Agghiastru
Live @ Zsa Zsa, Palermo 30.03.2008

THE REVIEW

I have been following Agghiastru for years now, and I have witnessed and narrated the genesis of his solo/intimist side, first expressed in my hometown of Catania in 2006, as it grew and asserted itself.

The date tonight, in Palermo, confirms the talent of this unique artist, and his overflowing creativity. Indeed, it is from the end of the show that I intend to start this live report, a moment when the storyteller entertains with a loyal audience just outside the Zsa Zsa. It must be said that our artist had such a quantity of red wine in his body that it could easily have been mistaken for his blood, in case of a transfusion... Agghiastru, however, is a flood. He narrates, expands his stories, entertains, moves his hands and eyes with the typical skill of a snake charmer. The boundary between stage and street becomes nonexistent. Agghiastru brings out of the venue the dreamlike world described in the songs performed in the concert, and contained in his debut CD 'Incantu'. Perhaps I understand that Agghiastru is just as he appears on stage. Uninhibited towards life, the events he narrates, beyond the very art he enacts. After all, thinking carefully, I distinctly remember some verses from the album 'Viogna' by the INCHIUVATU project that said: "semu pupi in un teatrinu, e inscenamu la vita, la nostra recita". I don't think a translation is necessary. Indeed, this is what Agghiastru does; he performs, but paradoxically, such 'performance' has the intensity to appear to us as real life, whether on stage or on the street. In fact, he is more real than ever, always!
Let's go to the start of the show now. The set design is beautiful, echoing the themes of the 'L'Incantu' video, that is, a whole series of light bulbs raining down on the storyteller's head, posing as artificial stars. He says he needs them, just to cast upon them some wishes that will remain unexpressed... And meanwhile he drinks, he says... to forget. The audience does not forget though. They enjoy every moment of the show, every theatrical interlude between one song and another. Behind the piano, there's a constant flourish of music boxes, roses, sheets, skulls, Sicilian caps, and every other 'prop' to better describe the atmosphere of the song. There is a lot of irony on our minstrel's stage, with typically Sicilian bitter smiles. Agghiastru, addressing the audience with a serious tone, says "you think that I am enjoying myself here... it's just a more economical way to avoid going to therapy". In short, it is a continuous exploration into the guts of a man scorched by the Sicilian sun, and possessed by the desert, but he also includes lunar visions of overwhelming passion. Such is the case with 'Rosa',
'Tintatu', 'La Stanza'. I could recount the entire setlist to you, but in the end, what remains most impressed upon our memory is the completeness felt between the emotions experienced and Agghiastru and his associates' desire to convey them to us.

maddalena van hausen