Slowdive

The breeze, it blows, it blows everything. It's a waiting tinged with the red of the twilight sky, mixed with a blue made even more intense by the biting cold, that accompanied the crowd gathered outside the Estragon Club since late afternoon (literally only the brave, given the venue's location and the weather) waiting for Slowdive. The English outfit, poised between dream-pop and shoegaze, chose Bologna for the second of two Italian dates marking their return to our country, following their summer stop at Ypsigrock last August and the release of their excellent latest effort, "Everything Is Alive".

Warming up the chilly air and the atmosphere with little more than a handful of songs, right on schedule, are Pale Blue Eyes, a Devonshire outfit blending dream-pop and alt-dance, whose name references the famous Velvet Underground song. Although the result doesn't amount to anything groundbreaking in terms of influences on display - which are nonetheless fitting and coherent with the night's headliners - the four-piece hold the stage very well with dynamic songs, unleashing eighties echoes and spacey airs on "Takes Me Over", motorik strides with "TV Flicker", a pop sound straddling the Eighties and Nineties that recalls some Dandy Warhols productions on "Spaces", and the concentric "Motionless".

Right on the dot, at 9pm the Reading five-piece begin taking their places on stage: Neil Halstead and Christian Savill (whose gaze stays glued to his pedalboard for the entire performance) on guitars, Nick Chaplin on bass, and Simon Scott on drums; last to appear behind the feathered microphones and synths is the iconic two-tone bob of the ethereal dark fairy Rachel Goswell. We're immediately plunged headfirst into the synthetic reverb of the long and evocative "Shanty", kicking off a perfect, well-balanced setlist built to satisfy everyone, which shifts gear with the fast-whirling rhythms of "Star Roving". The crescendo of the cornerstone gem from "Just For A Day", "Catch The Breeze", shines bright, the first high point of the show, made even more memorable by the vivid lighting effects, before picking up the thread of the latest record again with Goswell and Halstead's whispers on the gentle "Skin In The Game".

The echoing, hypnotic mantra of the reflective "Crazy For You", the only track drawn from "Pygmalion", paves the way for the second peak of the live set, the lift-off of "Souvlaki Space Station". The synths of the disorienting journey on "Chained To A Cloud" set the stage for a further highlight (and a thoroughly outstanding second part of the set) with the spectacular visuals and tambourine jingles behind "Avalyn I", taken from the band's very first debut EP, and above all the gem "Sleep", a cover of Eternal, Savill's pre-Slowdive project. The show continues with the long-awaited, more pop-leaning "Kisses", which gives way to a special trio all devoted to the milestone record "Souvlaki", with the powerful interplay of bass and guitars on "Alison", the luminous "When The Sun Hits" and the reverb-drenched whirl of "40 Days".

And as if all that weren't enough, the encore is pure ecstasy, with the neo-psych surges of "Sugar For The Pill", the shivers brought on by the delicate folk and slowcore notes of the minimal, emotional "Dagger", and a reworking of Syd Barrett's "Golden Hair", with Rachel stepping backstage after delivering the opening verse, leaving her bandmates free rein for the towering instrumental coda.

Out of time and space, Slowdive enchanted the crowd with gorgeous lighting effects and visuals tailored to the occasion, carrying them into a world suspended between dream and reality, built on the shades and chiaroscuro of their songs. Celestial music for the eyes as much as for the ears: a feast for sight and sound alike, which the Estragon Club's sound system did full, outstanding justice to. Unforgettable.

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