3/6/08: NEGRAMARO: THANK YOU FOR THIS DREAM!

A great day, a great victory, a great concert! That of the NEGRAMARO in Sansiro was a gamble that the Salento band won hands down in every respect.
First of all music, the absolute star of the day: 10 hours of partying that began with Luca De Gennaro and his DJ setwhich then acted as a bridge between the shows of the different artists. The first to take the stage was Fink: intimate, confidential music, with a touch of Nick Drake and another of Kings of Convenience. Fink, a valid and very high-profile composer, becomes proof that the audience present at Sansiro wants to be entertained. His performance is indeed greeted by applause and interest, something not so obvious when 'club' music is played in a stadium at 4pm.
Inevitably the pace picks up with The Fashion, a Danish band taking their first steps in Italy. As the audience grows (around 20,000 during their set) we start to dance to their very 'dancey' new wave rock. That the band behind the hit 'Like knives' has Robert Smith as a reference point is no mystery at all. Fifty minutes of adrenalin-fuelled entertainment, welcomed by an audience who will have written their name in their diary.
At 6 p.m. it is the turn of the Infadelswhich we already had the pleasure of seeing in 2006. Their popularity is clearly on the rise, as are their entertainment skills. Many will argue at the end of the day that they were the big surprise among the special guests. Set divided equally between the brand new 'Universe in Reverse' and the first 'We are not the Infadels'.
A vibrant hour-long concert followed by the 2007 revelation band's show: The Fratellis! Hit and energy, rock and melody... a well-deserved success. At 7.40pm the whole of Sansiro jumped together for the first time on the notes of 'Chelsea dagger'... and it was goose bumps! More hits from 'Costello Music' and previews from 'Here we stand' arrive: a great band, with a great future. They will confirm this the following day at the Piper in Rome!
9pm: all set for the NegramaroThe lights go down and the more than 40,000 people make all their warmth felt. The ovation is shuddering when the six guys take the stage: they all do it together because this is a dream they want to live together. Rightly so, they start with 'The Distraction', opener of La Finestra tour since summer 2007. Here comes a surprise: 'In my room', a hit from 'While Everything is Flowing' that the band had not performed in its entirety for a year.
In the days leading up to the concert, we talked about guests and surprises: the first is Mattafix, who joins the band in The Window and to sing his hit 'Big City Life'.
Already featured on the band's third album, the Solis Quartet also make an appearance on the Sansiro stage to accompany 'Amen', 'Un passo indietro' and 'Neanche il mare' with their strings.
First time live for 'Remember me'concluded by the citation of 'Piero's War' by Fabrizio De Andrè.
The hits of the negramarowhich have now become part of Italian musical culture: 'L'immenso, Parlami d'amore, Mentre tutto scorre, Via le mani dagli occhi and so on up to Rain fallswhen he appears on stage in jubilation Lorenzo 'Jovanotti'for one of the highest moments of the show. Follows Safari'the title track of Lorenzo's latest album, in a duet with Julian.
Mauro Pagani, i Salento drums and the voice of Antonmio Castrignanò pay homage to us in 'Julian then is sick'where - as in the theatre - the band dusts off its Salento roots, those of the pizzica and taranta.
There is time to be moved in the interlude that Julian dedicates to 'Lights in sansiro'Roberto Vecchioni's masterpiece.
Funny, because it can't be otherwise, the incursion of Paolo of the Hyenas (greeted by great affection from the audience), acoustic guitar in 'Once in a while'... incursion whose significance will become clear to us in October.
Before closing with 'Clouds and sheetsWith Edo Rossi on stage, the voice of the Milanese radio station that, more than any other independent radio station, has given voice to Italian alternative music, Negramaro thanked a radio station that has always supported them.