Thrashing blues alt rockers Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have confirmed the release date of their upcoming fifth album Beat The Devil’s Tattoo via their website. The first full length studio album on the band’s own Abstract Dragon label comes out March 9th in the US and Canada, March 8th for the UK/Europe/Japan/Australia territories and March 16th in Germany.
Beat The Devil’s Tattoo was written and recorded in Philadelphia at the Basement Studio where the band scored big in 2005 with their third album Howl. According to bass player Robert Been, “We lived and breathed this record for 6 months out in one the coldest Philadelphia winters in history. Every track on there was frozen to our bones, and chipped off one sliver at a time.

The album marks drummer Leah Shapiro’s first recording with the band when after years of drama and erratic behavior due to drug addiction, original drummer, Nick Jago left the band. If you are eager to hear new material you can catch their exclusive single, Done All Wrong off the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack also featuring Muse, Bon Iver, The Killers and Death Cab For Cutie.

BMRC will headline a tour throughout North America, UK and Europe, kicking off in Sacramento, CA, February 26. Pre-sale tickets for U.S. shows will start Wednesday, December 2. UK and Europe shows go on sale April 12 unless otherwise noted. The following is a list of tour dates for North America and Europe:

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB NORTH AMERICAN HEADLINE TOUR

February 26 Sacramento, CA Harlow’s

February 27 Reno, NV Knitting Factory

February 28 Las Vegas, NV Wasted Space @ Hard Rock Hotel

March 2 Denver, CO Gothic Theatre

March 4 Boise, ID Knitting Factory

March 5 Seattle, WA Showbox Market

March 6 Vancouver, B.C. Commodore

March 7 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom

March 9 San Francisco, CA Slim’s

March 13 San Diego, CA House of Blues

March 14 Los Angeles, CA Echoplex

March 18 Dallas, TX House of Blues

March 20 Houston, TX House of Blues

March 21 Tulsa, OK Cain’s Ballroom

March 23 St. Louis, MO Pageant

March 24 Madison, WA High Noon

March 25 Chicago, IL Metro

March 26 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall Ballroom

March 27 Minneapolis, MN First Ave.

March 30 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall

March 31 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues

April 1 Toronto, ONT Phoenix

April 2 Montreal, QC La Tulipe

April 3 Boston, MA House of Blues

April 5 Washington, D.C. 9:30 Club

April 6 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts

April 7 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Small’s Theatre

April 8 New York, NY Webster Hall

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB UK & EUROPEAN HEADLINE TOUR

April 16 Glasgow, UK ABC

April 17 Whitehaven, UK Civic Hall

April 19 Newcastle, UK University

April 20 Manchester, UK Ritz

April 21 Leamington, UK Spa Assembly

April 22 Southampton, UK Uni

April 23 London, UK Forum

April 24 Nottingham, UK Rock City

April 26 Leeds, UK Academy

April 27 Liverpool, UK Academy

April 28 Wolves, UK Wulfun Hall

April 29 Brighton, UK Concorde 2

May 1 Copenhagen, DK Vega (on sale 8.12.09)

May 2 Hamburg, DE Markthalle (on sale 30.11.09)

May 3 Cologne, DE Essigfabrik (on sale 30.11.09)

May 4 Berlin, DE Postbahnoff (on sale 30.11.09)

May 5 Munich, DE Backstage Werk (on sale 30.11.09)

May 7 Milan, IT Magazzini Generali (on sale TBA)

May 8 Bologna, IT Estragon (on sale TBA)

May 9 Rome, IT Piper (on sale TBA)

May 11 Clermont, FR Ferrand Coop De Mai (on sale 2.12.09)

May 12 Paris, FR Bataclan (on sale 2.12.09)

May 13 Amsterdam, NL Paradiso (on sale 5.12.09)

May 14 Belgium Les Nuits Festival, Marquee (on sale TBA)

May 15 Switzerland Longirock (on sale TBA)

May 17 Vienna, AT Arena

Pre-sale starts December 10, 2009 at 10am. Password is 666conducer. Tickets will be available to the public on December 11th, 10am for their March 6th show at the Commadore Ballroom. No word on the opening band, but they have been touring with “The Duke Spirit” …. New album “Beating the Devils Tattoo” is set to drop on March the 9th 2010 in North America, so we should get a sneak peak at some of their new songs before the rest of the world. This is not a show to be missed.

I have decided to add another aspect of discussion into this blog and because my friends have recently started up a blog devoted completely to discussing contemporary music;  This Room is Wrong. I thought, why not share my musical leaning to the wonderful people who read my blog. I am one of those people who wishes my entire life had a soundtrack because I would almost definitely have a song for every moment. So my music of the week always relates to how my week is going and what sort of mood I am in.

This week has been ridiculously busy in my life. Someone at my work left so my hours got put up to full-time (I used to only work part-time) and although I’ve worked full-time before it’s always a big change. But a great change in this circumstances as I NEED every cent I can get. So the music is very positive this week.

So enough blabbing and down to the music.

This week the songs are as follows:

Eagles of Death Metal – I Want You So Hard

and

The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Berlin

They are both epic songs in their own right, and for this like entire week when I was walking to work I would put my iPod on shuffle and just end up inevitably shufling until I came across either of these songs. They are both heavy as and I found myself barely resisting the urge to dance as I walked down the street.

I am desperately hoping that none of the aforementioned friends read this as my music reviewing skills leave much to be desired. They on the other hand can prattle on for hours about the tone of the guitar, the ‘catchiness’ of a riff….where as all I can say is whether or not I like/love a song. I am sure with their guidance I will be able to deliver a far more satisfying report but for now, you’ll just have to put up with this.

Thanks for your time. Feel free to comment, I’d love to hear your feedback and respective opinions.

Artist: Black Rebel Motor Cycle Club

Venue: Commodore Ballroom

Date: March 6, 2010

Tickets available here.

Live Nation just announced that BRMC will be playing the Commodore Ballroom March 6, 2010.  Tickets will go on sale to the public on December 11, 2009, but Live Nation will be providing a presale on December 9, 2009.  I was in attendance at the last BRMC show at Richards on Richards (RIP) and this is a show not to be missed. No word yet on opening acts.

Twilight 2 : New Moon.. wow, some major hype has been surrounding this the second in a probable longer series of Twilight movies.. as well there was an all-star Indie band effort in laying tracks for the OST for New Moon. Some bands seem to hit the headlines early, for example DCFC and The Editors. Others, like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, perhaps got lost in the shuffle. Their track, “Done All Wrong” was track 9 in the 15-track compilation sandwiched right between a sweet duet with Bon Iver and St. Vincent and a relatively obscure track, “Monsters” written and recorded under the moniker of Hurricane Bells, aka Steve Schiltz of Longwave’s side project. “Monsters” was not even slated for his, presently unreleased, debut album.

Just after the New Moon premiered, BRMC, released a live CD/DVD pack of various tracks spanning their entire career (plus a romping cover of the Pogues’ “Dirty Old Town” unavailable elsewhere), recorded in Berlin, Dublin and Glasgow, and mixed by BRMC’s own Peter Hayes.

And, if that isn’t enough, they just unveiled that the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is set to release their fifth studio album, Beat The Devil’s Tattoo, on March 8th. Of note, the band wrote and recorded most of the album at The Basement Studio in Philadelphia, PA – the same room where they wrote and recorded “Howl” as well as some work in their hometown Los Angeles. Beat The Devil’s Tattoo also marks the first album with drummer Leah Shapiro.

BRMC will also embark on a North American headline tour upon release, kicking off February 26 in Sacramento and culminating at New York City’s Webster Hall on April 8.

Recently the band supported an effort to stop human trafficking in San Diego, CA. and covered Bob Dylan’s “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”.

Titeln på första låten härunder drar otvingat tankarna till tjejer.
Tjejer som man vaknar bredvid. Märkligt nog sker detta väldigt sällan i mitt liv.
Men sången handlar inte om dessa tjejer i vilket fall.
Good morning girl.

Sång nummer två här får ses som ett brian jonestownskt intermezzo till det nya album som släpps om exakt en månad.
Newcombe har varit på island, sugit i sig syra och sparkat omkull sovande geyserpoppare.
Bandet har gått igenom en elakartad metamorphis.
90 talets bjm hörs kvar men visst är det nytt vatten under broarna.
En paus från folkligt bjm men dessa olika låtar slår alla an en ensam liten darrande sträng inom mig.
Jag kan inte sluta älska det här bandet.


Nya skivan “who killed sgt pepper?” släpps 1 januari nådens år 2010

From the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club mailing list, info about the upcoming album is quoted below. Check their website for more details, and info about the new live DVD.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is set to release their fifth studio album, Beat The Devil’s Tattoo, on March 8th (UK/Europe/Japan/Australia et al), March 9th (US/Canada) and March 16th (Germay). This release signifis the band’s first full-length on their own Abstract Dragon label, in partnership with Vagrant Records and Co-Op Music Group. The band wrote and recorded most of the album at The Basement Studio in Philadelphia, PA – the same room where they wrote and recorded “Howl” as well as some work in their hometown Los Angeles. Beat The Devil’s Tattoo also marks the first album with drummer Leah Shapiro.
The trio is primed to embark on a North American headline tour upon release, kicking off February 26 in Sacramento and culminating at New York City’s Webster Hall on April 8. Pre-sale for all shows will start Wednesday, December 2 including a show at Slim’s in their original hometown of San Francisco, CA on release day.
BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB NORTH AMERICAN HEADLINE TOUR
February 26 Sacramento, CA Harlow’s
February 27 Reno, NV Knitting Factory
February 28 Las Vegas, NV Wasted Space @ Hard Rock Hotel
March 2 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
March 4 Boise, ID Knitting Factory
March 5 Seattle, WA Showbox Market
March 6 Vancouver, B.C. Commodore
March 7 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom
March 9 San Francisco, CA Slim’s
March 13 San Diego, CA House of Blues
March 14 Los Angeles, CA Echoplex
March 18 Dallas, TX House of Blues
March 20 Houston, TX House of Blues
March 21 Tulsa, OK Cain’s Ballroom
March 23 St. Louis, MO Pageant
March 24 Madison, WA High Noon
March 25 Chicago, IL Metro
March 26 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall Ballroom
March 27 Minneapolis, MN First Ave.
March 30 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall
March 31 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues
April 1 Toronto, ONT Phoenix
April 2 Montreal, QC La Tulipe
April 3 Boston, MA House of Blues
April 5 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
April 7 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts
April 8 New York, NY Webster Hall

Immediately following the end of the US dates, the band will head across the pond for a string of shows in the UK and Europe. Most shows go on sale 4.12.09 unless otherwise noted below.

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB UK & EUROPEAN HEADLINE TOUR
April 16 Glasgow, UK ABC
April 17 Whitehaven, UK Civic Hall
April 19 Newcastle, UK University
April 20 Manchester, UK Ritz
April 21 Leamington, UK Spa Assembly
April 22 Southampton, UK Uni
April 23 London, UK Forum
April 24 Nottingham, UK Rock City
April 26 Leeds, UK Academy
April 27 Liverpool, UK Academy
April 28 Wolves, UK Wulfun Hall
April 29 Brighton, UK Concorde 2
May 1 Copenhagen, DK Vega (on sale 8.12.09)
May 2 Hamburg, DE Markthalle (on sale 30.11.09)
May 3 Cologne, DE Essigfabrik (on sale 30.11.09)
May 4 Berlin, DE Postbahnoff (on sale 30.11.09)
May 5 Munich, DE Backstage Werk (on sale 30.11.09)
May 7 Milan, IT Magazzini Generali (on sale TBA)
May 8 Bologna, IT Estragon (on sale TBA)
May 9 Rome, IT Piper (on sale TBA)
May 11 Clermont, FR Ferrand Coop De Mai (2.12.09)
May 12 Paris, FR Bataclan (on sale 2.12.09)
May 13 Amsterdam, NL Paradiso (on sale 5.12.09)
May 14 Belgium Les Nuits Festival, Marquee
May 15 Switzerland Longirock (on sale TBA)
May 17 Vienna, AT Arena

Idag är det ett år sedan Miriam Makeba lämnade jordelivet. Det var en riktigt cool tant!

För den som vill att det skramlar lite mer meddelas att Mia Gamnackes favoriter Black Rebel Motorcycle Club idag släpper sin första liveplatta. CD/DVD i ett trevligt paket originellt betitlat Live. BRMC’s gospelrock funkar säkert precis hur bra som helst live, så skivan är säkerligen värd en koll:

WARNING: This is a soppy post.

Was listening to songs by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Don’t be fooled by the name. Their songs are really awesome.

And one particular song caught my attention. And I listened to it for over 200 times in less than 24 hours.

One of my friend pointed out that a verse in the song was actually the last line from a poem by William Butler Yeats. I read the poem.

And I have been reading it over and over again. Next month, Landmark will have one less copy of Yeats. I am in love with the dude’s poems. I had read a few long back. But I guess I wasn’t mature enough to understand or appreciate them then.

Here’s the song by BRMC. It’s called Promise.

And here’s the poem by Yeats. It’s what the post is called.

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

Free Mp3 – Click to Download

CLAP YOUR HANDS! But I feel so lonely CLAP YOUR HANDS! But it won’t do nothingCLAP YOUR HANDS! But I have no money CLAP YOUR HANDS! Are you up to something?CLAP YOUR HANDS! Where’s my milk and honey?CLAP YOUR HANDS! But I just look funnyCLAP YOUR HANDS!

Spread your love like a fever

Don’t you ever come down

Carol Andreis mandou esse recadinho   :]

Some bands are so out in the open, that you can’t help but notice them or trip over them (whether you like it or not). But there are some bands that fly under your radar – whether your local radio station is awful, you were only listening to bands that started with the letter “M” that year, or you just weren’t paying attention.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC) is one of those bands for me. It has nothing to do with how good they are. I just missed the BRMC train. I am happy to say that I am slowly absorbing their oeuvre and enjoying every minute of it.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Howl (Extended Version)

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Whatever Happened To My Rock ‘N Roll

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. nome da gangue de motoqueiros do filme Wild Ones de Marlon Brando, é o ponto de partida dessa banda, que buscou inspiração no mundo das duas rodas não só no nome, mas também no som, altamente influenciado pelo universo das motos com referências que vão de Jesus and Mary Chains ao rock britânico dos anos 90.

BRMC é o album de estréia da banda. E que estréia ! Quando o ouvimos não temos a sensação de ouvir apenas um trio; Com afinações alternativas, baixos distorcidos e uma bateria marcante, os espaços se preenchem de forma surpreendente.

O disco evoca o espírito dos Hells Angles o tempo todo, talvez as música que mais chamem a atenção a primeira audição são Red Eyes and Tears, Love Bruns, Whatever Happened to My Rock and Roll uma sequência imbatível.

Download(BRMC)

Créditos ao Andershow!

Canzone: Howl

Artista: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Album: Howl

Anno: 2005

Quando nei primi mesi del duemila le radio americane e inglesi iniziarono a mandare in onda il loro singolo di debutto, Whatever happened to my rock’n'roll, i Black Rebel Motorcycle Club erano ancora inconsapevoli di aver appena gettato le basi di quel movimento di revival del rock’n'roll, prima di matrice ’70s e successivamente di estrazione New-Wave, che da li a pochi mesi sarebbe esploso definitivamente con Is this it degli Strokes. Le basi, insomma, di quello che a tutti gli effetti è stato il filone più seguito da tutte la band nate in questo decennio. Un infelice secondo album e il repentino cambiamento del vento mediatico in direzione della terra d’Albione (i Franz Ferdinand avevano appena pubblicato il loro debutto omonimo che fino alla fine del decennio è rimasto il punto di riferimento per tutte la band di indie-rockers) li fece cadere presto nel dimenticatoio.

Nel 2005, dopo essere stati abbandonati dalla Virgin, lontani dall’hype mediatico e senza vincoli contrattuali, i B.R.M.C. danno alla luce un album, Howl, che è la perfetta antitesi di quanto fino a quel momento avevano prodotto. Messi da parte feedback e distorsioni, l’album, come svela anche il titolo che è una chiara citazione del poema di Allen Ginsberg, è un viaggio alla ricerca delle radici musicali della propria terra. Le chitarre acustiche prendono il sopravvento su quelle elettriche, e le veloci cavalcate rock’n'roll dei primi due album diventano dei puri blues à la Robert Johnson.

Su tutte le canzoni dell’album, svetta la title-track, una sorta di gospel lisergico, dominato dall’andamento psichedelico dell’organo, sul quale si adagia, sommessa, la voce di Robert Levon Been, che da vita ad una melodia ricca di fascino che il resto della band accompagna egregiamente.

Howl, è la dimostrazione di come in questo decennio si è puntato eccessivamente alle opere prime delle giovani band, che spesso, dopo aver fallito la prova del secondo album, sono state troppo velocemente buttate via e destinate al dimenticatoio. Howl rappresenta la volontà di una band di voler proseguire un proprio percorso artistico ben definito, anche lontano dalle luci dei riflettori. Mentre il resto del mondo musicale si agitava sui dancefloor, c’era una band che se ne infischiava e dava alla vita musica “classica” -  verrebbe ormai da dire oggi – in maniera del tutto anacronistica e, soprattutto, sincera.

Per ascoltare Howl in streaming (legale), clicca qui.

]]> http://mastercontrolcast.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/rock-band-dlc-for-june-30th/ Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:01:14 +0000 lurkerbelow http://mastercontrolcast.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/rock-band-dlc-for-june-30th/ http://captainfearless.wordpress.com/2009/06/01/spot-the-connection/ Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:43:30 +0000 captainfearless http://captainfearless.wordpress.com/2009/06/01/spot-the-connection/

This was inspired by Allison…

What is the connection between these two bands?

BRMC Black Rebel Motorcycle Club y su Love Burns, el que canta suena como León de Zoé… Debe ser lo contrario. Este sencillo suele musicalizar videos de autos y así, toma sentido en 9 Songs la película.

We recently did an interview with Rock Sell Out, have a read.

(c) www.matthewstansfield.com

Can you give some background on the band for our readers, please?We are The 66 from Warrington. We are Danny Rimmer (vocals), Mike Bee (Guitar), Craig Harman (Bass), Paul Glover (Keys) and Ian Wilson (Drums).

Things seem to be moving along for you as a band are there plans for a physical release this year? We’ve talked about it, but wouldn’t be satisfied with releasing anything that wouldn’t make an impact. We’ve spent the last 18months concentrating on live shows and building up our army, for now we’re happy building up our war cabinet and fanbase. You don’t go into battle unless there’s a good chance of winning! So instead, we’ll bide our time and wait for the right moment, then hit the masses full force. We want this to be right without rushing into every decision.

You gig hard all over the Northwest and jaunts further North into Scotland, when are you going to unleash your live act on the rest of the country?The battle plan is being drawn up. We’ll be giving our southern friends in London a taste of the 66 pie on 15th May at Dublin Castle. We’re consistently adding new dates so the best bet for anybody wanting to see us would be to keep checking our Myspace regularly. We like smash and grab raids.

If you don’t mind me saying so, there seems to be a certain sound emanating from the Manchester area at the moment. Moody and magnificent comes to mind, with a certain self belief. I’m thinking along the lines of Lowline etc. Do you think that comes from the studio or from the influences of the great bands from the past?
It took 18 months before finally deciding on a studio to record in, the hard thing for us was capturing the live sound (which is big) properly. We were approached by Martin Coogan at Moho after one of our gigs, we liked what he had to say and his enthusiasm, so we decided to record at Vibe Studios in Cheetham Hill. It has quite a history (new order, stone roses etc) but that wasn’t the defining factor. We like to work with people that have belief in us; they fitted the bill perfectly so in turn we had belief in them, that’s the only way we work and find it pays off.

We are the natural progression of music in and around Manchester; the city breeds creativity and always has / will. We’re from down the motorway in Warrington and the core music we grew up with was the Stone Roses, Verve, Oasis, mixed in with the greats like Zeppelin, the Who, The Doors, with a layer of house music. Our sound isn’t something we had to work on, it’s just what happens when you put all of us in a room together, and it’s been like that since day 1 and has just developed from there. It’s not like we missed the Libertines boat, we just choose not to get on it! We want our songs to stand the test of time and become part of the legacy of the area, that is our mission.

Who amongst your peers in the Northwest should we be looking out for?
Howlin Monks’, Rook & the Ravens, China White, The Uzual Suzpectz, Virgin Marys, Shaughnessey, The Vortex

Can you give us an insight into your influences as a band? I see on your Myspace you have The Sunshine Underground down, not a band I would immediately associate you with. As good as they are? Top band, they have a fantastic groove and feel to their songs which is something we can relate too. We are very much into groove and feel, but groove alone isn’t enough, it’s the song melody and lyrics itself that make a song a good song. We save the 40minute blues induced jams for the practice room! Our influences list is more bands that we like, obviously we’re influenced by music of the past but I think our biggest influences are probably each other. We are all part of each others fan club so that’s why the band formed. Destiny

Who would you say are the best bands you have shared a stage with? I believe you were on the same bill as Airborne Toxic Event last year? They blew me away live recently.
After we finished playing then it was time to let loose, on that night we pretty much took over the backstage area so they only briefly came into the room. The site of 5 lads from Warrington on a rum’fest is too scary for some people to handle so I think they stayed clear! They should have popped in and said hello really, although it may have affected their gig somewhat…. So, what we’re trying to say is, we don’t remember them. We recently played the Underground Live in Ashton, Shaughnessey put on a great show so is well worth checking out if you’re into the Weller vibe.

I’m loving the new track “Firefly”. Can you give us the lowdown on it and inspiration behind the track?
(Mike) Okay, here goes. Firefly was written after a very heavy sleepless night, the real meaning has never been shared so here it is. I got in about 6am and picked up the guitar, amongst the fuzz I started constructing a story in my head about a girl who was trapped in her room, it’s a bit of a fritzl scenario but before the story had come out (sorry but it’s the truth!) her only hope was an imaginary ‘Firefly’ that she hid inside her wardrobe, in her world the Firefly is her way of escaping her situation. When the song kicks in at the end it’s all about the realisation that she is finally free, although the ending is uplifting it’s still tinged with sadness and pain, it’s just an escape created by her imagination. Predominantly it’s a song of hope, but hope in an extremely difficult situation. The song took all of 4minutes to write, lyrics and all, which is actually shorter than the song itself! It was one of those experiences where it felt like there was a higher power involved, I just sat back and let it flow onto the paper.

Lack of sleep does strange things to a mind.

If you were to make a mixtape for our readers of other artists music what would be the first three tracks and why?
(Craig) Ian Brown – My Star – I’ve used this to open up DJ sets in the past and it sends you into a complete trance and just builds and builds till it explodes at the end.

The Music – Jag Tune – B-Side to The People that oozes groove and will get you dancing immediately.

BRMC – Berlin – Utterly filthy tune with a dance element about it that you can’t keep still to.

Can you tell us something about yourselves we can’t find on Google?
Rimmer lives near a dirty stream in a forest, overlooking the whole of the North West. It’s from here he has orchestrated every major atrocity over the past 21 years, he’s also responsible for the credit crunch and the return of the ‘Wispa’..

L’Italia è un paese meraviglioso. Per taluni versi lo è. Decisamente. Quali sarebbero questi versi? Andiamo con ordine.

La data a Neverland d’Inverno me l’ha fissata Alessandro Giovanniello (noto ai più come Alez), l’uomo che regge i fili del Rock Island, del Neverland dello scorso anno e che mi ha organizzato dalla prima all’ultima data del tour Aspetto la bellezza, quello in solo acustico di due anni fa. Nonostante il fatto che lui sia originario della provincia di Avellino e io di Salerno città (in Campania si ammazzano per questo, dentro e fuori dagli stadi), ci vogliamo bene. E già questo mi sembra bello. Lui non perde occasione per ricordarmi che tra i Lupi hanno militato giocatori del calibro di Dirceu e di Juary, io gli rispondo che tra i gloriosi granata ha chiuso la carriera Agostino Di Bartolomei, bandiera della Graaaaande Roma di Liedholm, Falcao e Pruzzo.

Io (travestito da Elvis Costello) & ALez

 Digressione: Agostino Di Bartolomei morì suicida. Si sparò al cuore a dieci anni esatti dalla finale di Coppa Campioni persa ai rigori dalla Roma contro il Liverpool. Tempo dopo fu ritrovato un suo biglietto strappato sul quale c’era scritto: “Mi sento chiuso in un buco”. La canzone La leva calcistica del 68 di De Gregori è dedicata a lui. Fine digressione.

 Il cielo ci mostra le differenti gradazioni del grigio mentre sulla A4 ci dirigiamo verso Capriate. Oltre le nuvole, le Prealpi imbiancate galleggiano in una luce d’inizio secolo. Arriviamo e scarichiamo, ma visto che per diversi motivi né io né Bonfo (tour manager, label manager, rotture di coglioni manager – quello che, insomma, risolve i problemi, o almeno ci prova) abbiamo mangiato, ci dirigiamo insieme a Leslie (bassista, in precedenza fonico live) al bar che sorge nella piazzetta poco lontana dalla rocca dei Colleoni. Poltrone verde acido, 7 (sette) megaschermi alle pareti che inviano 7 (sette) canali diversi sparati a un volume indescrivibile. Chiediamo dei toast e delle cochecole (toast asciuttissimi, una fetta di prosciutto e formaggio di quart’ordine, voto 3,5; cochecole annacquate, voto 4,5; servizio cordiale ma lacunoso, voto 5 meno meno).

Nel bel mezzo del sound check arriva il sindaco per salutarmi. Fico, penso, devo dirlo a mia madre. Mi ha visto al Neverland e le è piaciuto il concerto, così è passata per fare un saluto. Non so se darle del tu o del lei; poi decido di restare sul lei, più istituzionale. Poco dopo scopro che il fonico è il vice-sindaco, e questo imprime una svolta formale al sound-check, che portiamo a termine con soddisfazione di tutti – vice-sindaco compreso.

Io & il vice-sindaco

Nel dopocena intervista con Roberto Bonfanti – l’intervista si tramuta in una specie di cabaret e invano tenterò a fine serata di convincerlo a – come dire – tralasciare, passare sopra, dimenticare, cancellare alcune mie dichiarazioni balzane. Non c’è verso, è intenzionato a fare il suo dovere di cronista fino in fondo – meno male che non scrive per il Corriere della Sera.

Manca ancora un’ora all’inizio del concerto. Mi chiudo in camerino con la mia acustica in re aperto e suono tutti i blues che conosco. Due ore e mezzo dopo sono tra il pubblico con la stessa chitarra a suonare una versione totalmente unplugged di La mia rovina (brano che finirà sul nuovo disco) prima del gran finale con il resto della band.

Seconda digressione: ho iniziato a scrivere sparandomi in cuffia la radio di lastfm settata su “artisti simili a The Ark” – gruppo che amo particolarmente – così in questo momento ascolto musica dance cantata in svedese. Cambio, passo a un più classico “artisti simili a BRMC”. Meglio, sì, meglio. Fine digressione.

Il concerto è finito. Mi cambio velocemente e mi faccio portare una bella birretta – me la merito, così è stabilito.

Dopo una mezz’oretta di chiacchiere assortite – e diversi cd autografati sui quali scrivo Colza invece di Solza in uno slancio di ecologismo – arriva il clou della serata.

Il clou della serata è, più o meno in ordine, questo:

Il Kalashnikov: oltre a essere il fucile mitragliatore più amato dai guerriglieri che svolgono la propria attività a latitudini tropicali, è anche un intruglio inventato dal barista del castello. Si tratta di vodka impreziosita da un accento di assenzio. Dopo che l’hai bevuto devi azzannare una fetta d’arancia coperta di zucchero di canna. E correre a leggere Baudelaire.

Una lunghissima disquisizione portata avanti da un dj locale, famoso per organizzare rave parties nel circondario, sul seguente quesito: esteticamente, è più apprezzabile un membro maschile eretto o un clitoride?

Altri Kalashnikov.

Il dj esprime la sua preferenza estetica a favore del membro maschile e mima in malo modo la parte femminile.

La preferenza del dj / lei non è la sua compagna

Sconforto tra i presenti – il vice-sindaco, fino a quel momento sobrio e posato, va su tutte le furie.

Ancora Kalashnikov.

L’intervento nella discussione della compagna del suddetto dj locale. Rifiuta la descrizione antecedentemente fatta dal suo compagno – che forse mentre scrivo è diventato il suo ex-compagno – e propone una descrizione del di lui organo. La descrizione non appare particolarmente ossequiosa.

Sconforto del dj.

Kalashnikov.

Il barista attacca a parlarmi in portoghese. Io gli rispondo in spagnolo. Lui si incazza, dice che il portoghese non è lo spagnolo, sono due lingue diverse. Io gli rispondo che lo so, ma il portoghese non lo conosco.

buonanotte

Dopo un crescente delirio di nonsense à la Monty Python, ci ritroviamo in autostrada. Bonfo, saldamante alla guida, ci riporta a casa.

Qui una recensione del concerto