Litfiba
19/03/010 - Losanna (Live 2010)

"Nowadays, no one is denied a reunion" (quote).

This is how we could summarize what was perhaps the most sensational "reconciliation" of 2010, that of Litfiba. Litfiba? Are the purists (rightly) already wrinkling their noses? But is Don Aiazzi at the keyboards? Um, not exactly. And on bass? Could it be that Gianni "King Midas of Italian rock" Maroccolo has returned? Let's not even think about it. So which Litfiba are these? Come on, we all know the answer, they're the 90s version of Litfiba, the Pelù-Renzulli duo, who else could it be? But how, after all the books, the venom, the interviews, the "without me, they're a cover band"? Yes.

The power of "dinero", just to quote the old songbook of the Florentines? Maybe, considering the ten years of nothingness the two faced while apart. The Litfiba "phase 3," as Renzulli calls them, with "Cabo" Cavallo on the microphone, had a decent career, a couple of fairly good albums ("Elettromacumba" in 2000 and "Insidia" in 2001) but then nothing, while Pelù was increasingly lost in farcical songs that aimed for an "intellectual" touch but simply ended up being caricatural.

So what to do? "Since we've already been in touch again for years and I have a couple of tracks here that seem like leftover pieces from "Spirito", why don't we play them together?". This, more or less, is what the good old Pelù would have said to the former enemy-friend Renzulli. "And who do we get to play them?". "Well, just grab a couple of session musicians, offer them a more than decent paycheck, and the problem is solved, right? In fact, let's play the 80s revival card, which always works: do you still have Magnelli's number? Remember him? The one who used to play with us occasionally back in the "Desaparecido" days. Let's have him play the keyboards, it'll be like "oh, how nice, just like on the first album." I can already imagine Guglielmi's reviews on Mucchio Selvaggio". "Deal, but each with their own manager, okay?". "Don't worry, Pirelli has already done enough damage, the farther away he stays, the better".

If there had been a phone interception, we might have heard these words. We could discuss endlessly about the sincerity of this unexpected return, but at the end of the day, how is the music? Well, listening to this bootleg (partial), recorded in Lausanne during the "warm-up" tour, I'd say not bad. Pelù and Renzulli certainly appear very well-coordinated (or at least they do a good job of making it seem so) and "the others" do their part diligently: on bass, there's Daniele Bagni again, much to the joy of Roberto Terzani who found himself booted out at the last minute, on keyboards Federico Sagona, already a session musician for Pelù, and on drums Pino Fidanza, who had already been accompanying Renzulli on tour for some time.

But what about the songs? All the "right" songs are there, or almost, few concessions to the 90s "flashiness" and 80s tracks rearranged with taste. So, as much as possible, it all appears rather sober and, for once, Pelù avoids being too over the top. Well-sung pieces, clean voice: Elio will have been disappointed by the lack of "uah" and "weh" that he so missed a few years ago. But the "better half" (pardon the term)? The years off stage are somewhat noticeable, but in the end, Renzulli does his job admirably, considering he's not a very technical guitarist and has never "overdone" things. Certain rock milestones of Italian rock are retrieved that perhaps no one hoped to hear again: "Dio", "Resta", "Lulu e Marlene" are from the new wave period, "Lacio drom" and "A denti stretti" (perhaps the last really noteworthy tracks written by the duo) from the "barricade rock" era. And, strangely, it's all even credible and sincere. Or maybe we are just trying to convince ourselves of this? Because, from a purely formal point of view, everything is perfect, perhaps too perfect, and, as mentioned earlier, sometimes one wonders whether it isn’t just a successful pantomime to secure a decent pension. Maybe the younger fans won't care about all these discussions, but almost certainly the more seasoned fan will have pondered these questions.

Musicians:

Piero Pelù: vocals

Ghigo Renzulli: guitars

Accompanied by:

Daniele Bagni: bass

Federico Sagona: keyboards

Pino Fidanza: drums

Setlist:

1. Proibito

2. Resta

3. Cangaceiro

4. Lulu e Marlene

5. Dio

6. Spirito

7. Tex

8. Ferito/Tex

9. Fata Morgana

10. A denti stretti

11. Cuore di vetro

12. Gioconda

13. Maudit

14. Dimmi il nome

15. El diablo

16. Lacio drom

17. Lo spettacolo