Event '16 - Teatro Altrove, Genova

Event ’16, was a tribute to the live performance by Area at Milan's Università Statale on October 27th 1976 and released three years later on LP as Event ’76. It’s important to realise that Event ’76 wasn’t a straightforward Area gig, even though the band’s music is always challenging. Ares Tavolazzi and Giulio Capiozzo had temporarily left the band and the concert was performed with notable improvising musicians, Steve Lacy on saxophone and Paul Lytton on percussion joining Patrizio Fariselli, Demetrio Stratos and Paolo Tofani, and sounding like a cross between a psychedelic event and an extreme RIO performance. The original album contained only two tracks, Caos 2nd part, necessarily split between two sides of the original vinyl and the title piece, a variation of the track SCUM (Society for Cutting Up Men) from their 1976 concept album Maledetti. For Caos, each musician was given a single word on piece of paper, "sex", "irony", "violence" and had to interpret it for three minutes before changing the sheet of paper. The result varies between outright weirdness and melodic jazzy lines played over the top of weirdness but it’s fair to say that audience reaction in Milan was very favourable.
In an era where classic albums are being recreated by both original bands and by enthusiastic tribute acts with an appreciation of the cultural significance of the music, it was not unreasonable to recreate the Milan concert almost exactly 40 years after the event. Fabio Zuffanti pieced together a sympathetic ensemble comprised of Luca Giovanardi, sometime member of the band Julie's Haircut on guitar and Theremin effect; drum teacher and performer Beppe Mondini on percussion; multi-instrumentalist Nicola Manzan who has worked with many members of the Italian independent music scene on violin; and Michele Orvieti on piano and radio, the keyboard player for Incident on South Street and contributor to Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream - The Letters - An Unconventional Italian Guide To King Crimson.
The show was at the Teatro Altrove, down a narrow alley that opened out into the tiny Piazzetta Cambiaso in Genova’s historic centre. Teatro Altrove is situated in the former Palazzo Fattinanti-Cambiasso, overseen by a consortium of seven different artistic associations, each with a longstanding cultural bond to the Maddalena district. Finding the venue in the daylight wasn’t too onerous but when I retraced my steps through the caruggi in the dark it was much more difficult. It wouldn’t have mattered too much if I’d been late because the musicians were somewhat laid back about the 21.30 hrs start time.
Though not a strict musical recreation of Event ’76, the performance was certainly true to the spirit of the Area event; less jazzy and more generally spacey, this recreation was closer to the improvised psychedelia of Pink Floyd, sometimes creating a nice groove with violin drones and aggressive percussion. Zuffanti, who at one stage wore a mask, directed the pieces, counting down the end to sections and rarely using his bass in a conventional manner, but hitting the strings with spoons, utilising a rubber chicken and a pair of small frying pans. The words were placed on Zuffanti’s music stand which came in for a bit of abuse from Manzan during his personal interpretation of ‘Violence’ where he stalked the stage, shouting at the other performers and smashing the frying pans into Mondini’s cymbals which looked very much worse for wear at the end of the performance. Mondini’s drum kit was enhanced with fan blades and beer bottles and Orvieti tuned into a radio that he had to hand. For Event ’16 (as I suppose the final track should be called) Giovanardi controlled his sounds with a hand-held remote device which acted like a D-beam or a Theremin on what was the most coherent track, coming across as improvised space rock.
The band evidently enjoyed themselves and the relatively sparse crowd, who all seemed to know each other from the Genova music scene, was suitably appreciative. This was an intimate event held in a really nice theatre and though undeniably challenging it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, especially as it’s something that is unlikely to be repeated.

YouTube videos of the event are available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-Bfgo9f9NM
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a-w_T1TNKQ