It was difficult to imagine a better start: on the most rocking day of the programme The First Summer Festivalat the ex Bussola Domani Park in Lido di Camaiore (LU), gave four performances, each more incredible than the other.
It was our local’s turn Mottaassisted by a band led by Giorgio Maria Condemi, Francesco Chimenti and Roberta Sammarelli, opened the festival and did so with his melancholic, touching and at the same time lashing songwriting at the right point, songs like “Anime perse”, rather than the The now classic “La fine dei vententa anni” or “Rome tonight” warmed up the audience and immediately put them in the mood of a lightning-fast evening.
After him the caustics Sleaford Modsdirectly from Nottingham, brought a breath of post-punk: loud, crooked and yet very effective as only Jason Williamson and the legendary Andrew Fern (computers and ballets out of time as only he can) can do, a unicum in the world music scene.
At 9pm, real American indie-rock legends appear on stage, i Dinosaur Jr driven by J Mascis: enough noise, wild mosh pit and songs like “Been there all the time”, “Feel the pain” (ah Lou Barlow’s bass…) and a finale in which “Freak scenes” you can’t help but sing at the top of your lungs, as on the subsequent “Just like heaven”, a Cure song that has now become an integral part of Dinosaur’s repertoire, in their bombastic version but capable of maintaining the right degree of melancholy.
Headliner of the evening, and there’s no point in hiding that we were all there for them, the legendary ones Jane’s Addictionreunited in the original lineup: the only Italian date for Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro and, let’s say it straight away, expectations more than respected: the sound is still the one that revolutionized the world rock scene, balanced between dark moments and hard rock dynamics, with Eric Avery’s bass dictating the line and Navarro’s guitar which is still that of the best days , sinuous and pungent, while Farrell’s voice, although aged, still has that characteristic timbre, fine and lewd, sexy and sad.
The rest is done by a setlist in which there are pieces like “Whores”, “Pigs in zen”, an epochal “Jane says” (sung by the whole park, packed with people), “Ocean size” and “Three days” .
If that wasn’t enough comes the encore: “Mountain song”, “Been caught stealing” and “Chip away”: the feeling is that above all Farrell is not satisfiedhas a great desire to play and the excellent wine he drank during the live show refreshed him to the right degree, managing to bring out all the stage animal he has inside. A good premiere therefore for La Prima Estate 2024, certainly an evening to remember for those present
