Ska-P
Live Velvet - Rimini 22/07/2005

THE REVIEW

I arrive around 9:40 PM in front of the Velvet, park my bike, and notice I've made the right choice since there was an endless line of cars. I look around for my friends, but can't find them, oh well, let's go in... The support group, foreigners, whose name I do not know, was already playing, for what little I heard it was the usual punk rock that a thousand other bands do, anyway they leave without much fanfare...

The wait begins, the Velvet is packed, I try to get closer and closer to the stage, but it's tough, meanwhile I notice there are all kinds of people: from punks to trendy guys ("tamarri"), from screaming girls to dark ones, from wild fourteen-year-olds to serious forty-year-olds, from pissed-off gym buffs to calm skinny guys, basically there's everything. I look around for my friends, but no luck, mission impossible, also since the cell phone has no service, and I notice there might have been double if not triple the people from the last time the Spaniards came to the Velvet, many of whom come from out of town, it's known, Ska-P attracts. During the wait, the smell of sweat advances relentlessly, the air is rarefied, it's hard to breathe, but I don't give up, I stay in the middle, in the heat, and the chants start: ska-p, ska-p, but they don't come, Berlusconi vaffanculo is very popular, followed by the usual Bella Ciao.

Around 10:45 PM they come in and amidst general enthusiasm, kick off with the bubbly "El Gato Lopez". Then all the classics: "Tio Sam", "Welcome to Hell", "Simpatico Holzagan", "A la Mierda", "Planeta Eskoria", "El Nino Soldado", "Mestizaje" in many of which the singer, or second voice, that is, the freak show (it's true but he's very important for the group) dresses up as Death, Uncle Sam, clown, riot police and many others and is worth the ticket alone. Meanwhile, some of those in the middle of the floor are exhausted and move towards the outside but I don't give up and keep moshing at the risk of breaking my neck. Mid-concert, the guitarist performs some nice riffs and solos culminating in the cover of "Highway To Hell" by AC/DC sung by many but not all (the younger ones know them only by name). We continue with the powerful "Intifada" (in my opinion one of the most beautiful songs of the group) and the engaging "El Vals del Obrero", meanwhile, I slip away exhausted more to the side, then our guys say goodbye and leave. But I'm not fooled and know it's a joke, they've done it before, I won't be duped and after shouts from the crowd, they return with various gems, two of which rock the place: "La Estampida" and "Cannabis", surely the most famous song of the group that involves the whole Velvet. Then they leave around midnight, applauded by everyone, confirming that they are a band capable of playing, of entertaining, proving to be one of the most engaging live acts.

They say that this summer's is their last tour, their breakup has already happened, but never say never... I head to the exit, exhausted, clothes drenched in sweat, come on, I had fun, just as expected.