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Rating: The Zen Circus deserve more! This is my bitter thought and conclusion, fresh off the concert.
They definitely deserve more than the sparse audience that attended this evening at the Koko club in Castelletto Cervo (BI), the first date of the 2010 tour. By now Appino, Ufo, and Karim Qqru have been around for several years, but only with the release of the spectacular "Andate tutti affanculo" do they seem to have found that minimal media spotlight that was previously relegated to the music undergrowth. A spotlight they deserve, because live, their songs are even better than on record, thanks to their stage presence, which is an excellent combination of dynamism and technique. In short, if success smiles upon them, it will be well-earned through years of records and tours and not handed to them like the modern music-business fashion seems to impose. Naturally, no change in direction should be asked of their success; their irony and their sharp and sarcastic critique must remain intact. We'll see.
The evening was opened by the locals Meiken, a band dedicated to pop-rock, where I saw some interesting beat influences, pleasant and smooth.
Quick stage change and the Zen Circus burst onto the scene with "Gente di Merda", a true manifesto song from the latest album. Their lyrics spare nothing and no one; everything is straightforward and in your face like their performance. Demonstrating how much they believe in this new phase of their career is evidenced by the concert setlist which includes besides old warhorses like "Figlio di puttana", "Vent'anni", and "Vana gloria", almost the entire representation of the latest album.
The brilliant "Canzone di Natale" (with final phone call included), "Andate tutti affanculo", "Vecchi senza peranza", and "Vuoti a perdere" (unfortunately without Nada's voice!) gain even more live and will surely remain classics in the years to come. Appino and Ufo know how to hold the stage like seasoned rockstars and the show, made up of just lights and sweat, doesn't need anything else. Perhaps a less timid audience approaching the stage.
There are also some amusing skits, typical of good Tuscans, and the finale entrusted to the cover "Wild Wild Life" by the Talking Heads and to "It's Paradise" (watch the beautiful video) with a long noise tail featuring the drummer Karim, a real showman.
What can I say, the musical eclecticism of Zen Circus came out strong: folk, rock, punk, rock'n'roll, blues, noise, and singer-songwriter can coexist in a fresh, brilliant, and communicative way. At the risk of sounding rhetorical, a band like this, in some countries where rock is more mainstream, would be front-page news, and their international collaborations speak for themselves. Unfortunately, as the same guys from Pisa teach us, the only thing we can say to our beautiful country is: andate tutti affanculo!
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