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Rating: PIERO PELU' - FENOMENI TOUR 2008
"An evening in the name of raw rock; music steeped in culture, this is the artistic experience of Piero Pelù, who made his Lombard fans 'pogare' in this night full of emotions and unforgettable."
The concert appropriately starts at 10:00 with a delay, among the crowd there's a magnificent sign: "Wanted - Il bandito Pelù", and I, having just acquired a t-shirt and the official fan club card of Mr. Pelù, encourage his entrance on stage with the Palasharp audience, quite empty, perhaps because of the Democratic party celebration taking place simultaneously outside the venue; among the present fans of all ages, the majority are young people around 25/30 years old.
After the performance of the opening band, our requests are fulfilled and Piero and his band, composed of Daniele Bagni on bass, Paolo Baglioni on drums, Cosimo Zannelli on guitar, and Federico Sagona on keyboard, make their magical entrance.
From my position, perfectly centered and comfortably seated on the red chairs, I can see the entire stage without problems.
The evening opens with the notes of Proibito and I, like others in the room, with beer in my body and rock in my blood, start singing at the top of my lungs like a madman. With this song that opens the concert, Piero seems not to have lost the shine of the past and, more furious than ever, effectively demonstrates a critique of the current society, describing a world limited in everything, where nothing is effectively free anymore, from drugs to sexual life.
In the air, you can almost breathe the essence of the typical Litfiba sound, he couldn't have chosen a better song as an opener.
I change position at the beginning of Gira nel mio cerchio to experience the energy of true rock under the stage, which, as Ghigo said, must be felt with a physical belly sensation. I jump and sing elbow to elbow with the other fans. Piero, more active than ever, seems to have gone back in time, jumping from one part of the stage to the other, sipping a beer, showing the audience the real liveliness and energy of pure Rock.
Good acoustics, extremely high volumes from air movements; good lighting setup too.
The evening seems to be proceeding for the best with other horses of battle from the now-defunct Litfiba from whom the Tuscan singer-songwriter seems to have resurrected from the ashes, proving he hasn't lost the grit of the past with an excellent performance of Gioconda. The eternal ex-Litfiba, current powerful icon of Italian rock, tells that this song was played live for the first time 17 years ago right in this sports hall, at the time of the El Diablo Tour.
He proves to be a true stage animal, entertaining the audience with words like: "who got married in the span of these last 17 years? Raise your rings, you bastards, the Pope will be pleased!"
The crowd in the room increases, the stage is covered with very effective dry ice choreographically, Piero picks up the guitar and plays Tutti fenomeni, the first song in the setlist of his solo repertoire as well as the first single from his latest work Fenomeni.
The frontman delights our ears with other successful songs from the Litfiba repertoire such as: Fata morgana and Vivere il mio tempo, the latter much appreciated among those present.
Without a break, it moves to Bambino, performed by Piero on his knees using remarkable gestural mimicry. During the performance, yellow balloons are thrown over the audience.
The nightmare of the bored becomes reality with Paname, during the performance the Florentine singer-songwriter often replaced the word Paname with Milan: "Saremo tempesta, tempesta e calore - la ghigliottina di ogni legge ad personam - Paname, Paname - A Milan blasé".
It is not over, indeed we are only at the beginning, without rest Il Diablo indulges in an excellent vocal performance of Cangaceiro; undoubtedly the 25-year career experience is easily perceivable in his vocal quality, especially in the choruses. During the performance, Piero encourages the audience to clap their hands and subsequently poses with arms spread as if he wanted to embrace his loyal admirers. The best of the whole concert especially for the choruses that fired up the audience.
Very beautiful and powerful Toro loco, opening with a very impactful brief a cappella intro: "Are you ready to unleash the most destructive pogo of the whole evening?! ". Piero entertains and delights the audience by pointing the microphone at them and encouraging them to sing.
A break interrupts the setlist, and it seems right because I was almost collapsing to the ground sweating, almost without a voice, and no longer able to hear!
Piero reopens the dances with Viaggio, a rock-ballad from the latest album. With a good wish dedicated to the Democratic party to continue their journey.
The band proposes Amore diablo, the least convincing of the concert.
The setlist continues with Nato Qui, dedicated to native Milanese, the rocker highlights his determination not to surrender to homogenization, to the cementification of minds.
With the accelerator pushed on rock it moves to Mamma madonna as Pelù recounted, is a song dedicated to the Courageous Mothers of the desaparecidos, who in 1977 "screamed in silence" at Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to demand justice for their children killed during the military dictatorship.
Glory for the ears of new fans, when the band started playing Prendimi così, with the singer’s accompaniment on guitar as well.
New energy, highly electric with Tribù, the first single from the penultimate album In Faccia, sung loudly by the first rows of fans, who writhed against the barriers in delirium on the chorus.
The band, with strong social commitment, plays Ufo su Firenze. The extraterrestrials Pelù refers to have eyes, legs, arms like us. The skin, yes, is often different: not green, but dark. They are the window washers against whom the Florentine municipality administration declared war last summer with the infamous ordinance. They are the last of society, who are much more frightening than an attack from Mars. They escape any established order: social, economic. For the Florentine rocker, the outstretched hands at traffic lights become a symbol of the political distortions of these years. The stage presence is remarkable and extraordinary, Piero exudes energy and charisma from all pores, enjoying and having fun making the microphone spin above the audience.
It continues with Bomba boomerang; perhaps the best anti-war song from Piero dedicated to Gino Strada, although, according to him, he sarcastically informs us that dedications are no longer fashionable.
Another tribute to nomadic culture, the group exceptionally plays an old very popular song from his former group: Lacio drom. I will never forget it; among the crowd, I manage to sneak closer to the stage, at a certain point I find myself in an empty space in the middle of the crowd, it takes me little to realize that I am in the midst of a mosh when a sweaty and shouting shirtless hulk grabs my shirt with both hands and starts shoving me in the middle of a clear circular area near the first positions under the stage. Fun, but also a little shocking, once I manage to free myself from the hulk, I too start shoving and pogoing like mad. During the mosh, a scary fight also breaks out between two giants; spectacular, "we’ll meet outside," the guy shouted while they held him back! Piero ironically commented on the incident saying: "I dig the guy who wants to fight a lot".
After the song, I find my shirt all stretched out and a cigarette burn on my elbow.
We are almost at the end of this memorable evening, Piero introduces his band and also the mascot (a funny little pig belching into the microphone) does not miss the thanks to the staff.
He grants us an encore after some intimidating threats from the front rows such as: "Where the hell do you want to go? You stay here! We don’t let you go back to Florence".
The last song that closes the concert is Lo spettacolo with a driving rhythm and some additions of well-led instrumental solos by an unmistakable vocal timbre. During the performance, even the frontman takes off his shirt and throws it towards the audience, but with a boomerang effect, it comes back on stage.
An excellent way to close a concert.
Piero, now at the end of his strength, after a 2-hour concert, leaves the stage and personally greets the first rows of fans! Followed by a long and well-deserved applause for him and his group. The concert ends at midnight.
At the end of the concert, I stay under the stage for 5 minutes hoping to get Piero's shirt, but the rocker's incorruptible bodyguards thwart my request and take it away, BASTARDS!
In conclusion: the audience stomped to the rhythm of Pelù's notes, who singing and launching messages of solidarity, peace, and legality, demonstrated, once again, to be an artist sensitive to social issues and, at the same time, the stage animal as always. The concert, divided between the phase dedicated to his solo career and the phase dedicated to the "Oldies - Goldies", lasted about two hours... The fans crowded at the barriers under the stage sang and danced throughout the evening in rapture for their idol, naturally, not sleeping the day after I find myself with scary eye bags and ringing in my ears. BUT IT WAS WORTH IT!!!
The less beautiful songs of the latest album compared to those of Litfiba but still a cut above all the artists of the current Italian scene.
Judgment significantly positive, Piero very fired up and the band more than good.
Piero Pelù is like good wine, the more time passes, the better it gets.
Alessio Fornaroli
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