•
Rating:
It feels like almost a century that every year in Piazza San Giovanni on the First of May this damn musical marathon takes place.
All afternoon the usual suspects alternate: Bandabardo; ATTENTIO'- CONCENTRAZIO'-, can't take it anymore. A veil of silence on the Nomadi. We won't be there but they're always here with God who is dead not dead for three days. Enzo Avitabile with the usual Bottari, make a lot of noise but have been repeating themselves for years and are only heard on the first of May.
Consoli is accompanied by a large group of musicians to mask her own lack of substance, Paolo Rossi makes the usual jokes and a pathetic version of Ciao ti dirò, a rock'n'roll piece by Giorgio Gaber recorded half a century ago.
So why am I here suffering in front of the TV?
The Vibrazioni keep us waiting after a bewildered Mauro Pagani who redoes a Bob Dylan track:
Forever Young subtitled in Italian for the beauty (?) of the lyrics. If such a song were sung by any Italian singer, critics would go wild; but there you go. Okay, I feast my eyes a bit with Claudia Gerini and watch the crowd trying to catch a glimpse of The Punisher who, rightfully, stays at home.
In the middle of the afternoon there’s also a performance by a certain Andrea Rivera. He criticizes everyone just to stir up the usual jack-of-all-trades who will have round tables upon round tables entangling the audience with a thousand trifles. Well, I can't take it anymore, I watch some of the Champions Cup semifinal since the best singers will be after 10 PM. I hope the second most annoying coach in the world loses, and that in Athens Milan takes a nice revenge on Liverpool.
9:15 PM a miracle, Chuck Berry takes the stage.
I didn't know, the program lineup was the last thing I cared about today. But what is Chuck doing here on the First of May? Maybe he sings, maybe in 15 minutes he teaches something, maybe... The old man starts strong right away, minimal setup and off with the riff.
It may just be rock'n'roll.
It may be the usual three chords.
It might be that a string on his guitar breaks.
It might be that the grandchildren under the stage are having fun.
It might be that he and the musicians laugh and play too.
It may be that he's the father of rock'n'roll.
It might be that he knows how to play.
It might be that the Tetes de bois who take the stage right after can't compare.
It may be all these things together, anyway for me the party is over. They could have closed the stage after Chuck, the rest will be pointless.
And don't ever come to tell me again that Rock'n'roll is not the legitimate child of the Blues.
Loading comments slowly
