Tony Levin
Live @ Noise - Torino 03 Maggio 2006

THE REVIEW

Wednesday, May 3, 2006, Tony Levin is in Turin with his band. The super-organized Turin of the Olympics practically doesn't notice what is probably an event, an event in the characters playing that evening and intrinsic in the palmarés they flaunt.

Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta, Larry Fast, Pete Levin (Tony's brother), and Jesse Gress, the latter a guitarist and sidekick of Todd Rundgren, as well as the author of five, I say five books on advanced guitar technique, an excellent calling card.

The venue is small; I don't see more than three hundred people. The fear was finding myself amidst a crowd of uptight musicians super focused on dissecting the technicalities of the American bassist, but instead, I must say the atmosphere is relaxed, with an audience not so young but ready to welcome each performance with genuine enthusiasm. The concert opens with "Pilar Of Fire" a track from "Waters Of Eden," a splendid album from 2000, continuing with pieces from his latest work "Resonator" where the beautiful "Utopia" finds its place. The first part of the concert is set on the proposal of his solo repertoire, "Pieces Of The Sun" and "Phobos" above all, with the exception of a rare yet highly appreciated "Back In N.Y.C." by Genesis (the good ones), with an unusual and quite good Jerry Marotta on vocals closing the first half of the evening.

With the acoustics adjusted, the second part opens, among anecdotes about Peter Gabriel and jokes in perfect Italian between Tony and us attendees, with a repertoire featuring pieces not entirely composed by him but in which he was a protagonist: "On The Air" by Gabriel and "Sleepless" by King Crimson, also sung by Marotta, and then concluding the concert with an electrifying "Elephant Talk" by King Crimson where the guitaristic trumpet originally by Belew is replaced by a synthesized trumpet by Fast, but the reference to Fripp in the aforementioned pieces is so much that even the excellent Gress cannot make up for the sounds and especially the style of Robert.
Naturally, Levin displays his skill using various types of bass, from fretless to six-string bass, from electric viola to the legendary stick; Marotta, slightly physically heavier, is impeccable in his tight drumming, Larry Fast, nicknamed by Levin himself as Synergyman, for his ability to manipulate the most disparate sounds and adapt them to any situation, is attentive and ready to create synergy between sound and music, Jesse Gress, a virtuoso guitarist with wild eyes, shows us what it means to play guitar, and Pete Levin (unknown to me), is excellent at piano and keyboards.

After a couple more tracks from his latest album, the evening concludes, and I find myself shoulder to shoulder with Marotta while shaking hands with Levin. It doesn't seem real; those musicians I once saw so distant from me (just due to structural conditions, like big stages) and who seemed unreachable, are now there within arm's reach, and I relish that moment.

Tony Levin with satisfaction and a huge smile on his face waves goodbye, repeatedly saying <..grazie Torino, siete fantastic> as he walks towards the exit of the stage.