Litfiba
in concerto @ Carroponte, Sesto San Giovanni (MI), 17 luglio 2015

Another round, another ride. What are they coming up with this time? We left the eternal "bad boys" from Tuscany two years ago during the wonderful tour dedicated to the Trilogy of Power, specifically the Eighties period of their discography, featuring the long-awaited reunion of the original group, with Gianni "Bassomangiatutto" Maroccolo and Don Antonio Aiazzi back in the game. Unfortunately, it quickly became evident that it wouldn’t continue and that the four of them had too much going on individually to return to fully dedicating themselves to their historic group. In other words: enjoy it while you can, as we can't guarantee anything. And indeed, that’s exactly what happened; all that remained from that experience, discographically, is a nice live double album. What a shame.

With the historic opportunity missed, the question was what they would come up with from the Ponte Vecchio, especially because, frankly, the general impression that Litfiba has been giving in recent years is that of a group with few ideas on what to do, lacking creativity and, frankly, quite poorly managed, which could lead to a whole discussion about how they have been handling archival material and the usefulness of certain reissues.

The mystery was revealed, however: if the previous tour had been dedicated to the Eighties works, the current one would be focused on the repertoire of the following decade. Hmm. Does it really make sense to elaborate an entire tour around songs that have been played live countless times over the past twenty-five years and which have always constituted the backbone of concert setlists? Honestly, it must be said, there was much more creativity when the good Gianluigi Cavallo was behind the microphone, so we’re talking about the early 2000s: a time when audiences were sparse, to be clear, but there was more willingness to take risks, even live, with true gems being brought back after many years.

The "excuse" for this new round of concerts, now just a handful compared to the old times, which also must be pointed out, is the "Tetralogy of the Elements" box set, which was released a few months back, reintroducing the four albums that marked the band's Nineties era, accompanied by the long-awaited video of the Terremoto Tour, which, unfortunately, was deemed by most as fairly mediocre in execution.

When the context suggested that expectations couldn't be high, there was also a certain curiosity about what Ghigo and company would be able to put together, given that among their songs from those years there were several significant tracks that showed how the Florentine ensemble had evolved while maintaining a strong personality and a recognizable sound, thanks also to artists who were, at the time, still in a state of grace. It was with a certain amount of surprise that I welcomed the news that, after decades, songs like "Africa," "Dinosauro," or "Linea d'Ombra" would be played on stage again, songs that had never really been appreciated and, in fact, had been wrongly excluded from various tours in the golden age to eternally make room for the current hit single.

This time, the band returns with a revised lineup, featuring both returning and new members: the excellent Luca Martelli, one of the most versatile drummers the Florentines have ever had, is still behind the drums, Federico Sagona is back on keyboards, while the bass is now handled by Franco Li Causi, who was the rhythmic engine of Negrita for twenty years.

The impression, for once, is that of a real band, with these three able to express themselves on stage as they see fit, without being eternally shackled by the demands of the two rock stars they have to back up. It’s undeniable also that Pelù himself is in excellent form, perhaps with a better voice than twenty years ago, while Ghigo still delivers solos today as if it were 1993.

If the choice of songs is certainly impressive and it's nice to see how an album like "Spirito" is being appreciated, with even a hidden gem like "La Musica Fa" being revisited, it's nonetheless undeniable that this umpteenth tour based on historical material reflects how, on Via De Bardi, there has been very little new to say for quite some time, other than what's been stated and restated over more than thirty years of career. In fact, from the reunion five years ago until today, all of the band's tours, except for the one in 2012 supporting "Grande Nazione"—interrupted without much ado—have been solely based on old classics, often chosen without even much imagination. If the album that marked, after years, the Florentine's return to the studio seemed to have been shelved by its own authors just a few months after its release, it’s undeniable that, in the collective imagination, the artistic experience of Litfiba remains tied to certain well-defined albums and it seems that the very protagonists of that musical adventure no longer have much interest in offering something truly new.

The feeling, as the songs flow, is that Litfiba is now tied to the Eighties and Nineties much like bands such as PFM are to the Seventies: the generational turnover among fans is practically zero, with the audience’s average age between thirty-five and forty; at the official stand, even T-shirts celebrating the Nineties tours are sold, so it’s very much in "nostalgia mode" here, to the extreme.

And it's a pity because, at least live, the machine still works: Pelù, despite the demagoguery that has always characterized him, confirms for the umpteenth time his role as a charismatic frontman, Ghigo is a solid guitarist even if he's never possessed a particularly extensive technical repertoire, and the various musicians (re)chosen for the occasion are proven to be perfect. "Dottor M" and "Sparami" remind those present of the goodness within an album like "Mondi Sommersi," unfortunately remembered by most only for the superficially appealing "Regina di Cuori," while the bluesy "Animale di Zona" and the aggressive "Tammuria," from "Spirito," reveal themselves as some of the most intense moments of the evening. The grand finale is inevitably entrusted to those singles that defined the group's sound back in the day, even if leaving "Spirito," played countless times, home for once and preferring a song like "Il Volo" or "A Denti Stretti" would have made the concert less predictable, but ultimately, the audience that followed Litfiba in those years wasn’t as attentive and demanding as it was in the Eighties, so it’s expected that those songs will be reintroduced.

Despite everything, though, a sense of melancholy stays with you at the end of the concert: on one hand, you realize that albums that marked your teenage years, ages ago, are now considered nostalgia material, while it’s apparent that a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then, and it doesn't particularly help to come on stage with the Terremoto tour banner, almost pretending it’s 1993 and not 2015.

This Tetralogy of the Elements Tour captures a historic formation of Italian rock aware that, by now, what needed to be said has been said and repeated, multiple times. Unless there is some unexpected "twist,” keeping in-theme, and a new album that could radically change opinions about the current state of things, the feeling is that this journey, started thirty-five years ago from a little street in Florence, is moving ever closer to the end of the line.

• Piero Pelù, vocals
• Ghigo Renzulli, guitars
• Franco Li Causi, bass
• Federico Sagona, keyboards
• Luca Martelli, drums

1. Resisti
2. Dimmi il Nome
3. Africa
4. Dinosauro
5. Sotto il Vulcano
6. Lo Spettacolo
7. Animale di Zona
8. El Diablo
9. Dottor M
10. Linea d’Ombra
11. La Musica Fa
12. Tammuria
13. Sparami
14. Ora d’Aria
15. Siamo Umani
16. Fata Morgana
17. Ragazzo
18. Spirito
19. Regina di Cuori
20. Gioconda
21. Ritmo2#
22. Lacio Drom