the grande familia and the surfin’ girl (Ani 5.dec.2k1 in Rome, Italy)
you’d call myself lucky, infact to go for a work mission in Rome for two days just ehm, magically in between one concert and with the hotel close 15 minutes from the venue and from the workplace requires a big straw of luck, and i appreciate this comfort, well not to say that i’d do also the hard part : when in February we’re here for the same reason i did drive with my car crossing half italy and got to sleep in my sleeping bag on a cold floor in a room with six girls (no, pls don’t envy me).
so here we go with the last show of Ani in Italy, in Rome, a city that she loves in a special way (see what she said last time she was here, err just a few months ago…).
We find again here as in Milan the Sungift as show opener, same remarks as below, i’d just add that a nice tank top left a nice view of the belly of the chick.. let’s go for more substance.

the Palacisalfa is quite a big venue (it’d host up to 2000 people) and it’s far away in the distance, there’s a gravel (ehm) road that leads there in almost darkness, we got a little earlier because of tickets to take (we got even a couple of free admission ticket by the band, wow) usual rush to gain the front row, you’d know that all shows in italy are general admission and there are no reserved seats, it’s just standing up , some seats may be way back just if you’re a lazybone or want to listen from a better position (sure closer to the soundboard acoustics is better but i’d not trade that for my front row place. Ain’t that the way opens the show , already at the beginning you’d see Ani is very relaxed (see one fine pic for an idea), she might not have that incisive side as in Milan but she’s just sweetly smiling at us, things sounds good trough firedoor that evolves into hat shaped hat, great job here by julie at keyboards, ah i was forgetting that at the beginning just in the middle of the front row this guy is ready to display a big sheet with “Ani let me play gravel with you” on, Ani sees it when it’s displayed and at first with a smile says uh the Turin Shroud and after some thinking says “shit we’ll have to figure out what to do..” when the guy tries to fold it back and it’s tough, ani bends and saying it looks like we’ve a problem here grab it and wrap herself around while she start singing.

after a while it becomes a problem playing with that stuff around and she trows away and just before Reg comes to clear the stage she kicks it away anticipating him with a nice grim. (ah for the usual clothes observers out there, ani was wearing a leather vest and ehm you’d see from low waist jeans a glitch of ehm uhm her black tanga, sexy!. Daren was then just kicking ass on Done Wrong;you had time was another intense and delicate moment with julie at a soft electric piano, Ani did join the keys section to play oh my my.

Another unforgettable moment was during freaskhow, after daren and ani were playing percussion the power on stage went off and instruments were just unplugged, so all of the band came as closer as possible to the edge of the stage so to be heard in the meantime Shawn and Reg were figuring out what’s going on (a similar thing happened in Turin 1999 and it’s amazing how quick they can react inventing something and go unplugged, Julie did even more she moved backward close to the edge and let herself fall on the audience, incredible, she was held up and did some surfing in circle on the audience till she was back on stage and in the meantime power did came back.again in the band introduction they all said how much they really love this place and we do just believe and saw living proof.
After the show we waited outside a while but it was not really possibile to catch’em leaving, we had a chat with Hans that was thanking all of us and remarking that we’re almost freezing out there but i told him that all in all with all the times we saw Ani we kinda got used to freeze our asses before and after show, they said they’ll be back on studio recording new stuff and hope to be back in our country next year hopefully in spring summer when the weather is fair. we’ll be there again.