•
Rating: When I heard that the greatest unibrow in the international music scene would be performing with his charming band just a stone's throw from my home, I decided I couldn't miss the event.
The evening begins with a bit of a line outside the Leonca. It's around 11 PM, there's a good crowd, but not too packed yet. And just as my friends and I are downing some beers while waiting to get in, who rides by us on a scooter?!? Faso, the band's bassist!! Is it really him!? Could it not be him!? Did we just imagine it!? We'll never know...
An hour later, the hall is full, the unibrow and "his boys" are being loudly acclaimed! The atmosphere is festive, "Forza Panino!" is shouted by everyone in the venue. And there they are, the schizoid and multifaceted Elio's boys! The show starts with Elio on the flute, a melodic intro, and off to "Gimmi il Pedofilo." Mangoni sings too!! Without a moment's pause, the band dominates the scene with eleven tracks that cover their entire career. All great hits, even for someone like me who's not a longtime fan of the band; in order, "Farmacista," "Pork e Cindy," "Milza," "Born to be Abramo," "Il Rock and Roll," "Cassonetto differenziato per il frutto del peccato," "La visione," "Servi della gleba," "Ocio Ocio," "Cara ti amo."
The audience cheers for all the band members, Mangoni is wild, showing costumes worthy of his persona while performing "on the elevated" with hilarious lap-dance style choreography and more; he reaches his peak when he impersonates the victim of Rock 'n' Roll, dominated by Elio himself, who started out in a sweater and is now shirtless!
A unibrowed guy in the audience shouts "Elio, I'm your son!" and a chant of "Son, son..." erupts. Elio looks at him and says "Could be!" The unibrow on stage reminds us that we are all contributing to the creation of "a work of art equal to monuments," as the evening is being recorded live and made available on CD at the end of the night. So he invites us not to act like jerks! In reality, only the eleven tracks mentioned above make it onto the CD. But the show goes far beyond that!!
The merry crew spares no effort. And down go the hits, one after another. And then a huge performance by Elio, garnering open applause with "Le nozze di Figaro." An impressive vocal display that puts the cherry on top of a night of the highest caliber.
Elio's boys say goodbye. They make us beg a little, we all chant "Forza Panino!" again. We all wonder how they can miss "Tapparella," "Alfieri," "John Holmes," "Mio cuggino," or at least one of these! And indeed, they come back and "Tapparella" kicks off! The atmosphere heats up, my friend Fabio lifts me on his shoulders to take better photos. Amidst the moshing, we manage to find a precarious balance; for a moment I'm so high up, the whole hall watches me wobble, I risk falling, even the band notices me! I attempt some random clicks. We later realize our idea resulted only in a sore back for my friend and a couple of totally black photos!
The latest album "Cicciput" isn't forgotten, with "Fossi figo" and the must-have "Shpalman." And then some slower, more melodic tracks that unfortunately I don't know.
The tightly-knit Elio's guys finally bid us farewell after 1:30 AM with a series of bows. They gave us a grand and engaging show, and we all rush to buy the CD of the night.
On the way home, my friend and I reflect a bit. Sore backs aside, he was greatly impressed by the band's tempo changes; an incredible ease in shifting from one genre to another. I, more than anything, didn't expect Elio to be so skilled, not even a hint of a dud note! And then, listening to the CD, the impression is confirmed: an incredibly high sound quality and vocals worthy of a recording studio. We both agree on one thing: we are in the presence of a great band composed of excellent musicians, true professionals, who have a vast repertoire at their disposal for their shows. We can't say if they're the best; Elio himself pampers Cesareo by saying that after Litfiba's breakup, he is the best guitarist in the country. But he says it in a joking tone. Even though you kind of want to believe him...
Loading comments slowly
