•
Rating: "On the Planet Gong they say / If everything goes wrong today /
Fill your Teapot up with tea / Come and take a ride with me /
Down the oily way... “Last night, in Livorno, just a few meters from a pork festival complete with rides and a merry-go-round, a spaceship from the planet Gong landed in a clearing surrounded by century-old pines. It is yet another stop of another Tour (the “2032”), an expedition formed by the best possible members (that is, the original lineup, except for the deceased): the seventy-one-year-old Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth, Hillage, and Howlett; joined by Theo Travis on winds (it’s a tough life replacing Didier Malherbe), Chris Taylor on drums, and Miquette Giraudy in the control cabin with keyboards and synths.
The opening band is really the worst band I have ever heard. A young Slash wannabe, overly garish winds, a provincial singer-songwriter who makes you miss Vasco and the Pooh. Fortunately, I don’t remember their name; anyway, after half an hour in which the guys seriously risk lynching, the stage clears (even though an exorcism would have been more appropriate). However, when Allen jumps on stage in striped pajamas and a pointy hat, we’ve already forgotten all that mess.
The guy next to me knows little about Gong. He asks me what I think about the tracks from "Camembert Electrique": the answer is given by Gong, who open the concert with "You can’t kill me" and "Dynamite" and close it with "Tropical Fish". Allen is in shape, and the call of the moon in «Selene» gives chills just like in ‘71. His voice occasionally gets some help from effects; but it’s the rest that makes the difference. Because for Zero the Hero, the stage is now a living room: he laughs, undresses, dresses, takes imaginary tea, and dances sensuously on his thin legs. The fans are ecstatic, but even those who are there by chance are hypnotized by his charisma.
The repertoire of the trilogy alternates with little songs and long space trips, guided by a powerful and deep drum and a muted bass. The highlight, besides the mantra-like ride of "Master Builder", is perhaps the sequence "Flute Salad - Oily Way – Outer Temple – Inner Temple". After the flute intro, Allen reappears from nowhere in white and almost reaches into the crowd to describe his “Oily Way”: the groove is palpable, and the piece melts into the synth vortex of Outer Temple and Inner Temple, while Allen invites us once again to have some tea.
The fans, in short, are in a frenzy: Howlett ignites the crowd with his solos, Smyth leaves them stunned with her moans; Travis does an excellent job on the flute, while on sax he makes Malherbe slightly missed. Allen continues to play the role he created and perfected over forty years. The repertoire perhaps leaves out too many classics (practically all of "Flying Teapot" and half of "Angel’s Egg"); but there is still plenty of material, for two hours of beautiful and unique music: Gong, first and foremost and despite everything, is a unique band.
Go see them in Sicily on July 31st or in Trieste on August 1st, if you're in the area. I saw them in Livorno last night... But I’m going to see them again in Sicily, partly because I’ll be in the area, partly because I have the impression that in Livorno it was just a dream.
Loading comments slowly
