dEUS

A mild spring evening, little traffic on the Persicetana road, the Vox packed but not overly so — just enough to charge up the band without suffocating us — and the excitement of finally seeing dEUS live. Everything is perfect. The only thing that might worry us is knowing this is a new (though not entirely new) lineup, but we refuse to believe Tom Barnam hasn't surrounded himself with exceptional musicians. A couple of notes of “Bad Timing”, the opening track of “Pocket Revolution” (2005), are enough to dispel any doubt and let us sink into what the evening had already promised: everything is perfect. Barnam has aged a little, but with his black shirt and the class of someone from other shores, he wins us over with his very first cry, which with that dusty voice — to borrow Claudia Giovannini's description — sounds almost like a whisper. That dEUS swagger, lovable ever since the now-distant 1996 of “In A Bar, Under The Sea” (the most beautiful title in the world alongside American Analog Set's “The Fun Of Watching Fireworks”), brazen and captivating, just as Barnam knows he is, makes us forget we're leaning against the Vox's speakers, which boast enviably good acoustics. The result: by the end of the show we're deaf and happy. And even if we'd been smart enough to stand a reasonable distance from the source, we'd still have had that same idiotic look on our faces — the one you get unwrapping birthday presents.

Yes, in case anyone hadn't noticed, we're biased, but how could you not be in front of “Magdalena”, introduced as a love song? In truth it sounded more like a warning — watch out, this one's going to hurt — and if “Ideal Crash”, i.e. their surrender to pop, hurts this much, imagine the rest. As for the rest, the setlist was practically that of their latest record, save for frequent nods to the already-mentioned “In A Bar, Under The Sea” and “Ideal Crash”, plus a “Via” from “Worst Case Scenario” that left everyone stunned at how fresh a 12-year-old track can still sound. Being drummers ourselves at heart, we always keep an ear on the drums, certainly not the band's strongest suit, but when they do stand out, they're felt. There was a clear need to legitimize the new lineup, with an “Instant Street” even more shamelessly crowd-pleasing than usual. But the guitars and the violin/keyboard are so elegant that there was really no need for that at all.

dEUS are one of those names you treat with respect, that you almost hold in awe, if only for what they've meant in the history of indie rock. But live, the connection with the audience is total, with Barnam smoking a thousand cigarettes and throwing in a hint of “Sabotage”, because he's no fool, backed to the hilt by the other excellent musicians around him. You can tell he's tried to learn a bit of Spanish, being a cousin of Italian, and he attempts to translate the song titles and that of “Pocket Revolution”, with a result as comically clumsy as a truck driver from Caserta, but also very sweet. A grand finale, as scripted, with “Suds & Soda”. We know we're veering more into hagiography than live report here, but damn it, people, what a great show!

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google