Article by Stefania Clerici | photo by Lara Bordoni
There is no beginning of summer without the storm at the opening of Rugby Soundbut… after weeks of rain and crazy weather as if it were still March, here is one of the axioms of the “bad luck” of the summer season dismantled like this: clear skies over Legnano and a dry concert (wet yes, but with sweat) for this first date!
By e hands upthis time unsolicited, for a very fortunate intersection of events that will hardly be repeated, not because of my pessimism but because of my experience on the field (of rugby), for the occasion set up with a stage, tents, benches and a really interesting street food area. I spend just two words (maybe just over two, so if you don’t want to put up with the controversy and read about the live show, skip to the next paragraph) for the useless bracelet/app system to pay for food and beverages this year: abandoned the hated (but why?) tokens, here is the “brilliant” idea of an app (at least not mandatory if you just want to eat) – skip the queue (they say) which in fact skips the queue is not: because to top up your bracelet (with cash or POS) you have to queue in the same way you would to get a receipt, or you can top up from an online app (by downloading and connecting your credit card) but ah: you can top up the bracelet per slot of 5 euros. So the water is commendable at ONLY 2 euros, but as a MINIMUM you have to buy 2 and then at the end of the live ask for a refund of 1 euro (re-queuing… and who does that?). Considering that bringing your own water bottles or drinks is not allowed, know that the minimum consumption of Rugby sound is 5 euros (or you can choose to dehydrate yourself).
The evening opens with duo di dj Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge who shortly after 9.30pm finished their set to make room for the headliners who with a Samuel visibly excited on the stage in Legnano he declares that he feels “at home”, shoots the first string of pieces of Human Dogs, Morning of light and then “not a gunshot, but a “Fist of Sand”. The space in the setlist to Augmented reality it is the same as the tour of the arenas, a tour which in this summer batch inherits the set list and visuals, to the detriment of the stage and sound system: that “big machine” of elevators, stage slides and LED screens has been left at home and on this tour a more streamlined and versatile system is preferred for stages and outdoor locations of summer dates.
But the cosmic journey of Samuel and his after the frequencies of Augmented Reality with the visionary Africa its Mars, takes a leap back in time to retrace the parallel universes of Emotional microchip: here comes the magic triptych of the 2000s with the long-awaited and much-balladed Aurora dreams, Liberi tutti and Discolabirintothen go back in time between the albums of L’eclisse e Amorematicuscon Poison, Rapid Clouds and The Center of the Flame. As Samuel had announced to us at the beginning of this session, we have truly entered the Subsonica den, rediscovering that particular sound that thirty years ago he started making us jump.
On stage there is no shortage of positions taken, such as messages “Stop bombing Gaza”, “Stop bombing Ukraine” and the denunciation of the deaths of refugees in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea: these are moments in which the band makes us reflect that this evening we are celebrating, yes, but There’s a world on fire outside. There’s also no shortage of funny moments, like on the dated one North jungle, that before playing it we are reminded by Samuel that “when we went to the disco when we were young, we danced to this song like idiots”, or Hail, in which the frontman gets the attack and the words wrong because, he says, “it’s a song that has always moved me”.
The second part of the live sees the entrance of the rapper Ensi, with which Subsonica boast successful performances and which the Legnano public is happy to dance to: from the romantic The sky over Turinwe move on to the sound street of The bubble burststhen leaving the stage to Ensi alone with his hit Number one. The band enters the stage again for the cover of Neffa Waiting for the Sun which takes us towards the last session of pieces from the past: we start with Istrice, and then jump to No faultwith a beautiful statement by Max Casacci, above mentioned, regarding migrant policy.
The conclusion of the live show is to be jumped with hands in the air, among the beat ever higher than The flood and Lazarusto then flow into The smell and the always perfect thread of All my mistakes and Roadsdedicated to their most loyal audience, “to those who, having heard one of our songs on the radio for a long time, have gone out to buy a record, have listened to and learned the lyrics by heart and travel for miles and miles to come to one of our concerts: Thank you”.
Subsonica’s tour continues throughout the peninsula during this beautiful Italian summer: more info and tickets here
Even the Rugby sound has just kicked off and continues with other concerts for the first half of July, with big names on the international and Italian scene: here is the whole program and information on purchasing tickets.
Discover the photo gallery by Subsonica in Legnano at Rugby Sound and browse it below or click here
Discover the Subsonica lineup in Legnano at Rugby Sound – 27 June 2024
Human dogs
Morning of light
Fistful of sand
Africa is Mars
Poison
Aurora dreams
Free everyone
Discolabirinto
Fast clouds
The center of the flame
Northern Jungle
Hail
Universe
The sky over Turin (with Ensi)
The bubble bursts (with Ensi)
Number One (Ensi cover)
Waiting for the Sun (Neffa cover) (with Ensi)
Porcupine
No fault
Downpour
Lazarus
The smell
All my mistakes
Roads
