Spiritualized

Yet another major musical event in the Lombard capital in the October-November stretch, the Spiritualized show on November 11th is the only chance to see Jason Pierce's band in action on Italian soil, riding on the strength of the compelling "Sweet Heart Sweet Light".

The venue chosen to host the event is Magazzini Generali, certainly ideal in terms of capacity, but whose decidedly mediocre acoustics will prove decisive over the course of the show. But let's take things in order.

The first half hour of music, or something like it, is handed to Roy And The Devil's Motorcycle, a quartet of Swiss sonic terrorists intent on rehashing the Spacemen 3 playbook with questionable taste. The formula involves taking classic blues progressions and tossing them into krautrock-monotone psychedelic vortices; a shame that, given the total absence of any vocal or instrumental hooks, the lengthy tracks on offer drag on laboriously, leaving tedium to reign supreme.

Amid the clouds of noise raised by the three guitars, the only semblance of melody comes from the reworking of the traditional "Will The Circle Be Unbroken?", though the off-key moments of "undisciplined garage-band" playing certainly add nothing endearing. Not exactly memorable.

Next comes the classic stage-change interlude, the setting for a curious little scene. While many in the crowd catch their breath in front of the main entrance, the stars of the evening step off the tour bus parked there in full and try to make their way through the crowd to the backstage entrance. Suddenly, a security guard gets flustered and bellows: "Oh, but do you have a pass?" To the Spiritualized. As Pierce and co. carry on smiling, someone tries to explain the situation to the man, who deftly sidesteps the embarrassment: "Well, how was I supposed to know? They're not exactly Depeche Mode!" Hats off.

Thankfully, the reception given to the English band by the audience is quite different. A roar greets the arrival on stage of a sizeable ensemble in which bass, drums, two guitars and keyboards are joined by two gospel backing singers. Unfortunately, as already mentioned, such a rich sound will be poorly served by an excessively muddy mix, especially on the first three songs.

The opener "Hey Jane" and the classic "Electricity" suffer from the ongoing volume adjustments, to the point that it's hard to get a proper sense of the quality of the performance. The same fate befalls "Headin' For The Top Now", whose searing layers of feedback and psychedelic effects get lost here and there in a barely decipherable whirl. Thankfully, things pick up on the ballads, with the low-key dynamics highlighting the musicians' sensitivity and the aching delivery of a Pierce in great form. Hidden behind his usual sunglasses and a music stand he remains seated behind for the entire show, the spaceman from Rugby gives himself over to a moving version of "Freedom", before leading an inspired crescendo through the voodoo rhythms of "I Am What I Am", warmed by the backing vocalists' counter-melodies (now finally intelligible).

As with the previous dates in Europe and the States, the setlist tends to favor their latest album, played almost in its entirety, from which it's worth singling out "So Long You Pretty Things" too, perhaps overly grandiose in its Hey Jude-style ending, but simply stunning on the verses, even more effective live than on record in their blend of Britpop and gospel.

The intensity of the songs is then skillfully heightened by a staging that's exquisitely "European" in feel, with the band appearing detached (Pierce himself never addresses the audience, beyond the closing thank-yous) while light shows and projected images lend dynamism to the performance. Needless to say, the show's strengths come into full bloom on the heavyweight numbers in the set, chief among them a "Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space" that's as hypnotic and pathos-laden as ever.

The real highlights of the evening, however, are the instrumental jams, in which Spiritualized's melodic flair sumptuously meets the free-form structures of German cosmic music, showcasing an aesthetic that has by now become the band's trademark. You get utterly lost in the psychedelic rollercoaster of "Electric Mainline", which, arranged here with tighter rhythms than the already gorgeous "Pure Phase" version, closes the first part of the set with a solution that's nothing short of surprising.

And there's room for surprises during the encore too. This time it's back to song form, drawing straight from the Spacemen 3 catalogue for a "Come Down Easy" that's every bit as memorable: the languid blues progression of Pierce's youthful masterpiece is here opened up into a denser reworking in terms of instrumentation, yet loses none of its Velvet-like charm. It's the prelude to the closer, which arrives with "Smiles", also subjected to hallucinogenic stretches and bursts of pure noise that mark the end of a gripping show.

Made all the more convincing by a setlist that was more challenging than crowd-pleasing, the Spiritualized performance revealed a band that's remarkably solid and well-balanced between the urge to take risks and the finesse with which it plays up its pop side. Here's hoping to see them again soon on our shores, ideally in a setting more befitting the complexity of their music.

Photos by Stefano Masselli

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