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Rating: At the end, the musicians on stage thanked the audience in the packed Teatro Cristallo for attending the concert without knowing what to expect. I say: it should always be like this, even though the trend is to go see what is already known. In fact, in the Teatro Cristallo audience, there were those who, not enjoying it, left the hall after just a few songs.
The evening had indeed been presented and sold as "Niccolò Fabi: Discoverland."
Nowadays, many shows in the music business operate this way. The promotion is done with the most renowned name. Is it unfair? Well, it is a bit.
Let's get to the concert: I was hoping for a sort of Angelo Mai Sessions, the masterful project from 2012-2013, a live documentation where the Roman singer-songwriter re-recorded his classics live, surrounded by friends, including Pier Cortese and Roberto Angelini (all visible on YouTube).
But I was wrong. Discoverland is the name of the project, now a decade old, by Cortese and Angelini, and Fabi occasionally participates, as he himself explained on stage "to gain a new perspective and also to return the favor," after the other two had been at his service for so many years.
Even on stage, he stays in the back, almost to emphasize his place and role.
That said: I liked the concert. Lots of acoustic guitars, an electric one, and Angelini's indispensable slide guitar, but also plenty of electronics handled by all three, plus a powerful bass (Fabi). Sampled sounds and beautiful soundscapes, and techno diversions that at a certain point lead the concert for a few minutes into a rave party atmosphere, with straight bass (unz unz unz unz - if you know what I mean), passages that seem at times still in the optimization phase.
It was a showcase of music, introduced by two brief performances by Leo Pari and Alessandro Ragazzi, artists - both with a strong stage presence - who managed to capture the audience's attention.
And then began the first of the two-part Discoverland concert. The first was actually a live rendition of their latest album, "Ero." To describe it, I borrow a passage from a RockIt review of the album: "The sound, rich in imagery, is that of Discoverland, an intriguing fusion between acoustic and electronic, where the pure meets the contaminated and the dreamlike embraces the concrete, between pedal steel, minimalism, and choral harmonies, but also sitar, tablas, tribal rhythms, and guitars. Every song and every element, although different, integrate spontaneously. Refined and cultured, at the same time genuine and direct, 'ERO' speaks to the heart, spirit, and mind."
After a short break, the trio returned to the stage and elegantly reinterpreted some songs they love, including a sort of mash-up between Bjork's Yoga and a song by Kings of Convenience, two distinct artists, she electronic, the band more folk, yet both share an intimate and minimalist approach to music. The result was appreciated, although personally, I find it almost sacrilegious to cover Bjork, as it's impossible to reach her (high) octaves and her edge with the voice.
In this second part, Niccolò Fabi sings his only song "Amore con le ali." The concert closes with "Monna Lisa," a tribute to Ivan Graziani, serving as the song for collective thanks. The evening ends this way, leaving a bit of a bittersweet taste in the writer's mouth. At this point, I would have expected a bit of "pressure" to bring the group back to the stage, especially since the chorus of "Si può dare di più" started playing from the speakers, but everyone got up, and... oh well. This too is Bolzano.
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