Meet In Town

Meet In Town, or rather the best event Italy has to offer in the summer. And it's not just about the line-up, but also the location (Rome's Auditorium, across its three halls plus the Cavea) which is truly the added value. On July 22 and 23 the annual event took place. With this year's withdrawal of Dissonanze, Meet In Town has become a genuine catalyst for electronic music too, in a way that unfortunately has few other equals in Italy (Club To Club in Turin and RobotFestival in Bologna being the main ones).

Right after the announcement that Dissonanze was pulling out of organizing the event that traditionally opens the summer season at the Palazzo Dei Congressi, and the flop of the Heineken Jammin Festival, there was talk of whether the festival system in Italy was in crisis. Even assuming there ever really was an Italian tradition of mass festivals, well, it has now clearly slipped into a state of confusion. Let's start with the flaws, few but significant in organizational terms, before moving on to the pros, of which there are undoubtedly several. First of all: the price. Seventy euros (with possible discounts for students, under-26s and others) for a two-day pass isn't exactly out of reach, but it starts to feel that way when a single day ticket for Primal Scream alone costs forty euros, which seems excessive.

Not that the performances by port-royal (who would repeat the set twice more the following day), Andrew Hung, Walls and Zero 7 (all DJ sets except the first) were second-rate — but it's clear that anyone paying for that ticket would have done so essentially to hear "Screamedelica" live. Result: very few people, the upper tiers nearly empty (except the central section). For a band that sells out the biggest, most important clubs across half the world, that surely wasn't much fun.

But let's take it step by step: the evening opened with a DJ set, as sharp and 4/4-driven as ever, from Andrew of Fuck Buttons, who by now is building himself quite a reputation as a DJ, on a par with the British half of Walls in that department. By far the most surprising thing of the night was port-royal. The Genoese collective brought to the Sala Petrassi a show halfway between music and dance. Over music created by them and Panthasformel, a dancer performed breakdance moves to a thoroughly unusual rhythm. In the live set of one of the most popular Italian bands abroad, the guitar resurfaces, bringing back those ambient backdrops that had characterized their early work, namely "Flares" and the EP for Marsiglia Records, "Kraken". Textures not far removed from the gorgeous trails traced by "Jeka" lit up the room and threw open the doors to astral visions — simply stunning.

On to Primal Scream, who in a single date, twenty years after its release, presented "Screamedelica" in full. The average age of the crowd gave away the presence of the die-hards from the very beginning, the twenty-somethings of back then who were bewitched by the novelty of that record's sound. I, for reasons of age, couldn't muster the same fervor and passion as the crowd, even though I love the album. And so what I witnessed was a rather mediocre performance, from a band that seemed to be going through the motions, with little enthusiasm, ticking off their homework for an hour and a half.

Things were made worse by an acoustic mix that calling imperfect would be a euphemism: painfully muddy sound, like some kind of sonic meatloaf, with an obnoxiously loud guitar that for long stretches buried the bass and saxophone. The funky drive of those immortal tracks did lift the show overall, though it remained sacrificed and rather toothless. The final stage invasion — everyone dancing along with Primal — was perhaps one of the best moments of the night.

I decide to skip the DJ sets from Zero7 (who haven't got a single thing right on record since their debut) and Walls (whom I've seen several times and who are decidedly good fun, offering a highly danceable set drawing on a fizzy, playful strain of electronica not so far removed from certain sounds of The Field).

The second day is perhaps the true gem of the whole year. In a single evening: Apparat, Modeselektor, port-royal, Kode9, Nicolas Jaar, Prins Thomas, Tiger & Woods, Space Dimension Controller, Cocorosie, Gold Panda, Lamb, Onra, Wolf+Lamb, Stateless and many others. Naturally, the sheer variety of the lineup and the inevitable clashes in the schedule forced me to make some choices.

And here we get to the second organizational sore point. In the first part of the evening, the running order was pretty much "forced": a DJ set from Giorgio Gigli, then a choice between Cocorosie and Gold Panda. While the excellent Gigli laid down pitch-black sonic slabs with a beat that swung between placid and relentless, I decide to pop over to Gold Panda. Unfortunately there's a line of at least a hundred people waiting to get in, the room was packed solid. Result: we say goodbye to Gold Panda and, seeing as Cocorosie's lullabies turn from sweet to tedious once translated from studio to stage, we get ready for Modeselektor instead.

The Berlin-based German duo turns out to be one of the most thrilling performances, if not perhaps the very best, of the whole night. They transform the Cavea — finally packed and dancing — into one immense discotheque, whip up the crowd, needle the security staff to their faces, and alternate full-throttle techno, "Hey Boy Hey Girl", deep, deep bass drops and pitch-black low end. They build walls up and tear them down, they feel and follow the sync/connection with the crowd, they live it and welcome it with open arms. Pure jubilation.

Next up is Apparat with his band, presenting the album due out in September on Mute: a total letdown. An hour and a quarter of overblown, dark-tinged electronica, a kind of early M83 veering towards Lycia. Although, unlike the first night, the sound levels were set much better, Apparat disappoints with a bloated set that's hard to digest, if occasionally enjoyable. And it's a real shame, because when I saw him two months ago in London opening for Pantha Du Prince, doing a DJ set, he was phenomenal. The feeling is that he genuinely likes this kind of pompous, epic sound. Unfortunately, it just doesn't suit him, and the lukewarm crowd is glaring proof of that. The truth, perhaps a bit harsh, is that he'd be better off going back to his real path, the one of "Orchestra Of Bubbles", where his true dimension came through in full force.

Once Apparat wraps up, it's Stateless' turn, one of the most bitter disappointments alongside the German act: a bland live show, extremely faithful to their latest record, with the crowd already abandoning the room after ten minutes. A cold band, lacking any bite, and honestly a bit self-satisfied too. It's twenty past midnight and it's time to start making choices, if you can even call it a choice.

Everyone rushes to see enfant prodige Nicolas Jaar, with the same result as with Gold Panda. The (small) room is packed solid and two hundred people are forced to turn back, yours truly included (people were shouting in Roman dialect "give us our money back"). No great loss, though, since we move on to Tiger & Woods, behind whom hides Passarani. Nu-disco, edits, funky, seventies/eighties and everything in between, for an absolutely overwhelming hour-long live set. "Time" kicks off and it's pure pandemonium, they're having a blast and getting everyone else to have one too: alongside Modeselektor, the best thing seen all night.

I decide to move around now, bouncing between Prins Thomas, Kode 9 and Space Dimension Controller. Prins spins a set that's a real pleasure, with a stunning wall of sound built around Agoria's "Panta Rei", a delirium of colors and sounds interspersed with a few lulls, but overall it works just fine. Kode 9, against expectations, disappoints somewhat, rather dull and inconclusive. Having got the picture (after two attempts), I head off towards Space Dimension Controller: a kid, born in '90, who mixes and drives the set like a veteran. He too plays Agoria (his track on "Fabric 57" is terrifying), navigating a rock-solid four-on-the-floor beat, always pushed to the max, never a pause, truly a phenomenon.

And so this year's Meet In Town comes to a close, with a few shadows and plenty of light. Beyond the organizational issues (the ticket price for the first night, a lineup that was too "demanding" on the second night with too much overlap - it might have been better to try and even out the two days, spreading the offerings more evenly) Meet In Town once again confirms its versatility and its ability to select the very best the scene has to offer. Plenty of applause, and a few things to nitpick. See you next year.

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