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Rating: Peter Hammill walks in slowly. Tall, thin, almost skeletal, wearing a pair of trousers that "dance" abundantly.
His white hair and pale face make quite an impact seeing him again after such a long time.
Hugh Banton follows him and takes his place behind the keyboard.
Guy Evans takes his place at the drums: unlike the other two, his head is almost completely shaved and he seems to be in the best shape.
Hammill, also seated in front of a keyboard, briefly introduces himself in Italian with his halting pronunciation but with an extremely gentle and delicate cadence.
How many years have passed since I dreamed to the notes of "Refugees"?
I'm sure many of those present tonight are asking themselves the same question, perhaps thinking of "Man-Erg" or "Killer".
The concert begins.
The sound is solid, maybe a little "cold", but the synergy is good.
Above all, Hammill's incredible voice emerges, still powerful and expressive as ever.
I imagined the repertoire was mainly composed of tracks from their latest works, which unfortunately I'm not familiar with, such as: "Godbluff" from 1975 and the more recent "Trisector" and "A Grounding In Numbers".
Indeed, the concert slides by without me catching a familiar note, the compositions are clearly complex and articulated with frequent changes of tempo, but to truly appreciate them, one should have already listened to them: unfortunately my knowledge stops at "Pawn Hearts".
Hammill stands up and picks up the guitar, weaving mostly harmonic lines on the single strings, while Evans, always punctual and dynamic, appears even better than I remembered. Banton does his part with professionalism and precision.
Then Hammill returns to the keyboards, and from his seated position, I notice how incredibly thin he is, observing the silhouette of his legs outlined by his trousers.
Time passes and occasionally I glance at the audience composed of a few hundred people.
White hair obviously abounds, and some wear, with thinly veiled pride, the Van Der Graaf t-shirt they purchased at the entrance.
At the end of each performance, the applause is thunderous, but I believe everyone is waiting for a famous track, something memorable.
And in fact, without hinting at any introduction, Hammill introduces the piano arpeggios of "Man-Erg", which are obviously greeted by a roaring applause.
The performance is beautiful, intense, almost moving.
Now the sound is better too; I even seem to hear Jackson's sax, while Hammill's voice is incredibly engaging. The chills begin to arise, stirring a sea of memories.
Man-Erg ends amidst ovation, and the three wave and head towards the side exit of the stage, accompanied by insistent applause that, of course, obliges them to reappear a few minutes later for the inevitable encore.
Ultimately, a good concert, although I personally would have appreciated the inclusion of a few more tracks from the early albums. But that's my own limitation.
In the car, no one wants to talk, everyone is lost in their own thoughts or, more likely, their own memories.
It's just half-past eleven. It's a spring Saturday evening, and young people are crowding the seaside venues.
From a parked car, the booming and aggressive bass of a "house" track mercilessly brings me back to 2011.
Setlist of the performed tracks
Interference Patterns
Mr Sands
Your Time Starts Now
All That Before
Lifetime
Bunsho
Meurglys III
All Over The Place
(We Are) Not Here
Over The Hill
Man-Erg
Scorched Earth (encore)
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