Gomez

Strange story, that of Gomez. A band always on the verge of “making it”, of breaking through and winning over mainstream listeners, fans of Coldplay and other FM-friendly bands. But since their dazzling debut with “Bring It On” (1998), a brilliant blend of folk, blues and electronics within a sonic exploration always well oriented towards pop coordinates, a great deal of time has passed and things have changed a lot. In between there was a Mercury Prize (precisely for that debut), a #1 entry on the UK charts with the following “Liquid Skin” (1999), and ever bigger crowds at their shows. A success perhaps too premature for a band that never wanted to rest on its laurels. And so, each new album was the opposite of the one before, and seemed almost designed to disappoint fans. Fans who, once the hype faded, gradually drifted towards other bands, leaving Ian Ball & co. free to keep going their own way.

Here we are: fourteen years and six albums later, Gomez have released their latest work, “Whatever's On Your Mind”, a sort of compendium of their entire career, somewhat unfocused and decidedly too easy-listening (perhaps precisely in an attempt to win back the fans lost with the previous, far more daring, “A New Tide“). A timid debut at #65 on the UK charts, a lukewarm reception from critics. Yes, things really have changed for what once seemed to be the next best thing of the British alternative scene. But maybe it was for the best. Gomez have remained level-headed guys, humble and incredibly capable musicians, consistent both in success and in defeat.

In Italy, as in other countries (starting with the US, where they briefly returned to the spotlight thanks to the song “How We Operate”, featured in a hugely watched episode of the TV series “Grey's Anatomy”), they've never been especially popular, so it's not too surprising that this show at the Estragon in Bologna is their first concert in eight years (not counting their brief appearance at the 2010 Heineken Jammin' Festival, opening for Pearl Jam).

The Estragon, again unsurprisingly, is half full (or half empty, depending on how you look at it), but with a hardcore of fans packed right under the stage, plus plenty of curious onlookers scattered around. With Swiss punctuality, Gomez take the stage at 10pm. Ian Ball apologizes for their long absence from our country and promises a show packed with songs to make up for lost time. And these gentlemen certainly don't waste any time on small talk, always letting their music do the talking. They kick off confidently with “Revolutionary Kind”, from “Liquid Skin”, and Ben Ottewell's voice doesn't sound to have aged a single minute (unlike his frame, which has instead doubled in size). Fans get most excited over tracks from the first two albums, which are indeed plundered generously: the intense orchestral ballad “We Haven't Turned Around” (also featured on the soundtrack of “American Beauty”), “Make No Sound”, “Love Is Better Than A Warm Trombone”, “Rhythm & Blues Alibi”. Ottewell, with his husky, charismatic voice, is the real star of the night, even though the band's various members are always careful to balance each other out.

In the encore two classics arrive to great acclaim: “Tijuana Lady” (another glorious moment for Ottewell, in a vocally demanding performance) and “Whippin' Piccadilly”, perhaps their best-known track, which closes the night on a high note with half of Estragon letting loose and singing along.

The rest of the setlist is well spread across a catalogue that may lack global hits but remains consistently interesting and coherent. Tom Gray, the “third” voice of Gomez, proves to be the McCartney of the outfit. His are the most “pop” and melancholic moments of the evening: the catchy chorus of “Silence”, the semi-parodic country of “Sweet Virginia” (both from the underrated “Split The Difference”), and the slow-building, Snow Patrol-esque ballad “Just As Lost As You” (from their latest effort, “Whatever's On Your Mind”).

The band draws from its own catalogue with great freedom and confidence, a sign of the finely tuned chemistry between the musicians (worth remembering that there has never been a line-up change throughout their entire career), of seasoned live experience, and of respect for the audience (each show has a setlist almost entirely different from the previous night's, as anyone who was at Magazzini Generali in Milan on April 14th can confirm). So nothing is left out: from “Airstream Driver” (“A New Tide”) to “Rex Kramer” (“In Our Gun”), from “How We Operate” to “Options” (the lead single from their latest album). Not to mention a memorable cover, completely reworked and slowed down, of “Jumpin' Jack Flash” by the Rolling Stones.

While in the studio Gomez seem to be going through a kind of impasse, almost as if they had nothing left to prove to their fans or to the trade press that turned its back on them long ago, live Ian Ball and the rest of the band truly give it their all, showing they've become an “adult” rock band, technically flawless, capable of rising to the status of a “classic”.

The night ends with no regrets, in the hope of not having to wait another eight years to see them again.

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