When, a few days ago, I
proposed to Steve this article/report, I regretted it immediately,
thinking that maybe it was not the case and could be too
self-referential. Then, I thought about it better, cold in mind, and
I was told, probably, it is only the point of view of one who, at 40,
is taking some small satisfactions away, such as playing in a band,
making records, going around concerts, touring.
From my point of view,
I can only appreciate the effort that hundreds, if not thousands, of
people in the world make every day to allow as many as a hundred
bands (including Dustrider, of course) to emerge from the limbo where
they are confined. Of course, I am aware of the dynamics that often
hide behind this, but this is not the place to talk about.
Big or small they are,
festivals are, without doubt, one of the most important moments of
aggregation, where people are assembled by a single major common
denominator, music. Desertfest, Hellfest, Roadburn, Wacken are just
some of the biggest European festivals where any band in the world
would like to participate and where, most likely, they will never
take part. But it does not matter. Each country has an innumerable
number of small realities where one can express its creativity.
Names such as
Argonauta Fest, Heavy Psych Sounds Fest, Pietrasonica, Sweet Leaf
Festival, SoloMacello Fest, Burning Ruins, are just some of the most
important festivals in Italy that can move the underground world we
all need. On Saturday, May 12th I was, in the double role of
spectator and musician, at the Argonautafest. What to say. There was
an experience I would call it necessary.
Necessary because it
allowed us to play with so many great bands with which we might never
have played. Necessary because it allowed us to give a face and a
voice to all those people who, until then, were just pixels on the
screen. Necessary because allowed to touch with a hand a reality made
of hopes, passion, blows, professionalism and friendship.
Foto di Giovanni Salinardi
The management of the
event, from the audience point of view, was simply perfect. The
comfortable venue (Officine Sonore, Vercelli) have been the perfect
location to hold the event, with a perfect acoustics, being a
non-dispersive place that can accommodate the right number of people.
On this occasion, Argonauta has given way to some of its roster bands
to present themselves in the best way, thanks to 40 minutes of live
set that brought on 8 bands featuring completely different sounds,
from stoner to heavy psych, through sludge and post metal.
Having to play around
midnight, I've had the opportunity to enjoy the first bands that,
despite the ‘tea time’, have been spent as if they were playing
as head-liners at the main stage of the HELLFEST.
NO GOOD ADVICE was
called to a hard test, having to open in the afternoon with a still
small audience who, in any case, participated with transport to their
show. Heroic. The NAAT, coming upstage later on, literally bent the
air with a fresh and original sludge/psych as it had just felt. THE
BUCKLE were, for me, a real surprise. A duo (guitar and drum) with
its roots in a sound that closely remind QOTSA and EODM. The sound
went slowly to darker and heavier territories, passing through the
post-metal of OTUS and the percussive and violent sludge of NUDIST,
until the post elaborations of VAREGO.
One of the most
beautiful aspects (at least for me) of these festivals is the
opportunity to listen to groups that I might have had difficulty
listening, simply because I did not know them. It was the case of the
head-liners EYES FRONT NORTH, a Parisian sludge metal/post-hardcore
quartet that literally amazed me for their music made of so much
psychedelia. We played in the middle and from the point of view of
the band, the organization was perfect. No difficulties, quality
back-lines, line-check that sounded more like a sound check for how
beautiful the sound came out, thanks also to the great sound
engineer.
About our performance I do not pronounce, of course. We had
a lot of fun and I saw the audience as well. Audiences and bands have
shared hours of pure fun, thanks to the high quality of musicians
that hit the stage. The overall feeling of the whole day was more
than pleasant, in an atmosphere that, for both the audience and the
bands, went beyond the mere participation. It was a true family
celebration.
Let me make a special
applause to the Argonauta Records. It is not for flattery. It's not
because our label. It's not because Gero is a friend. It is not for
any of these reasons. It is for the people, whoever they are,
Argonauta or not, that blow continuously, day after day, to pull out
something good from that rot that has become the Italian music scene.
Making music becomes more and more difficult, day after day, due to
an unwelcome general disinterest combined with a lack of space that
inevitably leads to a general sense of overcrowding.
Of course, nothing is
perfect, but there are people out there who invest their lives for
something they really like to do, which fortunately allows them to
live, but that keeps alive those creativity that we often need.
Fortunately, small
realities save us. Long life the underground.
Words
by Bruno Bellisario
Argonauta Records Links:
Dustrider Links:
