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Rating: I have heard many opinions about the Marlene Kuntz. Brilliant, terrible, poetic, verbose, dull, too edgy, copycats, excellent, icons of Italian rock, etc. I'll tell you what I think: the icon of Italian rock is certainly Afterhours, but with Verdena (mainly instrumentally) and Marlene Kuntz, the great triad takes shape. Cristiano is a poet like few others, together with Agnelli he should be included in modern poetry books, alongside sacred monsters like De André, Gaber, Battisti, and the more political Guccini, De Gregori, and Daolio. The Marlene are a truly united quartet, powerful, captivating, and communicative. Their concerts are always cult, the fans are many, passionate and devoted. The words of their lyrics vibrate in the mind like gunshots and don't let you go, Godano manipulates the language as he wishes, adapting it perfectly to the metrics and form of the instruments’ sounds, twisted and turned by the skillful blend of technique and originality, supported by notable effects.
Let’s talk about the concert now. Date July 23, 2007, Voices For Freedom.
Virginiana Miller and Marlene Kuntz, supported by the finalists of the Mei Contest in Faenza 2006, Pip Carter Lighter Maker. Let’s start with the latter, 25 minutes of rock influenced by alternative, brit-pop and hard rock, very rhythmic, catchy and well-structured. The appreciated Kaiser Chiefs + Arctic Monkeys + Rolling Stones (perhaps more danceable) soon leave the stage to the great Virginiana Miller. A very warm 30-35 minute performance played to perfection. I was hoping for a longer performance, but still, their presence on stage made a mark with both powerful new tracks like Dispetto and the most famous ballad of their '90s work La Verità Sul Tennis. The group is technically proficient and offers us a very engaging blend of Baustelle-like pop and rock.
With a break of about 15 minutes for the stage change and a minimal check, it’s already time to start. Cristiano, Luca, and the others come on amid applause, already ready to start with their music. The sweet yet acerbic Cara È La Fine kicks things off, seamlessly transitioning into the slow and immersive L'Inganno. The sound of Marlene overpowers the fans’ voices who know all the words by heart, powerful and impactful. Cristiano's voice, lower than in the early days, still sounds excellent, at times switching to a throaty scream to highlight particularly heavy passages. The concert, lasting almost 2 and a half hours, never had a dull moment, with Cristiano full of energy and in great shape, sharp in executing all the pieces, from the calmer ones like Schiele, Lei, Me and Lamento Dello Sbronzo, to the heartfelt slow songs like La Canzone Che Scrivo Per Te up to the very powerful and applauded trio from Catartica consisting of Trasudamerica, Festa Mesta, and Fuoco Su Di Te. The highlight of the concert was surely the great Ape Regina, performed in the final "encore" trio, along with the very slow yet peculiar Amen and the conclusive, unmissable Bellezza.
What to say, the sound saturated with bass and acidic vibrations of Marlene truly did justice to their sacred name, worthy of staying in the Olympus of the great names of Italian rock. And we’re not talking about Vasco.
Here is the official setlist:
cara è la fine
l'inganno
schiele, lei, me
l'agguato
a fior di pelle
serrande alzate
il solitario
mondo cattivo
come stavamo ieri
la canzone che scrivo per te
trasudamerica
fuoco su di te
festa mesta
lamento dello sbronzo
ape regina
amen
bellezza
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