On April 29th, I saw a major Italian band playing in London for the very first time. This may come as a surprise, as being Italian, people may think I am all over what comes from my land, but reality is far from it. So said, there are a few exceptions, and Verdena is one of them.

Formed in 1995, the band comprises of brothers Alberto (vocals and guitar) and Luca Ferrari (drums) and Roberta Sammarelli (bass). Verdena bring in a mix of some of the greatest alternative styles, spacing from grunge to psychedelic, threaded together by rock and a hint of stoner, coupled with heavy guitar and bass riffs.

Upon entering an almost sold-out O2 Empire, I felt like stepping back home, the language, the looks, and the lack of drinks in people’s hands; however, I was amazed by seeing some non-Italians. We previously witnessed, with The Hu, the power of the universal language that music is, and Verdena seemed no exception.

The evening opened with supporting act Husky Loops, an Italian London-based rock trio, with vocalist and guitarist Danio Forni Jr, drummer Pietro Garrone and bass player Tommaso Medica. With a Noel Gallagher look alike in Tommaso, the band presented songs from their album ‘I Can’t even speak English’ as well as material from their previous EPs and, I believe, with ‘Becoming that guy’ and ‘Again replay’. I can’t pinpoint their style exactly, it is clearly adventurous, some of their songs, the more aggressive ones, such as ‘Tempo’, with a heavy and sophisticated base underline, reminded me of late 90s rock, with an affinity to Verdena, some others sounded more chilled and mixed with modern synths and sample sounds, with the likes of ‘Love you wrong’.

While the audience felt a little disengaged at the beginning, vocalist Danio tried a few tricks to keep everyone involved, and by the end of the session, the crowd finally seemed warmed up to Husky Loops.

The band was skilled and played well through their set, everything sounded in place, even when Tommaso had to make a quick bass guitar switch mid-song. I liked the way Tommaso and Danio balanced their stage personalities, the first moving chaotically, the second being much quieter but chatty.

After the Husky set, people started to pack up to the front, and with some cheering and screaming from the crowd, Verdena came on stage, opening up with ‘Pascolare’, after a quick ‘Hello how are you’. Religious silence fell upon everyone, only to be interrupted by cheering at the end. Following the intro were ‘Crystal Ball’, ‘Diabolik’ and ‘Paul e Linda’, all taken from the latest album ‘Volevo Magia’ [I Wanted Magic], for which ‘Crystal Ball’ is the latest single that came out this April.

All of Verdena’s songs were in Italian and the band played a long set with 18 tracks, all spacing across their career. Throughout the show, there was hardly any interaction with the audience. The band went on playing the set almost uninterrupted, as if they were playing by themselves, completely immersed in what they were doing…and rightly so, it is part of their charisma, that is because, with their sounds, like mermaids at sea do, they managed to set the audience in some uniformed trance, abruptly interrupted only by some of their heavier and fast-paced tunes.

At the end of ‘Paul e Linda,’ the crowd was ecstatic, cheering, whistling and screaming, as Roberta thanked them. The set continued with ‘Lui Gareggia’, a short and drum-heavy piece, and ‘Cielo Super Acceso’, also from the latest album; this tune felt jazzier and well connected to ‘Lui Gareggia’. While the new stuff was being played, the crowd seemed to quietly enjoy the set, almost with nostalgia, waiting for the best to come. So it was, to the notes of ‘Viba’ from ’99 (as Roberta stated). This was the point where the audience came back from their trance and started to jump, mosh pit and sing along. ‘Luna’ and ‘Don Calisto’ followed, very heavy in guitars and with screaming vocals, it all sounded loud, energetic as well as regenerating. The band switched back to the latest album with ‘Chaise Longue’, a ballad that most loved, sang and clapped along to, to leave again for memory lane, after another ‘Grazie a tutti’ from Roberta, with ‘Razzi arpia inferno e fiamme’, another slow-ish ballad, played with an acoustic guitar.

Cheering from the crowd was overwhelming after ‘Razzi arpia inferno e fiamme’ and in timely support, as Alberto needed a few extra seconds to retune his guitar ahead of ‘Paladini’. Roberta interacted again, very briefly, checking in that everyone was feeling good and enjoying the evening as ‘Caños’ and ‘Loniterp’ played.

After ‘Loniterp’ the band left the stage, a little break with the crowd chanting for more, before ending the evening with four more blasts from the past, starting with ‘Non prendere l’acme, Eugenio’ and ‘Muori Delay’, which sent everyone into overload, starting another large mosh pit in the middle, which was followed by ‘Sui Ghiacciai’, a slower tune before ending with a grit and angry ‘Volevo Magia’. Applause, cheering and a waving goodbye ended this magical Verdena show in London.

Verdena Setlist:
– Pascolare
– Crystal Ball
– Diabolik
– Paul e Linda
– Lui Gareggia
– Cielo Super Acceso
– Vibe
– Luna
– Don Calisto
– Chaise Longue
– Razzi Arpia Inferno e Fiamme
– Paladini
– Canos
– Loniterp

Verdena Encore:
– Non prendere l’acme, Eugenio
– Muori Delay
– Sui Ghiacciai
– Volevo Magia.

Husky Loops set list:
– Good As Gold
– Becoming That Guy
– Tempo
– Love You Wrong
– Temporary Volcano
– Fighting Myself
– Again Replay
– Dead

Words & images: Anna Marchesani (Nocturna Photography)

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us