FEBRUARY 2: “UNA NOTTE SPECIALE” IN BOLOGNA

Translation by Davide Andreis 

11.50 AM
After the many kilometers driven to reach all concert venues, sunrises when leaving or returning home, today we are already here in Bologna. For once, the alarm clock doesn’t interfere with our dreams, the sunlight will wake us up, when the rested eyes will open up to the new day…
The weather is bad, it’s raining and it’s cold. Late morning, we leave for the mall to buy breakfast (okay, we should have lunch given the time…) and then we spend our time in and out of stores… We need to buy the necessary for our restoration, says Cris.
The writer (Flavio) is not really happy for this unexpected activity… but he grins and bears it, and assumes the role of Jiminy Cricket, to try to keep back the Compulsive Shopping Disorder that hits Cris. 😉
Back “home” we are going to prepare for the evening and later on rejoin with all our friends who, like us, with intimate joy, are looking forward to the beginning of it…

A live, loud and felt concert, partaken by all the public this evening. We, the ones of the “hardcore”, all are in the front row. Oh, yes, we’re in Bologna and Marina made no mistake and bought the whole front row.
The warmth of the Bolognese public is overwhelming. When such an harmony and such an exchange is created, the concert itself benefits in an exceptional way. Therefore Carla gives us another two hours of dream music and when the time of encores comes, as she says, she doesn’t even pretend to leave and, right away, sings “Messaggio” too, giving us the chance to melt our emotions in an unanimous and liberating chanting.
Then the curtain closes down, but not on the evening which will continue with joy until at least 2 am.
We are going to bed with a shared concern: if tomorrow (which would be today), it keeps on snowing like this, how do we get back home?

FEBRUARY 1: TURIN, MAGIC CITY

Translation by Davide Andreis 

10.55 AM
We, TOURists, are in Bologna waiting for Marina to leave for Turin. Meanwhile, we set up our ubiquitous Chiara.

2.22 PM
After a brief stop at the service area, the journey continues with the notes of… “A Cosa Pensano”.
It’s very cold and foggy… The music of Carla resonates in the car… we all sing together… it’s so nice… “Deserts full of light, so close to the heart…”

4:31 PM
We are in Turin, in front of Teatro Colosseo. I have wonderful memories tied to this place. Turin is my childhood’s city… Here, I’ve lived the best days of my life. And in Turin, right here at the Colosseo, I attended several Carla’s concerts. My grandmother used to buy the tickets months before.
She begged the theater staff to put aside two tickets in the front row for her niece who lived in Viterbo and would visit just to see the concert. And then she took the streetcar all alone to go picking them up…
Soon after she used to call me, proud of her conquest. I went to the concerts with her.
She was a wonderful woman. After the concerts she used to wait while I was greeting Carla.
I still remember her image on February 14, 1987. It had snowed, and I was waiting for Carla to come out of the theater to greet her. My grandma, not far away, waited for me, standing, shivering, wit her pale face. I was happy because I was there…
We saw other concerts together after that date. Tonight I will be sitting in the same chairs with Flavio and inside myself, I will devote “Il Contatto” to her.

8:56 PM
We are at the theater. Meeting old friends, friends from the early 80’s: Luca, Claudia…
I’m going back over 20 years. So many memories here in Turin… I wish this were a special evening… The bond I have with Turin is so strong that it won’t be over at the end of the concert…
Every song is a microcosm of emotions that comes back to graze my skin; images slowly slide in my mind, mingling with those projected on stage, the voices, the laughter exploding in my memories mix up with the sounds that invade the theater. A veil of melancholy lays down on my eyes as I watch the stage, I think about the past, I think about the present,
I think about the future. Carla’s musical journey wears out quickly in the usual flow of time;
I have the feeling of having lived with intensity an unusual time, a timeless time.

In each song I find something about me, pieces of a story like many others, fragments of lives, mine and the one of those who I loved, or who I’ve just met in this life…
A special note on this date in Turin: eventually, Mino Di Martino is here.

When we step out of the theater, a fine and cold drizzle awakes me from the slumber of dreams.
We wait a bit for Carla to come out… For us, it’s time hit the road again, in the night that surrounds the highway and our memories… 

JANUARY 30: UDINE, HERE WE COME! IN 8 HOURS, THOUGH :)

Translation by Davide Andreis 

7.51 AM
We’ve been on the road since awhile, Flavio, me and the legendary Chiara (aka GPS navigator).
The Tempo Senza Tempo C1, which is, by the way, more and more dirty, has now made her way on E45.
Four days of fire await her… She will stack up kilometers, this small baby… and they insist on calling her “city car”!
We listen to Samsara in the car and talk with a note of sadness about the cancellation of Asti’s concert.
Right at the end of tour, it’s the last thing we needed! It was one of the last days to listen to Samsara live, at least for this winter tour…
But now here we are, driving to Udine, three wonderful concerts are ahead of us so, despite the “separation trauma” that inevitably will hit us in less than a month, we try to fully savor these joyful days.

10.13 AM
We are near Ravenna. The fog is a real pea souper. We listen to Exit…
What a great album!

11.45 AM
Near Chioggia. A strip of asphalt divides the lagoon in two, there is no clear borderline between the clear sky and the water; wrapped into fog, which slowly clears up, they merge into a single element.

3:17 PM
We are in Udine in front of the theater… Doing what, at this time, we don’t really know, but that’s okay. We did a a nice photo tour downtown Udine. Silence and poise, scents of food just eaten, low and colourful…

6:04 PM
In the theater… “Tempo Senza Tempo”, in the empty stalls, echoes even more strongly within us… Sitting in the back of the stalls, we silently attend the rehersals, enjoying these precious moments.

8:44 PM

The concert is about to begin… first row and lots of joy 🙂 The curtain rises once again on the notes of “Tempo Senza Tempo”. This Samsara Tour is a vehicle towards magic and ecstasy… It’s no accident the concert begins with this song, at least we do feel so…
This opening is almost a definition of intents not expressed through verbal language, but between the lines of sublime emotions. “Tempo Senza Tempo” is that area without an actual time period, in which music feeds energies, passions, moods and emotions. Carla’s low, deep voice in this song underlines its intensity and significance.
Time and space lose all borders to end up in a dream. The ending with “Il Cielo” seems to confirm this feeling of absolute suspension. And so heaven and earth merge losing their borderline, and near and far are here, together, in the space of a theater where grace and beauty are housed too, and where thought is lost, actually. And here we are, suspended, happy to “fly above the clouds, among the stars”…

JANUARY 26: THE ADVENTOUROUS TRIP TO PESCARA

Translation by Davide Andreis 

12.00 PM
We leave for Pescara, as usual with delay… as usual my fault. Yes, because having completely forgotten that we’ll overnight in Pescara, even though for a few hours, I was ready to leave when I realized that I packed no clothing, no toothbrush and tothpaste… in short: no nothing… What a drawback, forgetting to pack my bags… I’m getting old…
Then a nice breakfast in Terni, where Silvia, Antonella and I, reach Flavio.

1:30 PM
We’ve been driving for one and a half hour to make a few kilometers. All paths indicated by the navigator system are closed, but she continues to say “go back when you can.”
We can’tttttttttttt!!
Do you understand it or not??
Finally it seems she understood and the journey continues, interspersed with small stops due to wrong roads again… Now maybe we’re doing good, and the the road signs seem to confirm it (TN: see the CANTALICE road sign picture).
It’s a beautiful sunny day and we are surrounded by beautiful snow capped mountains.

5:54 PM
We are in the theater bar. Impossible to remain outside, it’s really cold! To tell the truth, this area gives me a great sense of desolation…
Every day marked by a concert is a special day, magical, wherever we are…
But this happens to only us; by looking out of the windows of this bar I see the usual life of a city, in a day like many others.

9:20 PM
The curtain rises on the stalls, where, unfortunately many red chairs are empty…
It’s a pity that an artist such as Carla doesn’t get the response she deserves in some cities. Yet she is very popular, but maybe there was no media bombardment that would give more visibility to the new cd and to its relative tour…
The warmth and participation, however, are not missing, neither tonight. Scattered throughout the stalls, we TOURists give our best, the empty spaces resonate with long applause, continuous cheers and silence is broken by the emotion which comes with the listening…
Carla’s voice enchants our hearts… one after the other, the songs that mark this tour push our souls into a dimension that hanging in the balance between being and non-being, like a tightrope walker maintains his balance by balancing its rod suspended in the air, so will we be led, step by step, through the magic tightrope between dream and reality…
We all wish that this dream wold never end, broken by the noise of our daily life, we’d like to spend all night listening to Carla, to see her move on stage with her usual grace, in complete harmony with the sounds and images…

We’d like to continue to live in this dream where emotions nearly hurt, the way they are strong…
But dreams do come true… or… or break… or, more simply, are interrupted with the arrival of daylight…
Thus the curtain closes this evening, too, leaving behind a trail of sensations that turn into strength, energy, life.
It is past midnight when, after having greeted Carla who hugged us all with great affection, we go eating at “Giazz and restaurant” a very nice and cozy place close to the theater.
The owner, a very kind guy, before the concert agreed to cook us something, despite it’s late…
So we find ourselves at a table in a room where the taste of the owners for the Arts in its various forms clearly shows. On the walls are some pictures of different artists, in the background some music contrasts with our laughters and emotions.
After a little appetizer, the owner brings us some great noodles “paglia e fieno”, freshly made by hand, seasoned with a delicious meat sauce, and for the two vegetarians of us, or pseudo-vegeterians :), a differente condiment, but just as good!
The food is accompanied by an excellent Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, a couple of dazing beers (right, Crissi?) And then, time for dessert… chocolate pralines with superlative chili, and a wonderful almond and green pistachio pie… So delicious that we ask for an encore!

We have to thank for the kindness, availability, and the care with which we were served this dinner, and we would like to think that soon this restaurant could become the place to meet after the shows taking place at the Teatro Massimo, perhaps in the company of various artists.

JANUARY 12: PADUA

Translation by Davide Andreis

4:35 PM
After a long night’s sleep and a short ride to the mall, where I and Marina give vent to all our childish instincts (best not to disclose how), we resumed our journey, destination Padua.

This Teatro Geox is not easy to find, despite our TomTom does its best to guide us towards it.. But… no way! Davide comes to our rescue and gives us the name of the parallel street. We eventually get there, but what a desolation …. The theater is located in the very suburbs, in the middle of nowhere. Nothing could be further from the jewel-theather of last night.

Next to the theater is a disturbing construction which we try to figure out what it is… Maybe a cemetery for those condemned to hell? Maybe a prison?

We hear the music coming from the theater, but because of the incessant noise of cars passing by, we cannot distinguish anything…

7:10 PM
It’ hard for the TOURists… In the cold, waiting in the car for over an hour in the parking lot in front of the Teatro Geox… Who reads this may wonder why we do it… How can we answer… We can’t explain it, one may only try… 🙂

7:35 PM
Uhm … We just found out that we could step in since an hour…
DIY TOURists??? No way!!! We froze to death outside!!!

The lobby of the theater is modern and futuristic. As we enter we feel the vibrant voice of Carla breaking into the room. A blow to the heart although, we confess, the first thought now is… the restroom, as the cold did not help…

And it is precisely because of the cold, perhaps, if even the most staid and noble of us melts down, giving a nice strike to his unassailable reputation.

While waiting I take a picture of my pals with the iPhone. Marina is missing, still home, but she’ll be here soon!

As usual nobody likes how he/she turned out in the picture, but Flavio, who keeps on saying: “How handsome I am!” It’s ok… A contented mind is a perpetual feast! 🙂

I’d like to close this moment of waiting with a quotation found on a wall of the lobby… it seems very appropriate!

“Music is the only art essentially alive. Its elements are the elements of life itself. Deaf, but perceptible, powerful though recognized, it is wherever life is.”

The inside theater is a pleasant surprise; seen from the outside seemed not to be an appropriate location for Carla, but the interiors are really well appointed. Just before the curtain, some images on screens on both sides of the stage: a tribute to Mariangela Melato, recently passed away, and a spontaneous applause of the audience greeted the great artist.

And then silence… The curtain opens up, from the guitar the first notes of “Tempo senza Tempo”, Carla emerges from the darkness of the backstage and here’s the start of another wonderful trip…
Tonight images are again projected on the background, and on this wide stage they stand out more than ever, and we feel part of the show despite the apparent dispersion due to the size of the theater.

The audience responds with great enthusiasm, and when the exchange between artist and audience is so intense, it’s a benefit fot the performance. Carla gives herself unconditionally, as usual, and you feel on your skin the magic of these moments…
The playlist varies a little, but only in the sequence of the songs, and at the end of the concert, many people flock to the stage waiting for encores.

Being here tonight is an indescribable joy, while Carla sings the final two songs, we look around towards the audience, and we see bright eyes, smiling faces, happy faces…

A great evening … Carla after greeting and signing autographs gives us more time for us all… In her dressing room we spend about half an hour that goes by so fast…

Carla is a wonderful person, a great artist, and we, tonight, again, savor moments of intense happiness.

11 gennaio 2013, in partenza per Sant’Agata Bolognese…per giorni pieni di Musica e Poesia!

ore 12,00: solo un’ora… e poi metterò in moto la mia c1 e raggiungerò Flavio a Orte. Emozione indescrivibile… euforia pura… ecco… è così che mi piace sentirmi e saranno giorni così!

Ore 15,20: siamo partiti già da un po’ dopo aver impostato il navigatore, come di consueto.

Piove e fa freddo. Nuvoloni neri attraversano il cielo, senza scalfire minimamente il nostro stato di grazia.
Facce da stato di grazia:

Certo, poteva andare meglio, eh…:

20,00: arriviamo a Sant’Agata. Davanti al teatro troviamo alcuni dei nostri amici e, tanto per tenere viva la tradizione, ci infiliamo nell’unico bar aperto… ma solo per pochi minuti, perché il concerto sta per iniziare.
Il teatro è delizioso. Piccolissimo, circa 100 posti di capienza. Ammiriamo con la gioia dell’attesa nel cuore il palco popolato dagli strumenti musicali. È un’immagine che amo particolarmente quella degli strumenti da soli sul palco… Regalano un’atmosfera di sospensione del tempo e sono in grado, già da soli, di raccontare una storia.

Ore 21,30: con e nel Tempo senza Tempo si apre un concerto magnifico. Senza immagini sullo sfondo, questa volta, ma è il teatro in sé ad offrire comunque una scenografia intima,,raccolta, fuori dal comune. Flavio è il galleria, io vicino al mixer di sala. Devo dire che ascoltare un concerto dalla posizione accanto al mixer è un’esperienza acustica indimenticabile per la purezza e la pulizia del suono che si percepisce…
Qualcuno ci chiede il senso dell’ascoltare quasi ogni sera lo stesso concerto. È amore per quei suoni, è senso di assoluta appartenenza al contenuto di quei testi, è desiderio di bellezza e poesia, è scoprire ogni volta che c’è un brano che magari il giorno prima avevi ascoltato come uno fra tanti che quella sera, per influenza di eventi esterni o semplicemente per una combinazione di storie interiori, senti più tuo, talmente tuo da farti piangere di gioia, talmente tuo da regalanti una serenità immensa. Per me stasera quel brano è stato Il contatto. Un pezzo che ho sempre amato e uno dei miei preferiti di Carla, ma stasera l’ho amato ancora di più… E mentre lo ascoltavo guardavo incantata il modo in cui Nick Taccori ricamava i suoni sulle percussioni. Alla fine ero paralizzata dall’emozione, tanto da non riuscire nemmeno ad applaudire…
Nel programma stasera Carla ha reinserito Nomadi e nei bis ha aggiunto a Per Elisa e alla versione IMPERDIBILE di Il vento caldo dell’estate, anche Messaggio.

Le foto

Presto anche le foto di Flavio!!!