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Rating: It's December, one of those evenings when you wonder if you're really in Sicily or in the south of Switzerland, and not just because of the weather but also because of the concentration of musical events that hit my city, Palermo, that night (and believe me, it was pure coincidence). It was the first time that a sharp musical crossroads appeared before me: on one hand the solid and granite history represented by Ian Paice, the hilarious drummer of Deep Purple; on the other, the "new" advancing or even better, the "emerging" aggressively wanting to make its way.
This second option was represented by a trio from Washington D. C. with the curious name "Medications," of whom I knew absolutely nothing but who already kind of got on my nerves just because I had already made my choice that evening... Yes, indeed, I had chosen the "hippy" history embodied by that colossus just over sixty, Paice, but unfortunately (now I declare, thankfully) the ticket office, that night, did not choose me, as there were not even a shadow of tickets. Deeply disappointed, I almost wanted to go home, maybe after a quick beer with friends... They, those very same friends, seeing me a bit unprepared for the idea of not seeing Paice, suddenly reminded me of that group that was playing, for the "Indiexplosion" festival, in a small venue in the historic center...
As the minutes passed, while we were about to reach this "blessed" historical center, questions grew about this poor trio from Washington landing in Palermo, without being minimally known even by the city's "indieologists"... A sharp question arises: "WHO SENT THEM HERE!?"... A short and direct answer strikes me: "DISCHORD"... Counter-response: "AH"! Oh look, look, the meritorious Dischord, who would have expected that!??". The first hints of going to see a "fallback" concert slowly start to shape into the hope that Ian Mackaye (leader of Fugazi and founder of Dischord) has not sent us 3 failures from overseas... After all, it's known, Dischord is the historic American independent label that produced several small phenomenon groups.
So what do we do!? Let's go in, come on, if we hurry we might still catch the reduction and perhaps scrutinize these 3 unknowns during the pre-concert. Then once inside, the setting seemed like a saloon (but in the Sahara), it was almost a given; always considering that on the other side of the city there was that sixty-year-old simpatico, Paice, thrashing out on the cymbals. While taking a look at the instruments, not yet picked up, my faithful friend, also an excellent musical guide and always by my side in many concerts that I will present with the perfectly fitting nickname "Conte," and I spot three guys who indeed stood out from the crowd: short-sleeved shirts and shorts (hmm)! An irony prevailed when one of the three (the drummer) began doing very intense stretching on a pillar of the venue, evidently, he's going to hit so hard he doesn't want to tear himself, thought the Count and I: never was a prediction more accurate! Once on the stage, we started to frame them well individually, these personalities: the singer/guitarist Davin Ocampo seemed like a freaking cartoon with static dynamism, in the sense that he made all possible movements in a square cm; then there was that beanpole Chad Molter (bassist), very similar to that puppet from the blue jeans ad; and lastly, that six-season wardrobe of a drummer Andrew Becker (the one who was taking down the pillar doing stretches).
I have to say, we had at least informed ourselves about their discography, concluding that in 2004 they released an EP "Medications," while in 2005 they unveiled the album which they were presenting that night named "Your Favorite People All In One Place." And indeed, they start right off with a piece from the new album (Surprise): an "indie" ballad full of accelerations and gradual slowdowns; initially the sound seems a bit raw and with squared parts like Sonic Youth... As the tracks pass, the dynamism and noticeable rhythm shifts take over, in short, they begin cranking up the volume and hitting the target, perhaps a bit too much, as after a good half-hour I turn to find "the Count" simply astounded with thumbs up directed at the drummer (he often focuses on those being a drummer himself). Right after the first half-hour, I realize I am dealing with musicians, above all, extremely in sync with each other and very coordinated in the various transitions between always varied rhythms often and willingly adorned with somewhat "playful" arrangements, considering also that the speed of execution of the pieces is heart-stopping... But hush-hush, quietly came the unexpected: a guitar string breaks and I almost expected at least an emergency end to the song... No way, these are guys who know what a show is and so "the puppet" Chad on bass and "the wardrobe" Andrew on drums start improvising without any hesitation and especially without any rupture after the unexpected break of Davin's string, who once it's fixed, gives a glance to the two tinkerers/improvisers, and without stopping the music resumes from the precise point where the incident happened: what a freaking show! It was almost as if they put the record back, even if they didn't have a player but instruments, and by the way: the acoustics (a bane and delight of live shows), which is usually very disappointing in that venue, was perfect that night!
Our young American guys also show generosity playing tracks from the EP touching nearly two hours of concert, but without boring, indeed those thirty or so people present (I bet, also left without a ticket for that drummer whose name I no longer remember) start making noise and crowding around the stage to show those three unknowns that they were making themselves known quite well, offering their qualities in a pure, crystal-clear way... And if these qualities are supported by a good dose of humility, which in my opinion every emerging band must have, then that explains why all the people present (without exception) lined up at the end of the concert at the merchandise stand to purchase this excellent record "Your Favorite People All In One Place," even if it must be noted it doesn't do justice to the live performance, but this, gentlemen, is all thanks to the three unknowns who, unlike many other indie bands I've already seen, know how to emanate pure energy from the stage overlapping a great unity with decent technique.
At the end of the concert, I could do nothing but repeat to myself a sort of thank-you prayer that went something like this: "Bravo ticket office, thanks above all for not choosing me and also for having made the new ascend, or rather the emerging over the solid and granite but now passed and rehashed history win, at least once"... And then evidently, that evening, the Count and I were destined, unknowingly, to be chosen by three GREAT unknowns!
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