Quintorigo
"Quintorigo Plays Mingus" Live @ Festa di Radio Onda D'Urto, Brescia 21.08.09

THE REVIEW

"I prefer the Skarafaggi to the Quintorigo" "To me, 5 euros for the Skarafaggi is a rip-off" This dialogue really took place, let that be clear to the reader. I won't tell you who the conversers are, but by reading the review, you can understand which side your Telespalla is on.

The Quintorigo are rather well known thanks to well-made albums and the presence, in the past, of a superb artist like John De Leo; the Skarafaggi is a very famous band in the city and they play something in the style of the Ska-P. You should know that in that provincial hole called Brescia (Brèsa for dialect connoisseurs) it seems that two musical genres can be played: either ska-punk or post-grunge (therefore music and genres without any logic), that's it? In truth, beneath the surface, but very beneath, there's a spread of a really good extreme metal scene throughout the province, but Brescia, a Catholic and culturally repressed city, cannot accept the music of Satan. So here I am on this site, to recount a concert that is also a sign of a "culture" and a mindset that envelops what lies beneath the Cidneo.

Arriving at the Festa di Radio Onda d'Urto and approaching the stage with a beer in hand, we find benches and seated an audience with an average age around thirty-five years old, even some fathers with gray hair holding their children. The few young people present at the concert sit on the ground, in front of the stage, or settle behind at a safe distance. The Quintorigo was one of the few interesting events that this year caught my attention at the Sant'Eufemia stage, but I couldn't wait: it was nonetheless about a group of value, and then they engaged with a giant like Charles Mingus, after having treated it on an album last year that received numerous positive accolades. On the stage, a scenography composed of two profiles of Mingus and a black tarp in the center through which images passed, on the stage the historical lineup with the support of Luisa Cottifogli on vocals. Music dense with emotions and anger, that of the famous double bassist (favored instrument), accompanied by readings by Cottifogli of some writings on Mingus's life. The repertoire presented mainly concerns the early years of his career, with some slight incursions into the final productions, and the sonic performance is engaging, decisively heartfelt and played very well.

It is difficult to speak well of someone in particular, with the risk then of diminishing the dirty work of others, but personally, I felt the music pulsing inside me and experienced beautiful sensations, something which I reciprocated (partially, logically) with a very heartfelt applause at the end, preferring to save them for the end rather than squander them poorly like many others did. Those who accompanied me this evening said: "It's not a concert for the Radio festival", I was perplexed at first but then I thought about it and say that he is partially right. A correction should be made: it is not a concert for a part of the normal festival audience, a whole category of children from the respectable part of Brescia (who would like it shut down, who knows why) and of people who can't identify the value of the concert part; very few remain, and it doesn't surprise me that it attracted mostly people not accustomed to attending such an event. It's a serious signal, especially in view of the clear moons announced by the Rolfweiler (by this term one refers, derogatorily, to the deputy mayor of Brescia Fabio Rolfi) who has decided, in his pumpkin, that Radio Onda d'Urto and its festival must close and he has obstructed it with a series of bans devoid of any logic. Logically (and rightly) a battle has been announced and there's also a petition, which I signed with my autograph, to prevent the intentions of the municipal administration from being realized. It would be a serious defeat for Brescia, which once again would prove itself a city incapable of enhancing its culture, able to "live" with absolutely ad-hoc events. It's better not to ask the people of Brescia because beyond the Oglio and the Mincio they are considered for what they are: ignorant provincials. He who is the cause of his illness should weep for himself.

P.S. Since the person in charge of photography forgot the equipment at home this time, there's nothing we can do, I'm sorry. From next time, we'll resume the regular flow of photography.