Porto Antico Prog Fest 2024 - Genova

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been coming to Genoa for ten years, the first instance being the Riviera Prog Festival in May 2014 which got me hooked on the city. I didn’t attend any gigs in 2015 but used the trip to introduce my wife to the Riviera lifestyle and I didn’t manage to get to the city at all in 2021 because of the global pandemic but I’ve managed to clock up 20 gigs or festivals around the city in that time, including Porto Antico Prog Fest 2024.
This was the 8th Porto Antico Prog Fest, the seventh I'd attended having missed out on 2021 due to Covid travel restrictions and while past events have involved some degree of thematic narrative, 2024 had a distinct leitmotif running through the programme - Italian film soundtracks, largely the giallo sub-genre.

Day 1: 3rd August 2024

HORROR BACH commenced proceedings. I was aware of their interpretations of classic Italian horror soundtrack music but it was a pleasant surprise to see Il Segno del Comando leader Diego Banchero contributing bass. Along with Goblin's music for Dario Argento they included a piece from 'Inferno', where the music was composed by Keith Emerson and acknowledged the importance of JS Bach with their rendition of Toccata and Fugue in D minor.
If there was one exception to the overarching festival concept I'd say it was DELIRIO AND THE PHANTOMS but they do play dark rock which shares features with horror music. Frontman Freddy Delirio didn't really sing but narrated the music (in English) which was accompanied by slick videos where their best songs featured long, atmospheric psyche sections.
There had been a nine-year gap between LA MASCHERA DI CERA appearances in their home city before a tour in 2023 so it was nice to see them maintaining live activity, possibly the best of their performances I've witnessed, which included a wide selection of stunning progressivo italiano material culminating in 'Il cerchio del comando' and 'Vacuo senso' from 2020's 'S.E.I', the artwork of which links the band to the giallo genre.
The headline act was FRIZZI 2 FULCI, composer Fabio Frizzi recreating the soundtracks he provided for master horror film screenwriter and director Lucio Fulci, the first time they had played in Genoa.
I'd not seen any of the films before; clips were played on a back-projection and I found myself concentrating more on the visuals than on the musicians but it's understandable that Frizzi is so well regarded and it was something of a coup for prog fest organisers Black Widow Records to get him to appear.

Day 2: 4th August 2024

I met up with members of Genoa’s Melting Clock on Sunday, who provided me with appropriate translations of the proceedings and gave me updates on the about-to-be-released ALTROVE, their second album. The evening started with GOTHO, a keyboard-drums duo (Fabio Cuomo and Andrea Peracchia) who destroyed the notion that serious music has to be played by musicians with a serious attitude. The pair produced a bombastic virtuoso performance mixing prog, hard rock, psychedelia, jazz and classical, putting down a marker for the subsequent acts.
LA GRAZIA OBLIQUA brought along a substantial group of fans with them but I'm sure they went back to Rome with more. Their sound is defined as dark Art-Wave and they threw in an intelligent cover of an Orme classic to supplement material from their 2022 album 'Canzoni d'amore e morte e altri eventi accidentali'.
I've seen UNIVERSAL TOTEM ORCHESTRA before in Genoa and Milan and I really like their complex compositions which mix Area-inspired rock progressivo and Zeuhl. Sophya Baccini, a Prog Fest staple and Black Widow Records artist was introduced as a special guest making two exceptional vocalists on stage.
I really enjoyed the next set. L'OMBRA DELLA SERA was a band name adopted by LA MASCHERA DI CERA for a 2012 self-titled album of progged-up theme tunes to 70s Italian TV dramas where the group's members adopted made-up names. The line-up had changed since 2012 but the pseudonyms remained, and I'm sure I heard Fabio Zuffanti call Martin Grice 'Lancelot'! The performance was accompanied by clips of the TV shows but I found it impossible to follow any plot, even though it was engrossing; fortunately I've listened to the album a couple of times.
IL SEGNO DEL COMANDO headlined the evening, with the line up featuring new drummer Paolo Serboli (who had also been part of Saturday's opening act HORROR BACH.) The band are masters of dark prog, and the performance was excellent, with the music enhanced by the back projection. It was also very satisfying that Diego Banchero, a stalwart of the Genoa music scene, should bookend the festival.

Black Widow Records deserve applause for putting on another memorable festival but they were helped by a very able team of technicians and a sound system much improved on past festivals. Support also came from MAT2020's Athos Enrile and Lind Dell who interviewed artists between bands, a feature I've come to expect at Italian prog festivals.
From a personal point of view, I'd like to thank Massimo, Pino and Laura for making progressivo italiano so accessible, Melting Clock for the music and friendship, Marina, Mauro and anyone else willing to talk to me! It was also nice of Massimo to mention my name in his address to the festival goers.
I hope the Porto Antico Prog Fest will continue to prog on for years to come.