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Rating: Strange alchemy that binds dEUS to Palermo. The first stop in chronological order of the new 2005 Italian tour of the Belgian band, it is a meeting point between two worlds, the Sicilian and the Flemish, which have not a shred of history to share, that do not know each other, who with the consent of both ignore each other. Well, on a pleasant late evening of an eagerly awaited September, a chance encounter can occur, a suggestive conclave where a thirsty and composed Palermo on one side, quirky Belgian musicians with a friendly air on the other, become familiar with each other in a full and enveloping atmosphere: both watchful, they await to be rewarded by something not yet precise, but which will not be long in coming; a chivalrous bow, an eccentric greeting, the lights on.
The beginning is reassuring: the vaguely country melody of a pleasant yet recognizable piece like "Instant Street" already cradles the crowd in a tranquil and pleasant setting, a performance by Barman and Pawlowski on guitars which seems to end, after the normal repetition of verses and refrain in the most traditional of endings, but lo and behold, the more sanguine nature of the Belgian band leaps onto the scene, with guitars and bass that erupt into an overwhelming climax that leaves one breathless for the final three minutes of the piece: the intrigued Palermo gathered in the splendid Piazza Magione begins to understand who dEUS is. And not to betray expectations, Barman and his companions lead us by hand from one scenario to another: it's time for "Worst Case Scenario", a track from the homonymous '94 effort, which despite an arrangement that admittedly seems to suffer from the absence of the late Carlens, still manages to engage for that unmistakable alternation of rhythms and pauses that so characterized the early dEUS production; the sensation is like opening for the first time a gift never unwrapped, a give that only chance kept in the dark from land that knows how to appreciate good music, a gift that fate now delivers into the hands of an already participating crowd.
The magnetic notes of the Belgians follow one another without respite through the tracks of the soon to be released "Pocket Revolution", out on September 12: "7 Days, 7 Weeks", title track and "If You Don't Get What You Want" among the subsequent performances, but the revelation comes through the most atypical of pieces from the group's live tradition, that murky and murky "Theme From Turnpike" that only the connoisseurs of the intricate "In a Bar, Under the Sea" from 1996 can boast of knowing: unlike the easily performed "Fell Off The Floor, Man", it enjoys the same arrangement as the original, and as such it can only leave the ever more numerous crowd stunned. "He said: No more loud music" rings out as a sinister refrain for the whole square, hands remain glued to beer bottles unable to move, any drop drunk now would get stuck in the throat without sinking: the impression is one of bewilderment, but this does not prevent, at the end of the evening's best performance, to finally pull hands away from drinks and others to cheer this splendid enchantment.
Now Palermo and the Antwerp band are finally joint participants, no longer formal acquaintances. It is impossible not to cite the splendid pop-rock melodies of "Little Arithmetics" and "The Magic Hour", heralding a second and definitive return to the stage of Barman and companions that brings back an anthology piece like "Suds & Soda", another unexpected surprise for the Palermo audience, a historical piece with sounds so controversial that the violin of the talented Klaas Janzoons assumes the role of rhythmic base; still "The Real Sugar" and "Serpentine", then the exclamation point of the hypnotic "Bad Timing" from "Pocket Revolution", the last gem of a live performance that can only conclude with Barman's grateful words: "This is the last song tonight, really... thank you".
Thank you, dEUS, this concert is a bit mine too.
[Thanks also to maxcar for the photo]
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