When I visited Bari as part of the Maltese entourage that attended the Coca-Cola MTV concert, I took the opportunity to make some comparisons and contrasts with what went on at the MTV Malta concert held just over a month before.
I was indeed really looking forward to Bari, not least because I was always intrigued about this old, beautiful city and its history, besides feeling appalled about its currently unenviable status of being the highest gang crime around Italy. Sadly, the metropolitan section of this city has also suffered from the ravages of urban sprawl and large apartment blocks and housing estates dot the periphery of the city, as has been the case with various other Italian cities over the past five decades.
I did feel sad when I saw parcels of derelict land as the coach drove along the wonderful coast from Polignano da Mare (incidentally home of the late legendary singer-songwriter Domenico Modugno) to Bari. The venue itself, located at the Murattiano section of Bari, was also located at a rather rundown section of the harbour, and is actually bigger than our Luxol Parade Grounds, at St Andrews, Pembroke.
The Coca-Cola Live @MTV concert took place in an area covering over 37,500 square metres across. The awesome stage that hosted the main event was 39 metres wide, 14 metres high and 22 metres long: A truly imposing structure that hosted an event that involved over 100 people including artistes, staff and administrators.
The entire event was presented and animated by two of the most popular VJs from MTV Italy, namely Carolina Di Domenico, who hosts the music scene insight programme A Night With as well as the aforementioned Operazione Soundwave along with Alessandro Cattelan, who hosts Mtv Italy's most popular show, TRL - Total Request Live.
Yet, attendance wasn't so high - just around 10,000, compared to the 40,000-audience that we had at the Malta venue. As was the case in Malta, and any other MTV concert, entrance was free and the main protagonist was Biagio Antonacci, one of the leading and most productive songwriters in Italy at the moment. The concert also featured Mel C, I Gemelli Diversi and Too Much Blond, a young, upcoming Florentine band. They opened procedures with Open Letter, a whacky song that opens with a Casio-generated sound. Young and tenacious, Too Much Blond are a cross between the gritty pop of McFly, grunge and some nu-metal influences too. They participated on the strength of winning Operazione Soundwave, a musical programme and contest produced by MTV Italy with Coca-Cola, wherein bands discussed their dreams and aspirations with the winners eventually being selected by a jury formed by the audience. They sing in English, as well as in Italian, and on other songs, notably Another Sad Song, they also brought out the inner-city teen angst with some conviction. They still have some way to go but they can be a tight lot if they continue to get their act together. They may not be extraordinary but they are trying hard to bring out the reality of modern urban Italy. I believe they have a lot of ground to cover here.
Next came Mel C. I thought things were really going to take off but it was not the case. Sporty Spice's solo career has veered more towards a rock-based sound, and some of her efforts were really good, notably on the Next Big Superstar, her 2003 hit single. It opened her performance. The woman has now acquired considerable experience and stage confidence. Her show was a tight, no-frills rundown of her pop hits as well as latter-day hits like This Time and a rather dodgy version of I Want Candy, originally a Bow-Wow-Hit back in 1982. Like Too Much Blond, Mel C, despite her enormous success, is still passing through various phases of transition, and it remains to be seen if she can come up with songs as incisive as Northern Star and, of course, the aforementioned Next Big Superstar.
I Gemelli Diversi are also at a crossroads, 10 years since their inception. This Milanese quartet, who supported Eros Ramazzotti, and even participated in the Italian version of Live8 a couple of years ago, have also notched a string of hits, which they interpreted with much energy and zest, not least on Fuego, as well as on more recent compositions like Sette Su Sette and Lei Non Chiamerà . Gemelli Diversi's blend of rap and funk, much influenced by US styles, still requires some fine-tuning but they could be on their way to bigger things if they continue to take their act more seriously.
By the time Biagio Antonacci and his band went onstage, the crowd had grown considerably. Yet, the 10,000 people who attended this free concert were still far short of the 30,000 he usually gets in his native Milan. I really cannot explain this shortfall. It could perhaps be that he is more popular in the north than in the south, where musical tastes remain more traditional. Antonacci has been quite productive lately, having released four albums in six years, all of which hit the top spot in the national charts. This is why I found the audience response so dumbfounding. Anyway, those who did make it were treated to an hour of songs, mainly drawn from his recent album Vicky Love. Lascia Stare, Sognami, Coccinella and Vicky Love were all delivered with flair and passion. He also addressed a few old songs like Liberatemi and Alessandra.
Antonacci can be prolific and versatile and his recent hit, Sognami, drew on more laidback traditional styles. It could also be the song that, at the time that I am writing this article, could bag him this year's Festivalbar. Antonacci, however, needs to avoid including so much loud, rock sounds, as he did last weekend. It is evident that Antonacci has followed British and American rock sounds, and his last song for that night, Lascia Stare, even borrowed a riff from an old David Bowie song, John I'm Only Dancing.
Now in his mid-40s, Antonacci hasn't done much compromises ever since his groundbreaking album Il Mucchio made the big time, however, he can easily reach out to a wider audience without being so heavy.
I was indeed really looking forward to Bari, not least because I was always intrigued about this old, beautiful city and its history, besides feeling appalled about its currently unenviable status of being the highest gang crime around Italy. Sadly, the metropolitan section of this city has also suffered from the ravages of urban sprawl and large apartment blocks and housing estates dot the periphery of the city, as has been the case with various other Italian cities over the past five decades.
I did feel sad when I saw parcels of derelict land as the coach drove along the wonderful coast from Polignano da Mare (incidentally home of the late legendary singer-songwriter Domenico Modugno) to Bari. The venue itself, located at the Murattiano section of Bari, was also located at a rather rundown section of the harbour, and is actually bigger than our Luxol Parade Grounds, at St Andrews, Pembroke.
The Coca-Cola Live @MTV concert took place in an area covering over 37,500 square metres across. The awesome stage that hosted the main event was 39 metres wide, 14 metres high and 22 metres long: A truly imposing structure that hosted an event that involved over 100 people including artistes, staff and administrators.
The entire event was presented and animated by two of the most popular VJs from MTV Italy, namely Carolina Di Domenico, who hosts the music scene insight programme A Night With as well as the aforementioned Operazione Soundwave along with Alessandro Cattelan, who hosts Mtv Italy's most popular show, TRL - Total Request Live.
Yet, attendance wasn't so high - just around 10,000, compared to the 40,000-audience that we had at the Malta venue. As was the case in Malta, and any other MTV concert, entrance was free and the main protagonist was Biagio Antonacci, one of the leading and most productive songwriters in Italy at the moment. The concert also featured Mel C, I Gemelli Diversi and Too Much Blond, a young, upcoming Florentine band. They opened procedures with Open Letter, a whacky song that opens with a Casio-generated sound. Young and tenacious, Too Much Blond are a cross between the gritty pop of McFly, grunge and some nu-metal influences too. They participated on the strength of winning Operazione Soundwave, a musical programme and contest produced by MTV Italy with Coca-Cola, wherein bands discussed their dreams and aspirations with the winners eventually being selected by a jury formed by the audience. They sing in English, as well as in Italian, and on other songs, notably Another Sad Song, they also brought out the inner-city teen angst with some conviction. They still have some way to go but they can be a tight lot if they continue to get their act together. They may not be extraordinary but they are trying hard to bring out the reality of modern urban Italy. I believe they have a lot of ground to cover here.
Next came Mel C. I thought things were really going to take off but it was not the case. Sporty Spice's solo career has veered more towards a rock-based sound, and some of her efforts were really good, notably on the Next Big Superstar, her 2003 hit single. It opened her performance. The woman has now acquired considerable experience and stage confidence. Her show was a tight, no-frills rundown of her pop hits as well as latter-day hits like This Time and a rather dodgy version of I Want Candy, originally a Bow-Wow-Hit back in 1982. Like Too Much Blond, Mel C, despite her enormous success, is still passing through various phases of transition, and it remains to be seen if she can come up with songs as incisive as Northern Star and, of course, the aforementioned Next Big Superstar.
I Gemelli Diversi are also at a crossroads, 10 years since their inception. This Milanese quartet, who supported Eros Ramazzotti, and even participated in the Italian version of Live8 a couple of years ago, have also notched a string of hits, which they interpreted with much energy and zest, not least on Fuego, as well as on more recent compositions like Sette Su Sette and Lei Non Chiamerà . Gemelli Diversi's blend of rap and funk, much influenced by US styles, still requires some fine-tuning but they could be on their way to bigger things if they continue to take their act more seriously.
By the time Biagio Antonacci and his band went onstage, the crowd had grown considerably. Yet, the 10,000 people who attended this free concert were still far short of the 30,000 he usually gets in his native Milan. I really cannot explain this shortfall. It could perhaps be that he is more popular in the north than in the south, where musical tastes remain more traditional. Antonacci has been quite productive lately, having released four albums in six years, all of which hit the top spot in the national charts. This is why I found the audience response so dumbfounding. Anyway, those who did make it were treated to an hour of songs, mainly drawn from his recent album Vicky Love. Lascia Stare, Sognami, Coccinella and Vicky Love were all delivered with flair and passion. He also addressed a few old songs like Liberatemi and Alessandra.
Antonacci can be prolific and versatile and his recent hit, Sognami, drew on more laidback traditional styles. It could also be the song that, at the time that I am writing this article, could bag him this year's Festivalbar. Antonacci, however, needs to avoid including so much loud, rock sounds, as he did last weekend. It is evident that Antonacci has followed British and American rock sounds, and his last song for that night, Lascia Stare, even borrowed a riff from an old David Bowie song, John I'm Only Dancing.
Now in his mid-40s, Antonacci hasn't done much compromises ever since his groundbreaking album Il Mucchio made the big time, however, he can easily reach out to a wider audience without being so heavy.