HERE'S THE SET LIST FROM WEDNESDAY

11 OCTOBER 2000
ROMA



ENCORE WAS "STILL LIFE"

Review from Giancarlo St.

ROMA
11 OCTOBER 2000


Alpheus is a scattered and simple venue alternative rock and techno music oriented, consisting of three music rooms.

PH and SG played in the largest, the Mississippi hall (!); luckily no concerts in the other ones.

The audience for ph was about 300-350 ;mostly aged between 30 and 40, few with kids and very few little old men (as me). Women about 20-25 per cent, maybe younger than men.

The show began at 22.00 pm and was over at 0.35 am with a twenty minute break.

SG black dressed, PH all white (dress, hair, face, hands, teeth and so on...).

SG mute all nite long, PH friendly, relaxed, smiling; he speaks a good italian and often says "sono straniero ma qui mi sento a casa" (I am a stranger but in Rome I am at home).

When playing guitar, long walks on the stage, more than usual. PH and SG marked by grimaces and twistings while playing. Audience is attentive, acquainted but almost shy (it seems to be the first PH concert for many ones, the youngest), after relaxes slowly and begins to ask for everything, from "killer" to "the light continent" (!). PH answers, kind but firm: "decido io!" (I choose!)
Nothing from "Fireships" and "Usher", unfortunately. Compared to the last concert I saw (feb. 98), PH is more skilled at singing on dark ranges, is using high ones less and does vocal acrobatics moderately. He limits himself to rhythmic accompaniment on guitar, without trying a-solo, while dares some experimentalism on keyboard (where I prefer him). SG holds the sound up greatly, even if he is sometimes intrusive and too noisy. Some songs' arrangements are a little dilating.

I am becoming convinced to prefer PH as composer instead of player, although he remains unequalled in unpair measures singing and in emphasizing a dramatic expressivity, almost as opera. Altogether, in my opinion PH music, even if using traditional rock instruments, is more and more far from rock regarding to tune structure, arrangements and composing attitude.


GRAZI!!!

FROM UGO:

Talking with other attendants, at the end of the concert, I caught different impressions: some really entusiastic, others a little disappointed, remembering older performance much more effective.

I really appreciate the first part of the set, while the second part, encore included, showed a Hammill a little tired and less coordination by Stuart.

Being the first evening of the tour the men were still a little cold.

Big highlights: Easy to Slip Away and Confortable. The Hammill magic worked perfectly.
After "EASY" Hammill reported that last time he saw Susie was many years ago just here in Rome.

Hammill’s technical limits doesn’t condition the genialty and intensity of the songs.
Gordon is a fantastic musician, and I’ve not found his playing too intrusive: eventually a little slow on entering in the right mood in the beginning of some pieces. Very beautiful his work on Patient.

Only two pieces (pleasant) from the last Nothing of the Above, and it is enough. In my opinion...[UGO]... the set list was too similar to the recent one (1999 gigs), and I think that Peter maybe should choose other gems in his gigantic repertoire. [!---AGREED]

Anyway, I surely will not lack the Mantova concert, on next Saturday.

CHEERS UGO!!! WRITE SOON........

Other reviews are welcome too!



FROM PAOLO:

English translation is from DAGMAR41!!

Pi񠣨e vere e proprie recensioni, un po'di impressioni in ordine sparso.

Il concerto di Roma 蠳tato un buon concerto, anche se probabilmente abbiamo un po'pagato il fatto che era la prima data della tourn饠e dunque alcuni equilibri andavano rodati... Stuart 蠳tato pirotecnico, ha sfruttato con maestria i tanti spazi che Peter gli ha concesso confezionando assoli su assoli senza mai essere ripetitivo. Ha tirato fuori dal suo multieffetto davvero tante invenzioni timbriche suggestive... Peter ha iniziato un po'deconcentrato, con troppe incertezze al piano che hanno minato la bellezza delle prime canzoni.

Le cose sono andate migliorando nella parte alla chitarra (finalmente 蠴ornato alla chitarra acustica, abbandonando l'elettrica con cui dal vivo negli ultimi anni aveva massacrato svariati pezzi), ma quando l'atmosfera si era ormai scaldata 蠡rrivata una inspiegabile pausa di una ventina di minuti a raffreddare gli entusiasmi. Complessivamente comunque un Hammill intraprendente in alcune lunghe cadenze vocali e (ahim詠in alcuni passaggi semi/solistici al piano.

La scaletta giࠬa sapete:

Piano:

The siren song
Easy to slip away
Nothing comes
Unrehearsed
A better time
Chitarra:

Comfortable
Nightman
Patient
pausa

Chitarra:

Amnesiac
Shingle song
Like Veronica

Piano:

Touch and go
Bubble
Faculty x
Stranger still


Bis: Still Life
A mio avviso
una scaletta poco equilibrata, con troppi pezzi recenti (8 su 16 erano tratti dagli ultimi quattro album) e con gli stessi vecchi brani proposti due anni fa all'Air Terminal Ostiense. Va anche sottolineato come per molti dei brani pi񠲥centi fosse la prima assoluta dal vivo, e ci򠨡 creato a Peter e Stuart qualche imbarazzo di troppo.

ENGLISH:

More than true and own book reviews, impressions in order a little scattered. The concert of Rome has been a good concert, even if probably we have a po' paid the fact that was the first date of the tourn饠and therefore some equilibriums went rodati...

Stuart has been pyrotechnician, has taken advantage of with maestria the many spaces that Peter to it has granted assoli manifacturing on assoli without never repetitive being. He has pulled outside from its multieffect indeed many evocative timbriche inventions...

Peter has begun a po' deconcentrato, with too many uncertainties to the plan that have mined the beauty of the first songs. The things have gone improving in the part to the guitar (finally are returned to the acoustic guitar, abandoning the electrical worker with which from the alive one in the last years it had massacred varied pieces), but when the atmosphere by now had been scaldata has succeeded in one inexplicable pause of one score of minuteren to cool the enthusiasms.

Altogether however an enterprising Hammill in some long vocal cadences and (ahim詠in some semi/solistici passages to the plan. The ladder already the sapete: Slowly: The siren song Easy to slip away Nothing comes Unrehearsed To better Time Guitar: Comfortable Nightman Patient pause Guitar:

Amnesiac Shingle song Like Veronica Slowly: Touch and go Bubble Faculty x Stranger still Bis: Still Life To my warning a little balanced ladder, with too many recent pieces (8 on 16 was drawn from last the four album) and with the same old brani proposals two years ago to the Air Terminal Ostiense.

It goes also emphasized as for many of the more recent brani it was the first absolute from the alive one, and that has created to Peter and Stuart some embarrassment too much.