Live Review: Franco Battiato in London
Franco Battiato live at Scala in London - Photo copyright by Oscar Tornincasa for rebelrebelmusic.com
Franco Battiato is one of the most acclaimed Italian musicians and he has been for over 4 decades. On March 9 he was in London for his live show at the Scala in King’s Cross, where he entertained a multitude of Italian Londoners evidently from many different backgrounds.
“Bear with me, the next 30 minutes might be difficult for someone” – the Italian song-writer opened the show with a warning, preparing the audience for what turned out to be most interesting moment of the show: 30 minutes of pure electronic experimentation – Brian Eno style – that took me – and I’m sure part of the audience too – to a meditative transcendental state. Then it was time for the old Battiato to give out his most precious jewels, from Shock In My Town to Non Time No Space, fromLa Spiga to an acoustic version of his masterpiece La Cura (The Cure) – the most touching moment of the evening.
Battiato on stage masters the art of (self) irony as only great artists can do, offering instants of laughters to a crowd that was literally in awe and didn’t really want to let him go. I believe he’s one of those artists who deserve to be listened to regardless the language as there is something in his music that tells stories in a way that is much deeper than any word could ever tell – especially during his live shows.
If he was 20 years old my trust in the future in Italian music would be restored, but unfortunately he’s 70… so my advice is to go and grab your tickets whenever you have a chance to see him live. Even if you don’t understand a word of Italian.
Photo gallery by Oscar Tornincasa:
