Negrita: rock never sets

Who knows if 30 years ago the young Negrita would have ever said (or even just thought) that they would find themselves filling the Forum in Milan with an anthology concert! Certainly not, although they obviously hoped for it, but the paths of lives and careers are unpredictable, incalculable and surprises are always welcome.

So it is that the boys from Arezzo, three decades after the release of their self-titled debut album, are able to propose a setlist of 30 songs, full of hit singles, a short extract from the 1994 album and also two new songs , a single released a few hours before the concert and also a completely unreleased song, taken from the bunch of ones that Pau and his associates are working on to compose a new album.

In the almost three hours of concert Pau, Drigo and Mac reeled off their repertoire, which has many variables but only one common denominator: rock. That’s what Negrita are faithful to, they’ve dirtied it, they’ve mixed it with something else but in the end, especially from the stage they’ve always made a profession of faith. And much less could this visceral love be missing on this occasion. Thus, grouping together the different stylistic souls, they retraced their career, drawing from almost all the albums with the exception of the second, “Paradisi per illusi” from 1995.

Although everything revolved around the celebration of 30 years, little space was given to the songs from the debut album. The choice fell on “Hey Negrita” (almost rapped in the verses and “dirty” with funk), “Cambio” (powerful rock), “RJ” (passionate tribute to Robert Johnson’s blues) and “Lontani dal mondo” (a ballad that had been missing from the setlists for a long time, “maybe it was on some theater tour” says Pau). In short, a synthesis of that album and its facets, all present in this selection.

For the rest, the rock roads were all powerfully, proudly and rigorously traveled, in perfect style and respecting the canons. Ballad or big piece, whether it was Drigo’s solo, it was never missing, lying on arpeggios or a more solid base than Mac’s rhythm. Behind the guitars there is a bass, drums, percussion and “light” keyboards.

Pau declared it at the beginning of the show: “it was supposed to be a “little party” and 10,000 of you came” but the spirit of the party (festoon, not little party) reigned supreme over the entire concert. Every spectator did their part and on “Bambole” (as on other occasions) the parterre was a triumphant forest of arms raised to the sky with hands rhythmically clapping, while the forum stands vibrated with the jumps. Therefore, as befits the healthy ritual of rock, there was also a strong physical aspect.

The choice to present the singles, well-known pieces, inevitably brought with it that karaoke effect that accompanies concerts of any genre with a strong popular vocation, like this one. Then add a section in which rock is combined with Latin Mediterranean sounds, giving ample space to the rhythmic soul of Negrita which borders on reggae (or rather dub) and at times recalls a much more electric Manu Chao when he ventures into the southern territories America.

It’s a party, it’s a muscular moment but there’s also a very short intimate corner in which the ballad “Magnolia” appears preceded by the delicate and acoustic “They won’t return anymore”, dedicated to those friends who unfortunately have passed away in recent years and quotes the producer Carlo Alberto Rossi and the record producer Tommaso Cavanna. “This – says Pau – is not a funeral, but their celebration.

We move towards the end and it’s time for surprises: one already announced. The live performance for the first time of the new single “Non exist innocenti” released a few hours before the concert and, surprise within the surprise, the presentation of “Nel blu” which is not known if it is the definitive title. Two new badass songs. Introducing the first Pau says: “They are angry, disillusioned songs with words that needed to be said. They are dedicated to us who have a vision of the world different from others.” And in fact “There Are No Innocents” is an (ice-cold) bath in the present. “Nel blu” is instead a powerful, typically rock song in which Drigo’s guitar solos leave their mark on a text that is certainly not banal either. There are good premises.

In the end Negrita confirm that in Italy rock has deep, ancient roots, and that the new shoots of the genre actually have their backs well covered. They demonstrate that those paths can still be proudly traveled today, truly playing on stage (a concept reiterated several times). It might seem like an anachronistic proposal but that’s not the case, rock, if ground whirlwindly like this evening, still has its own raison d’être, a considerable communicative power and a very strong sense of belonging.

It is also surprising that the expectations of being in front of a very “adult” audience are somehow betrayed. Among those present, many, many, are younger than one might expect, people who at the time of “Change” were attending the last days of kindergarten or the first days of primary school. Negrita make it clear (again and if it were ever needed) that rock is “ageless”.

Ladder

And meanwhile time passes
In every atom
We won’t look back

Hey Negrita
Change
RJ
Far from the world

the game
I try to defend myself
Hemingway
I will burn for you
Your song

Dolls
The book in one hand and the bomb in the other
Radio Conga
The man dreams of flying
Rolling south
Mediterranean night
What a noise happiness makes

They won’t come back again
Magnolia

The day of truth
Sex
Transalcoholic
My way

Encore

There are no innocents
Blue
I learned to dream
Mama Maè
Infinite joy