Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3
Live Tick

For weeks, if not months, I've been telling myself the same thing: "I've written too much for Debaser lately; I'm exhausted and I absolutely need to take a break. I need to take a step back at least from writing reviews; a well-deserved break to start off on the right foot in a while."

Then it happens that I come across one of the live performances I absolutely love, which I hadn't listened to in a while, from one of my greatest musical loves (this is well known given the number of pieces I've dedicated to Steve). And so, once again, the writing impulse strikes: I enter a sort of competitive trance; I forget all my proclamations of rest and I'm ready once more to tell you about this double CD, also accompanied by a DVD, recorded by Steve and the Miracle 3 in November 2005 in Germany. Lavish digipak packaging that opens like a cross; 21 tracks for just under two hours.

A story that once again finds me "forced" to start with the cover image: it features Steve grappling with his guitar. The strings of which are being distorted and tortured properly with the help of a glass bottle. A photographic cover that reminds me of the immortal and unforgettable "Live at Raji's" by the immense Dream Syndicate (and here comes the usual mention of the greatest Syndicate ever born on planet Earth!).

It's the tour of the album "…tick…tick…tick" released a few months earlier, and the concert's setlist is mostly focused on the band's latest works; there are also essential episodes from Steve’s past: time bombs that talk about "The Days of Wine and Roses" cannot be left out (just to mention a song that will never be missing in a concert of the Los Angeles native).

We are in the realm of a pregnant, dense performance exuding electric energy; Steve, Jason, Linda, and Eric play each track with an executional fury, with an intensity, with breathtaking dynamism. Rare are the pauses, the moments where they take their foot off the accelerator; they pound hard on the instruments, infusing every single track with tons of distortions, of guitar feedback. And always having fun, with smiles, in total symbiosis even with the audience present on that evening. This last aspect is easily verifiable in the DVD that documents it all.

It starts with the sinister psychedelia of "Death Valley Rain": it's the powerful engine of drummer Linda that dictates the rhythm for the combined work of the two acid guitars: an auditory spectacle, an imposing magma that then leaves space for the unexpected cover. "Blind Willie McTell" by a certain Mr. Dylan whose first name is Bob; a song that begins somberly with just the voice and the gentle guitar of Steve. Until it grows in intensity with a finale that is pure and simple enjoyment.

As I've already said, there are very few moments of pause, even between one track and the next; they take a little rest in the laid-back "There Will Come A Day" and in the light-dark ballad "The Deep End". But the truce is short-lived because the first CD concludes with a sumptuous and devastating triptych: the wild adrenaline rush of "Nothing But The Shell", "That's What You Always Say" (with its opening riff capable of knocking me down even when I'm a hundred years old!!!...maybe) and "Amphetamine (eight minutes of noisy delirium at the highest levels).

I've already stretched too far, so I'm on the homestretch because for the second CD I just need to highlight the last two songs: "The Days Of Wine And Roses" and "John Coltrane Stereo Blues". Believe me, I struggle to write just the titles of these two tracks, genuine universal flares. Twenty final minutes where once again the majestic and powerful intertwining of Steve and Jason's two guitars assumes the role of guiding beacon for the other instruments. A hurricane that knows no bounds, that continues to rise, to grow, to devastate...Everybody says I don't care but I'm just trying to remember the days of wine and roses...

Two weeks later, it was November 19th to be exact, I had the honor of seeing the band perform at the Buddha Café in Orzinuovi (BS) with an identical setlist and intensity; also for this reason "Live Tick" is one of the most sanguine live performances I've ever listened to...KILLING ME...

Ad Maiora.