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Rating: Why did I end up at Parco della Pellerina for this Traffic Festival? Boh, I still don't know. Anyway, I guess out of curiosity and to spend an entire day with my friends, hanging out and chatting... Yes, that's probably the main reason. July 11th was the "punk" day of the festival and we got there very early (thanks to the punk who believed it would be crowded... yeah, right!!), after kissing, napping, therapeutic readings (as therapeutic as Aldous Huxley can be), and other various lazy activities, we noticed that over time the crowd grew.
I certainly can't say I liked most of the audience: overly excited punks with very chic, allegorical mohawks that I personally find ridiculous and so pretentious, bah, I decided to ignore them. The first concert, that of the Plastination, starts around 8:00 PM, the band in question plays really violent hardcore punk, but above all, sincere... very good impression. I’ll explore it further... Then something happens, a strong downpour turns the audience area into something similar to a pool and the technicians dismantle everything. Panic. Anger. Protests (in which most of the crowd proves you can be dumber than an ostrich). Until the news arrives that everything will proceed as planned. So, the Punkreas take the stage and get us moving despite the heavy dose of silliness in their image and music... in short, eternal adolescents who, however, know how to entertain. A good choice to perform only classic tracks like "Voglio Armarmi", "Fratello Poliziotto", "Aca Toro", and "Canapa".
A short break and it's the Wire's turn and here I believe I witnessed the best concert of the day. I don't know any of their songs, but they got me involved anyway. Good sounds, good musicians, and a great singer... it was practically perfect, and after the last song, they left to many applause. Deservedly, I'd say. The moment arrives that all those in disguise (and to a small extent, me) were waiting for. The Pistols make us wait... but I don't care much, I certainly don't have high expectations from them. Pure and humble curiosity. Nothing more.
The moshing starts before the concert, and I have to tell off some jerks too wasted to understand. Small bottles rain down on the stage and when Johnny Rotten & co. arrive, there's immediately controversy, good old Johnny is dressed ridiculously and complains about a beer bottle thrown and landing just a few centimeters from him. Steve Johns, who has put on quite a bit of weight, starts the riff of "Pretty Vacant" and a fairly powerful pogo shakes me. I must say I thought the four Englishmen were in worse shape, instead it seems they finally learned to play (also thanks to the acoustics, which seemed excellent to me), and the songs flow pleasantly. "No Feelings", "Liars", "E.M.I.", "Holidays in the Sun", and "Problems" bring back fond memories for me, which go back roughly to middle school when I discovered the band, and they thrilled me. Even though a few things have changed, those pieces have stayed with me.
The thing I didn't appreciate at all were the overly forced attitudes of Rotten... just to rile up the crowd and which certainly don't denote much sincerity. "God Save the Queen" closes the first part. The Pistols come back for the encore and play "Anarchy in the U.K.", which gets everyone going (including me). "Radio One" closes the concert, and we all head home... What remains of this concert? Not much, I don't know what might have remained besides Wire and Plastination, which were the two bands I had hardly or never heard of...
P.S. I apologize if I'm sending this review only now, but I wrote it the day Malley's (very well done) was released, and at the time, I decided not to edit it... now I've reconsidered, and it seems fair to let you read it too, perhaps for a more general overview of the day...
Bye everyone...
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