azzo

I've got the anecdote, and it’s quite lengthy. Island at the Cantiere, '88 or '89, maybe the first one had come out, maybe not. L. 5,000 ticket price. Too much for the hip-hop and punkabbestia scene. There were about thirty of us down there, I think. They played for a little less than an hour. Deadly and enchanting, a continuous headbanging. To do an encore, they demanded we strip. About ten minutes of negotiations. Then someone actually starts to undress. For the encore, "Revolution" by Spacemen 3, which lasted from thirty to forty minutes. One of the best concerts of my life. When I think of rock'n'roll, I always think of them. The review, sorry, but it seems a bit tangled to me. The album is not among the best.

a) This Morriconian being is now unbearable to unprecedented levels. There isn't a DJ who doesn't use Morricone or a rap record that doesn't sample him or an English pop band that doesn't cite him as an influence. Enough with Morricone. It's worse than Pavarotti. Everything that needed to be said in the rock realm with Morricone has already been said by Wall of Voodoo, and that was over twenty years ago. b) Live, as mentioned, they are more Doorsian than Morriconian, perhaps too much so, because they are only that on the pop side and not the rock side. c) If between two fundamentally pop groups, one sells millions of records and the other does not, one headlines after two albums and the other after 5, 6, 7? is still doing support, the reason is very simple: the world is full of idiots, except for four or five enlightened DeBaserians.

Alessio, excuse me, can you tell me what the Verdena have done to you? Music, I know, you’ve listened to loads of it. How can you say something ridiculous like the Verdena copied Kyuss on this record? I loved Kyuss and I've listened to their four albums dozens of times. Requiem has played a lot on my stereo. Well, if you said there are some things that remind you of QOTSA, I’d get it. But Kyuss...I assure you there’s not a damn thing related to Kyuss. You haven't even listened to Requiem. And that’s okay. But don’t spout nonsense like some random Arnold.

Nick, the Arctic may be a bunch of ridiculous youngsters, but I was at one of their shows. The Coral are lovely, for God's sake, but they play a little pop derived from the sixties/Doors that doesn’t enchant live. From a band that has been around for years, you would expect something more. Instead, they're just fine for a day out in the sun, but nothing more. The Arctic, I’m sorry, but with only two albums to their name, they rock. Especially when there are a couple of thousand people singing along with them. In the end, it's clear why one of the two groups is the support act and the other is the headliner.

I don’t understand why it’s over. In the latest production, Stuart Price has her in the best shape ever.

It's true, it's true!

However, Alessio, one of the other legends going around is that Dinosaur Jr live made a huge racket but were technically quite a disaster. I've heard this too, just as much as No Means No are monstrously good. In the end, it turns out that that know-it-all Azzo hasn't seen many bands :-). Anyway, you know that technique is something I don't care much about when it comes to bands. For example, Bevis Frond, I've seen him, and he's considered technically a little Hendrix, but I don't remember it as a great concert.

@Oleinar: I replied to you in private @Alessio: look, I don't really want to spend hours defending Verdena either, it's better to listen to the music each person prefers. But let me tell you, coming from someone who has played in a trio for the past few years: they know how to play. Above all, you can tell they rehearse together for hours. When they stop, it's not because they're out of tune (both have the Boss pedal, just so you know) it's that sometimes Alberto feels that the piece isn't flowing the way he wants, so he stops it and restarts it from the beginning. I've always found this to be a sign of respect for the audience. I believe.

@ Alessio: I have to say, I have seen them on every tour for every album. This summer, I found them truly mature. In my opinion, you're a bit biased...

@Oleinar: the problem is that it’s always the same people stirring up fights. It was a period of relative calm after the release of Sanjuro and Happypippo, and here comes Arnold again. Autopilot and I have diametrically opposed views on Verdena, but we discussed it calmly. Then Arnold shows up with his usual comments, and it’s clear that someone responds because he manages to get on everyone’s nerves right away. Instead of a "human cases" section, can’t we have a "pain-in-the-ass brawlers" section? Go check the last comment on my PJ review. So far, I've kept quiet to avoid stirring up any crap, but my hands are itching, oh they’re itching, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay silent.