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Rating: It is established and taken for granted that the pre-El Diablo Litfiba were a textually, musically, and conceptually different and seminal group in the Italian rock scene of the eighties. This Pelù-Renzulli reunion (because that's what it is), under the name Litfiba, resumes the discourse interrupted after the release of Spirito (1994), partially ignoring Mondi Sommersi and completely an album like Infinito, a sales champion, but which actually represented the end of their recording and friendly collaboration. In this regard, I remember attending their last live performance precisely in Monza, during a festival in 1999. A concert like separated in-house, each did his job without interacting with the other, as if a huge transparent plastic wall divided them and the audience perceived this very well.
Eleven years later, a new tour signals their artistic rapprochement. It's hard to judge the real motives of this reunion tour with an attached double live CD and two unreleased tracks (Sole nero and Barcollo, not much material, with a flavor of discards for me; I would have preferred two old tracks in their place during the concert). Only time will tell if it is a case of "soul sold to the market", just to paraphrase one of their lyrics (Soldi), or a genuine desire to continue making music together. (Renzulli to Pelù: "If you want to disappear, you do. I keep the name Litfiba. If you leave, it's your problem" from the book "Perfetto difettoso" by P. Pelù.
As it stands, today I find myself here in Collegno (this year's only location in northwestern Italy to compete for concerts with the Padova-Venice-Udine triangle) without any preconceived notions but with the sole intention of enjoying myself and listening to Litfiba songs with Pelù's voice (...and not that of just any "Cavallo") and Renzulli's guitar.
With the only disappointment of not having heard any track from "Desaparecido", the setlist draws equally from the remaining albums. Resta and Ferito (included within the long Tex) are the only ones extracted from that masterpiece that was 17 Re. They play half of Litfiba 3 (Ci sei solo tu, Paname, Cuore di vetro, Tex, in an extended version with Ghigo showcasing good solos and an intense Bambino). The transition from the band of the eighties to that of the following decade is represented by Desaparecido contained in Pirata, the album that saw a radical change in the group's music, Maroccolo's departure, and the first significant increase in sales. The nineties open the concert with Proibito, while in El Diablo, there's an opportunity to poke fun at Ratzinger, and in Gioconda, Pelù indulges in his usual sermon against marriage.
Musically, the band (completed by bassist Daniele Bagni, already in Litfiba in 1994, drummer Pino Fidanza, and keyboardist Federico Sagona) approaches the boombastic hard rock sound of "Terremoto", and it is precisely the pair of lyrics that are unfortunately always so relevant Dimmi il nome- Maudit that is among the best moments of the concert, where they do not hold back attacks on the P2 of the time, these days transformed into P3. The finale is entirely dedicated to the album "Spirito" (Lo spettacolo, Spirito and Lacio Drom), a pleasant album and true testament of the group and a point to start from if one wants to rebuild and continue the band's adventure.
A concert and tour that nevertheless testify to the band's greatness and the desire not to let anyone leave dissatisfied. I enjoyed myself, nothing more, nothing less, and that's perfectly fine.
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