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Rating:
On October 5th, the Low demonstrated their weighty essentiality, a gift of few bands still surviving today, at the Teatro dal Verme in Milan, the only Italian stop of their tour in support of the album "Double Negative".
Of an incredible harmony, and at the same time an incredible fierceness, as taught through studio albums, the band from Duluth (hometown of Bob Dylan) faithfully performed the studio tracks live, without coming across as cold, rather managing to move and be moved. The warmth of the audience was a natural consequence: the atmosphere of intimacy and energy combined allowed for a mutual empathy, which Low's music has always sought, through a lyrical synthesis that—as someone once said—is "more ascetic than minimal".
After opening with "Quorum" (from "Double Negative"), in a manner, in my opinion, timid, Low landed the first blow with "No Comprende" (from "Ones and Sixes", 2015); it followed one of the lighter, more pop moments of the band's output, "Plastic Cup" (which, however, benefits from a provocative text, which perhaps challenges the listener to write a "damn song" themselves). Like in a geometric alternation, the fourth (even) track, "The Innocents" (also from "Ones and Sixes") raises the bar. From here, the concert becomes more intense, more solid. "Tempest" takes on a more human form (in "Double Negative" it is all noise, cacophony and claustrophobia), like many other tracks from the same album.
Live, I was able to appreciate various songs that, being too electronic and oppressive on the record, to the point of seeming empty, had not particularly struck me initially. Nevertheless, I feel the need to give their latest effort a new listen.
The triptych "Do You Know How To Waltz/Lazy/Always Trying to Work It Out", performed as a medley, represented the high point of the event. The moment when Alan Sparhawk (guitar and voice) and Mimi Parker (drums and voice), respectively husband and wife, sang "It’s not enough, it’s not enough, there’s not enough for two", was absolutely sublime, and condensed the essence and magic behind the name and project Low.
19 tracks + double encore (Alan Sparhawk, an artist and man of unique humility and expressiveness, at the end of the concert, gave a special treatment to the Italian audience by announcing two encores, instead of just one, to thank for the incredible feedback shown) constituted a concert that was nothing short of splendid.
Three magnificent musicians (Steve Garrington included, who I had so far not celebrated at all, wrongly, because his bass lines were very present and vital for the construction of the atmospheres), a bare-bones setup, with equipment on stage, and behind, a bare backdrop: no frills. Naturally, there were lights to emphasize certain moments, but I never had the feeling they were overdoing it, or that the band had any pretensions.
PS. Nadine Khouri, the artist who opened the evening, enchanted the theater with her gentle and tormented songwriting, and her voice which, at times, reminded me of the quiet desperation ("quiet desperation") of Nick Drake. I recommend lending her an ear (or even two).
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