Alt-J

Alt-J's concert opened the 2015 edition of Postepay Rock In Roma: once again this year, the Ippodromo delle Capannelle hosts what can now be considered one of the most important and crowded music festivals in Europe.

After an opening set from Italian act Disco Zodiac, with Swiss precision at 9:45pm sharp the four English musicians took their places lined up along an imaginary straight line: from left to right, keyboardist Gus Unger Hamilton, singer/guitarist Joe Newman, bassist Cameron Knight (who has recently replaced Gwil Sainsbury in live appearances) and drummer Thom Green.

Their nerdy look, evident shyness (it's the keyboardist who handles talking to the crowd) and largely static stage presence don't undermine a set that moves briskly through the songs that have defined the two albums released so far by the Leeds band: “An Awesome Wave” (winner of the 2012 Mercury Prize) and the more recent “This Is All Yours”, which went straight to number 1 on the UK sales charts.

They open with the new album's single, “Hunger Of The Pine”, and already by the following “Fitzpleasure” and “Something Good” a wave of sounds and colours washes over the crowd, with the immersive light effects proving particularly effective at hitting the fans during the more driving tracks.

The musical mix on offer is distinctive and at times disorienting: strong indie-rock traits merge with a pronounced appetite for electronic experimentation that at times brings Alt-J close to the less extreme side of Radiohead; the clear folk references, underlined by their personal use of vocal interplay, combine with recognisable new wave echoes, especially in certain synth passages, and with world-music undertones that take shape in subtle nods to the punjabi sound.

A show to dance to and to listen to, with the first part reaching its conclusion on the alt-rock of “The Gospel Of John Hurt”. After a very brief pause, Alt-J play another four songs before taking their leave with the unmissable “Breezeblocks”, wrapping up the Roman festival's opening night in under an hour and a half, enjoyable and never predictable (a few months earlier they had played the Forum di Assago stage).

This brings the first evening of the long-running 2015 edition of Postepay Rock In Roma to a close.

Here's a reminder of the upcoming dates:

martedì 16 giugno – Slipknot + At The Gates

Tuesday 23 June – Slash + Rival Sons

Tuesday 30 June – Mumford & Sons + Eaves

Wednesday 1 July – Damian Jr. Gong Marley + BoomDaBash

Thursday 2 July – Chemical Brothers + Jeff Mills + Flume + Moods + Jopycut

Saturday 4 July – J-Ax + Fedez

Tuesday 7 July – Robbie Williams

Wednesday July 8 – Stromae

Thursday July 9 – Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds

sabato 11 luglio – Holi Festival Of Colours

Tuesday July 14 – Verdena

Saturday July 18 – Muse

Monday July 20 – Subsonica

Friday July 24 – Litfiba

Saturday July 25 – Caparezza + Lo Stato Sociale

Monday July 27 – Lenny Kravitz + Gary Clark Jr.

Thursday July 30 – FabiSilvestriGazzè

Wednesday August 27 – Tame Impala + Nicholas Allbrook

Sunday August 30 – Negrita

Wednesday September 2 – Interpol

Sunday September 6 – Linkin Park + Simple Plan

Ride the wave of great music

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