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Rating: Bands of a certain quality in our parts have become extinct. Nowadays, venues have specialized in the "tribute night," which usually, if you don't know the band in question, is a bit of a drag after two songs... There's a lack of a band that can give you the best of rock history and also knows how to engage you. In short, a band similar to Mr. Pig.
Led by the frontman Michele Luppi, with his powerful and unique timbre, the band features Dr. Viossy on the seven-string guitar (Michele Vioni, collaborator with the AMM-NATIONAL SCHOOL), JT on bass (Giorgio Terenzani), and "the Wizard" (Riccardo) Merlini on drums. Among these four characters, it's impossible to define who is the most technically gifted.
Finally, they return to Veneto after two months of absence, which were used to fine-tune the new show "Rock Revolution," where they deliberately kept everything under wraps to keep the mystery alive. The venue for the eagerly awaited concert is "Mozzicosauro" in Rovigo, located near the shopping center, and as usual, a navigator would be handy, but without one, we rely on the guidance of the locals. Leaving Montagnana (PD) at half-past ten, my girlfriend and I arrive, after getting lost twice, at the venue by eleven forty. The "Mozzico" isn't yet fully packed, and we manage to get to the front while the band had already started playing "You Could Be Mine" by Guns (I think, I heard the last ten seconds). We position ourselves in the front rows, and the band starts "Burn": the voice is so powerful that my jaw almost drops in astonishment, but that's what listening to good Michele is like! No news then, these are still the classic songs that the band offered even before Rock Revolution... I'm thinking... but where's the novelty?
Here it is! With "Think" by Aretha Franklin, in an Extreme, hard-funk-rock style, they explore soulful atmospheres where the voice contributes with feeling and personality. They continue with "Highway to Hell" with two amusing ladies as dancers, and they celebrate the frontman's birthday, who pretends to have a midlife crisis. Another novelty: they perform the "Rocky" soundtrack rearranged by the four little pigs, with good Michele on keyboards. Then there's the classic prog interlude: the usual two songs by Dream; "Sorrounded" and a completely instrumental one with an outrageous odd time signature that the band performs impeccably as usual, then there are the frontman's antics who first asks for three limoncellos but can only drink one, since it wasn't diluted with orange juice as usual... they continue with a slow and gentle song that I believe is the infamous Morrisette cover that caused a scandal, then it's the Wizard's turn, who delivers a breathtaking 6-7 minute drum solo, impressing even the untrained listener with a bit of stick spinning and playing the bass drum pedal with the tip of his right foot and the hi-hat with the heel... then, although dead tired, Michele invites him to sing a ballad that could be taken from Bon Jovi's repertoire, and everyone sings while the Great Wizard catches his breath. Another round of applause for the drummer's vocal performance as they immediately start "Enter Sandman" with Vioni singing the verse while in the chorus Luppi mocks Hetfield's timbre with random "OH YEAHH!!" in the midst of the solo.
Right after, a metallic medley of pop songs follows, performing hits by Nek and Ligabue, and the drunker metalheads, not recognizing them, continue headbanging. Then another novelty; the Darkness! And with "I Believe In a Thing Called Love," the tireless "Miguel Lobos" (a cultured citation) does the "game," singing the chorus each time raising it a key, reaching a ridiculous note (hopefully in falsetto) to shatter glasses and eardrums. During the Kiss cover ("RnR All Night"), three bras requested from the three dead cats in the front row, now self-promoted groupies, make their way to the stage.
With "Carrie," Michele's voice is infuriatingly perfect and full of emotion. The concert ends with "Welcome To The Jungle" and another song specially rearranged for the "Rock Revolution" show: "Baba O' Riley" à la Mr. Big... The finale is chilling, and I see the ghosts of Gilbert, Sheehan, Torpey, and Martin (even if they're not dead yet, just pretend nothing happened) high-fiving these phenomena...
Enjoyable show, impossibly technical voice and instruments, but played from the heart, played for the audience. EVEN THOUGH... Mr. Pig months earlier gave something more... it must be said that the audience wasn't much (200 people) but a bit cold, and the new show's songs were more on the "already heard" side and less heavy.
But all in all, this was a tribute review, for a great band that pays a great tribute to the history of Rock.
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