The Radiohead guitarist in an intimate and powerful dimension: real music doesn’t need monumental scenography
Last night, at the Teatro Lirico in Milan, Ed O’Brien recalled a simple truth: the size of a concert is not measured in square metres. The sober scene and the intimate size of the theater left room for songs, instruments and a band capable of truly listening to each other. When every note has weight, the music fills the room by itself.
Milan was the second stop of the tour, two days after the debut in Amsterdam. Even there the repertoire had shown its open nature: “Incantations” it expanded from the initial version to the full band version; “Brazil” brought the concert towards a more physical and rhythmic finale. At the Lirico that freedom gave shape to an evening in which the songs seemed to evolve before the eyes of the audience.
The lineup opened with “Thin Places”an instrumental threshold, followed by “Incantations”. Then “Teachers”with its gradually building tension, and “Single File”left out of the album but among the strongest moments of the concert. In the middle, “Solfeggio”, “Sweet Spot” And “Sail On” they gave the evening the feel of a journey, rather than that of a simple sequential performance.
With the title track “Blue Morpho” the soundscape of the record emerged: the bird calls recorded in Wales, the voices and the intertwining layers of guitar. “Cloak of the Night” brought the concert back to a more intimate dimension; Then “Incantations” she returned with the full band, opening into a crescendo of percussion and guitars.
Also “Deep Days” had a moment of closeness: O’Brien turned to the audience, felt it was too far away and sat down on the edge of the stage. With “Brazil” the pace has changed pace. In the end “Obrigado” he closed the concert with a long drift, lasting about fifteen minutes: from bossa nova to lounge and psychedelic sounds, up to Dave Okumu’s solo. A broad and free ending, in which each musician had space to evolve the piece.
The band was exceptional: ESKA Mtungwazi to the voice, Dave Okumu on the guitar, James Williams on the battery, Crispin “Spry” Robinson to percussion, Robin Mullarkey to the bottom and Nick Ramm on keyboards. Refined and generous musicians, capable of supporting a theme, relaunching it and then letting it breathe. O’Brien holds the group together without taking up the entire center; Okumu lights up the sound, ESKA gives it depth and character.
It was an evening in defense of music played seriously: writing, listening, craft and freedom. The Lirico, with its intimate dimension, was the right place. When the instruments are in the right hands and each musician knows how to stay inside the sound of the others, there is no need to make the show bigger. The music is already great.
