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Rating: More attracted by the meaning than the signifier. More intrigued by its masonic nature (if you'll allow me) than by the performance of Umberto "Moltheni" Giardini. I attended this intimate evening in the name of a very interesting and experimental initiative called "Secret Concert".
More or less, it goes like this: the mini-concerts are organized by private individuals (let's say fans of the artist) in private houses/apartments, exactly. The announcement is launched on major social networks, in a schematic and rather cryptic way: no-time-no-address. Only the city and date of the event. The participation list is closed, of course. Once you're in the chosen group, you're given the exact address via SMS, strictly 24 hours before the event. Please bring a few euros and a bottle of wine.
I was saying, the initiative intrigued me: a mix between a "beach" gathering (the concerts are, for obvious reasons, totally acoustic) and a fan club meeting (an unfortunate expression), where the distance between the audience and the artist is completely eliminated, and where, between a glass of Chianti and a country focaccia, there's just the right time to talk about music, get informed about the new projects of the artist in question, or even dare to gossip about other musicians currently in the spotlight. Certainly, for those expecting the charm of the "front of stage", the secret concert is not the ideal context. However, there is, in the initiative, something romantic and bohemian, a sincere manifestation of love for music by those who make their home available by letting in perfect strangers.
Then, of course, there is also the performance. In the case of Moltheni, I don't want to hold back, I've followed him since the beginning. I adore his writing, his grainy photographs, the swirling advance of his music. Some judge it as a chant, others, like me, see it as poignant poetry. To tell the truth, the musical and lyrical performance wasn't, in this case, as effective as on the record or in ensemble. The mere voice-guitar hasn't equally delivered, in fact, the charm of the original songs and the absence of Canali's organ was indeed felt. In addition, I would add a certain coldness from the audience (Milanese?) which lacked adequate warmth in interaction. Fortunately, many songs stand on their own, and the triptych "Bowling or Sex", "In Porpora", and "Suprema" represented, in that sense, the peak of the evening. Worth mentioning is also the greatness of a song like "Ragazzo solo, Ragazza sola" included in the highly recommended "I segreti del corallo".
I spend two last words to ask myself two questions and give the answers: 1) are we facing a new channel of music distribution? maybe yes. 2) will Moltheni return to rock form? No. On this occasion, Umberto reiterated: "for years I have renounced my rock past".
As far as I'm concerned, I'm okay with that too.
(listening to an excerpt from "ragazzo solo, ragazza sola")
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