As you may have noticed, live music inspires my writing a lot. On 10th
October I drove with my husband to Milan to attend the live performance of
Dirty Weather Project: the duo formed by Frank Vollmann and Lucas Lanthier.
Both the artists
have their own careers: Frank Vollmann is the frontman of the band Frank theBaptist and has a solo project called Telegram Frank and Lucas Lanthier is
the leader of Cinema Strange and Deadfly Ensemble. Being their sound near Post
Punk and Dark Rock (but not limited to), they happen to play at the kind of
festivals I like to attend. That is why I got to know their music in occasion
of different editions of Wave Gotik Treffen (and thank to a dear friend of
mine, who always suggests me great bands!).
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| Dirty Weather Project live in Milan |
From time to
time Frank and Lucas tour together as Dirty Weather (last time was 2011) and
bring on the stage a selection of their respective songs reinterpreted. The
cities chosen for 2015 Italian part of the tour are Genoa, Milan and Modena. We
decided to opt for Milan, as it was the easiest for us to reach.
The location,
Ligera, is a wine bar on two floors: on the first there are tables for
customers who wish to drink something in a typical atmosphere of the 70s,
whereas in the basement there is the actual concert area. What I found a bit disappointing
was the confusion about the time the event should have started. We arrived
quite early. Too much early. However, never mind, good things are worth
waiting!
Once we entered
the concert room, we immediately had a look at the merchandise desk, where cds
and gadgets of both artists where exposed. Lucas friendly welcomed us
describing the various articles on the table. Few minutes later we saw also Frank
and it was a pleasure to greet him.
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| Lucas Lanthier |
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| Frank Vollman |
The evening was
opened by Los Cabrones Profanos, a band from Milan playing some “spicy” country
blues. Immediately after, the Dirty Weather jumped on the stage. Frank Vollmann
played songs by “Telegram Frank”, whereas Lucas Lanthier played songs by Cinema
Strange, Deadfly Ensemble and from his new solo album.
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| "And now my game will be holding this glass with my foot during the song" |
They were
musicians and storytellers at the same time, two men with their voices and
their guitars, no further instrument, as nothing more was needed. Each of them
with his own style, they proved their virtuosity: Frank with his warm sound,
Lucas with his perfect eclecticism. My attention was totally caught. Though I
did not know all the tracks they played, I enjoyed every note.
It was not the
kind of music you can hear on the radio, at least not in Italy. I appreciate a
lot when bands innovate and “save” us from the flat monopoly of mainstream.
Moreover, in this case I am not only talking about alternative artists, but
also of a high level performance.
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| Dirty Weather Project |
Unfortunately we
had to leave before the end of the concert, so we missed the final part. I hope
they will come back for a future tour. Check them out if you have the chance!
Take care,
Mary
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