Fierce and flawless folk fiesta at Rolling Stone (Ani 3.dec.2k1 in Milan, Italy)

here i’m catching up with stories from recent ani tour, so last monday we drove that little distance from my home to Milan (60 km) in between our usual companion: fog. Got there enough in advance where there were just no more than ten people according to some rumors from the day before an opening band was supposed to be there, they said a japanese guitarist/singer, when the got on stage we discovered we we’re more japanese than’em, a cute chick indeed and his guitarist both italians, they said they’re

the Sungift (never heard before) and even if she had quite a powerful voice (do you remember the singer of four non blondes?) she was quite.. cold, so we we’re just waiting for the main dish….
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As in all the recent shows, the beginning of the show was a sampled clip by Utah Phillips (There comes a time when the operation of the machine is so odious that you cannot even passively participate) and Ani starts with Ain’t that the way and just after back into older songs such as 32 flavors. I’d say that the stage was at optimal height for us (2nd row) to see the whole band, while in Modena was honestly too high (kinda breakin’ the neck of the not-so-tall girls in our group) and Ani was wearing guess 2 layers of tank top (orange and above, one with the New York skyline). Providence was just intense(this is not a happy song she said) and people were just in silence, energy started to flow as the song go on and even more in letter to a john and jukebox with Ani jumping and her hair

drawing design in the air. Energy that was just ok side by side with tenderness and fragility as in You had time and imagine that, really if i’d choose a key to read the whole show it was damn close to a definition of a perfect concert, like a crystal clear sharp image, with harmony and strenght,Some people asked for stories

and she said well i can tell stories just in english, that’s fiiiine someone answered, and so my iq was a capella (and it was not in the setlist) and you’d follow every single movement and expression of her face, with a silence like in a church.
One thing i really like of her is how she’s able to revisit old song (like worthy, with Julie really doing good groovy work on the organ) and classics such as the diner and shameless and i just can’t get tired at them.

Daren was also in good shape (jukebox) and i got the feeling that Jason was playing funkier and was more incisive.Beginning sick of me people asked for more “stories” and she was thinking what to do when someone

asked what did she think about italy and her experience, well ok, she said, well i mean see i feel like a total brown noser, did you have that expression in italian ? you get a brown nose when kissing somebody’s ass, but it’s true i’m not trying to kiss your ass, i do really love this country so much, i mean i don’t know a shit of course, you know i come for two days ,i drive around i stuff my base(?) i go home i hold my belly, i sleep but i remember the first time i came to italy i noticed that there was an opposite reaction completely opposite to what i was used you know i travel around like mmmmhhmhm and in germany they said, you’re very angry, why? you know, and i go country to country and it’s the same shit, what the fuck is your problem and i remember the first time i came to italy and i got my first interview and that guy was like you’re so passionate, you are so cool so…wow (it’s a story she already told once in another interview but we love it and then Sick of me starts and it’s almost time to say goodbye.

A review of the show would end here but i’ll add that after the show we had the chance to give a nice present, proudly produced and created by the fine folks in the italian hardcore fan, it was a thing for ani but also for evevry single member of the band (and the manager too!) and sawing the band thanking us was almost kinda difficult to believe,but when gig after gig we’re always there, long before and after the show… you know…

At the end a dozen of us got into one of the milan headquarters of ani fan (paola,silvia and francesca flat) to have a nice pasta at 2.30 in the morning (rubbing elbows with the moon;) Me and a girl that was with me (at her first Ani gig, thank you again Mirta for just being there) drove way back home in the fog thicker than ever, and got home when it was almost 5 AM .Say i was considering what Douglas Coupland call “trip to Australia” but i did choose for some rest, to be ready for more.