IW Campania Selections - 1st night

FOREWORD

Arezzo Wave has represented, and still represents today, a great opportunity for emerging bands across Italy. As part of the renewal of the local selection structures, the Campania organization has this year involved some members of Ondarock. We promoted the collection of demos and found ourselves choosing among 96 bands, many of them solid or at least interesting, and certainly deserving of carving out their own space in the world of music. Not without effort, we narrowed the field down to 24 acts for the live selections, at the end of which 6 finalists and 1 regional winner will emerge, the latter representing Campania on the national stage in Florence. This is the account of the surprising opening night held on February 16th in Eboli.

RIFRULLO ON THE ROCKS!

When, by then Sunday morning, I made my way back from the first evening of Campania selections for Italy Wave, one certainty kept running through my mind: that it couldn't have started any better. I was contacted to help organize this competition practically at the start of January. Since then, together with my colleagues (Barbara Vegliante, Salvador Nero, Francesco Nunziata), it's been a race against time to bring out the best possible talent from our region. So, as I headed to Eboli on Saturday, there was a certain anticipation in the air: we were going to see what our groups, so much talked about, were capable of showing, both to us and to everyone who had chosen to share in the evening.

At 10pm, when we set foot in Rifrullo, Noise Room are already set to perform. The atmosphere is charged and buzzing, especially for them, the bands, having now reached the most crucial gateway, where the bulk of this opportunity is at stake. The five-piece from Battipaglia delivered a sonically cohesive and multifaceted post-rock that hypnotized the room. Deeply focused on avoiding missteps, they let their intricate textures do the work of drawing the audience in, paying close attention to detail. The performance showed a particular care for dilation and for games of slow-down and restart. Their maturity already puts them on par with their overseas counterparts today; in fact, by staying on this path and further developing their taste for unconventional arrangements, they may well have a few extra cards to play.

We step outside for a cigarette in the freezing cold of a late winter evening, and the encore is already ready to go. Taking the stage are The Mantra Above the Spotless Melt Moon, still post-rock, true, but from a different angle. The Neapolitans pay a certain price in terms of polish, but they play their hand as best they can, banking on a thoroughly respectable wall of sound. Their stage presence is strong, at times perhaps excessive, with the bassist covering for the singer's gaps, who is admittedly a bit shaky (whether that's the reason or not), especially in the opening minutes. A quality performance, no doubt about it, even though one senses the band needs to better channel their energy, which holds potential going even beyond what they've shown so far: after all, their "Pieces of Sky", with a killer riff and a great final crescendo, is an absolute bomb.

After two such strong moments, we seem almost destined for a dip. The sacrificial victim ought to be Yesdaddyyes and their indie-rock/post-punk. Instead, no such luck. The live setting is a godsend for the four-piece, who unleash a violent, lurching, tarantella-like performance (much like their singer). When they manage to reconcile ungainly aggression with real group cohesion, they're capable of bringing to mind the electric Violent Femmes more than any run-of-the-mill indie outfit. Fun and artistically minded at once, in the second half they unfortunately pay the price for wanting to overdo it, with the chemistry not always finding the right alchemy.

We're past the halfway point of the evening, the crowd is a bit worn out but satisfied - much like everyone else, really. There's definitely a sense of satisfaction in the air. Yet it's time for Melke, Vincenzo Lanza and his laptop. Melke starts weaving his sonic tapestries when there are only a handful of people around; as the skillful blend of Morr and Warp (with a dash of experimentation) gradually takes shape, the crowd grows too. Emotionally, it's the most engaging performance of the night, the product of a sophisticated, well-formed and deep melodic sensibility. Here too, as with Noise Room, one could crudely say it's an already fully-formed product, with room for improvement mainly on the more exploratory side.

There remains the last course, the most unconventional proposal from the Salerno area, Bogus, a duo on drums and keyboards/laptop. Instrumental skill placed at the service of sensation, a sonic spectrum spanning the whole range of electronic music, from the most nocturnal moments to the most danceable. The surprise of the evening, in short, thanks to a live rendition that goes well beyond the one on record; with room for improvement that's hard to pin down, given how mutable their music is, and, paradoxically, also given the slight sense of an "unfinished band" that surfaced in the moments when you managed to think about something technical without letting yourself be swept away by the atmosphere (something that happened, if at all, for barely a minute total - and that's a real achievement).

After three hours of music, the lights go down. As a judge, I take away both positive and unsettling impressions (if it's always like this, who the hell do we send to the final?); as a music lover and someone who cares about the place I live in, I'm genuinely thrilled.

Thanks are in order, then. To the bands, who prove that we have plenty of quality music right around the corner, more than we imagined, and who push us to do everything we can to bring it to light. To Rifrullo, for its wonderful hospitality and for taking on the social role of giving space - despite a somewhat cramped venue - to acts that deserve to be seen and shared (all at no cost). To Luigi Nobile and the "Rocco Scotellaro - Ribellarsi Si Può" association, who handled the evening's technical side flawlessly, while also showing genuine passion and involvement. To the audience, who turned out in numbers and gave the bands great support, and who I hope left satisfied and rewarded.

All that's left is to see you on Friday 22 February for the first Naples date, at SudTerranea Club, a venue in the historic center (Vico Quercia 3, near Piazza Dante), from 10:00 pm. Music for all tastes, from the powerful, tight post-metal of Armida to the avant-tinged listening electronica of Natege; taking in the highly personal electro-soul of She's a Man and the exploratory rock of Viti di Titanio along the way. My advice, and believe me it's unbiased, is to drop by and give it a listen.

(19/02/2008)

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