Yura, Kraina mrii (Dreamland), and Den narodzhennia (Birthday). At one point in his career, stage director Serhii Arkhipchuk noted that Skrypka pulls off all kinds choreographic and slapstick stunts on stage, but that all of them are of Ukrainian origin. This time, while performing the song Tantsi, the VV front man danced on the floor among the spectators. The fans talked to the performers by sending notes with questions, like: “What’s happened to Pipa?” and “Where is Pipa?” Skrypka replied: “Pipa has decided to go full-time with the Borshch group.” (He was replaced by guitarist Oleksii Melchenko, but the other musicians are the original members: Serhii Sakhno on drums and guitarist Yevhen Rohochevsky. — Ed.) He added jokingly that they could have Borshch tomorrow and the group would play to full houses. The fans also asked Skrypka, who plays the guitar, button trumpet, and button accordion, when he plans to start playing the violin. Later, the audience learned that about 100 songs have been composed over the past 20 years, along with arrangements of folk songs and Tsoi’s compositions. “Once we were invited to stage four concerts running for the same audience,” Skrypka recalled.
Oleh and his group performed Chio-Chio-San (the result of 15-18 years of creative work) and Lado (composed this year). After the concert the audience was reluctant to let the group go, and when the musicians finally left the stage the applause and shouts of encore lasted for another 10-15 minutes.
When Skrypka came back with, he said: “You could make a dead man rise from the grave.” They did Tantsi-2, Horila sosna, Yikhaly kozaky, and Rozpriahaite, khloptsi, konei.
Practically everyone who was interviewed by The Day after the concert used qualifiers like unforgettable, fantastic, gorgeous, etc.
Natalia Kryvda, a history professor at Taras Shevchenko National University, said: “I took my daughter to this concert and it was incredible. Like everyone, given the pace of life today, we watch out for certain cultural events that we think we should attend. In this case I’d rather use ‘cultural competence.’ Also, I think that Oleh Skrypka has every hallmark of a genuine Ukrainian gentleman. His talent is timeless and it continues to captivate us.”
Olesia Zhulynska, Coca Cola Ukraine’s PR manager, commented: “This concert was phenomenal, considering that there were people of various age groups in the audience. What happened was that the audience and the performers created a special kind of aura, a special exchange of energy. I think that such concerts are more important than any shows on the Maidan. I am a veteran fan of the VV group, and it has exerted a degree of influence on my world outlook, so I couldn’t have missed the concerts marking their 10th, 15th, and 20th anniversaries.”
Yurko Zelensky, a noted music critic, made the following comment: “VV’s anniversary should have been marked on a governmental level — and this is no overstatement. Twenty years ago there was no independent Ukraine. We only have a few pop groups like this. Vopli Vidopliasova was one of the groups that founded and developed modern Ukrainian songs. My generation was inspired by their creativity when we organized our “granite revolution” in the early 1990s. We listened to their songs, which gave us the resolve to build a new kind of life for ourselves, something we knew nothing about.”
Few of the pop and rock groups that surfaced during that tempestuous period at the turn of the 1990s have survived the ravages of time. They say in Halychyna that Vopli Vidopliasova is a step ahead of everyone. The group continues to release albums, organize street concerts, vechornytsi soirees, and now Dreamland. What is the secret of longevity in the record business? Perhaps it is Skrypka and his group’s constant creative quest.
