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Rating: THE FRAMES
La Casa 139, Milan November 28, 2006
Here they are.
Glen Hansard is wearing an adorable wool cap, he's right there in front of me, never has the front row at any concert been so close, I reach out and rest my hand on his monitor speaker... I will finally hear him sing, it's all true.
They start with "Turbit", a mostly instrumental piece, I don't know it, but I recognize their sounds, that distinctive violin and the bass, drums, and the other guitarist creating a backdrop. At the end, Glen greets the audience and introduces the next song; I understand, also thanks to the first chords, that it's "Keepsake" (from "Burn The Maps")
"And maybe it's cause you can't say
Keeps me always believing
I'll give you this as a keepsake
And right after that I'm leaving
And maybe it's all we can't take
Keeps us always returning
I'll give you this as a keepsake
And everything else I'm burning. .
I can't sleep.."
a piece that from here onwards and especially at the end becomes almost psychedelic, guitars and distortions exchange phrases with the increasingly sharp violin.
Guitar change, Glen picks up a Takamine and I recognize the intro of "Rise" (from their latest album, "The Cost"), an acoustic ballad rendered poignant and intense by his voice (never out of tune, impressive) and that way of shouting. I miss Marketa Irglova's piano a bit, but it's still beautiful....
"Breathing in the night,
there's nothing else I'm needing now
the wind is at my side
and so are you"
and if he's singing to you from half a meter, how can you argue...
He picks up his Fender (well-used and a bit battered) and starts with "Finally" (from "Burn The Maps"), a track with a shouted chorus
"When you want something that much,
it's drawing trouble on your life
and when you found something so good
it's hard to focus on what's right"
Finally, I see that raw and visceral rock live, but above all Glen's strength and anger and his emotional power that I experienced the first times I heard him.
The atmosphere becomes calmer with the ballad "What Happens When The Heart Just Stops" (from "For The Birds")
"We have no reason left to stay
And that's why we're leaving
And there was no answer in the dust
And the one I feared to trust
There is a lie that drags us
Beating and pulling into disappointment
I'm disappointed
I'm disappointed
I'm disappointed
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