COME STA ANNIE?

This is my first review of a DVD release. Even though I had this DVD since January, my remote for my DVD player quit working; by using the buttons on the player itself, I could only watch the first part of this DVD. Anyway, I replaced the remote and got to see the whole thing several times. I have to admit I'm not familiar with a lot of recent DVD productions by musicians, by this has both good sound and is well filmed/edited. Great mix of background visuals and music. During the whole performance a visual artist is painting on the floor, you can hear the brushes during the quietest parts of the music which is really interesting.

If want to know more about the songs in the first part, you can refer to the reviews of their 2010 album here. Six songs from the album are presented. The DVD opens with footage of the pope. Some guitar notes are played which get reprised at the end of the DVD. Claudio Milano enters the stage with a mouse helmet, playing a flute. For whatever reason, he is wearing a priest collar. "Ombre Cinesi" is not quite as interesting as the studio version, but this is an improv piece open to different interpretations. "Apnea" is close to the studio version and features great visuals. "Se" is another improv-oriented piece, this one is even better than the album version. Just like the studio version, at one point different themes from movies and TV shows are played. Compared to the album version, you can really make out the theme to the show A-Team here.

As good as the performances of the album tracks are, the highlight of the DVD is the section dedicated to the last episode of the TV show Twin Peaks entitled "Passaggio Nella Loggia Nera". I actually never seen much of this show when it was still new; I was a little too young and it was way over my head. I did enjoy the movie "Fire Walk With Me" when it came out, however. I bet if this show was on the air now, I would probably love it. Actually, watching this DVD makes me want to watch all the shows. This part opens with a voice other than Claudio which is creepy. You hear and see Claudio as well, but the other voice must be percussionist Andrea Murada, the only other member credited with vocals.

The actual music starts with part of the score by Angelo Badalamenti from the show being played by the group. The eerie improv music fits the scenes very well. Mentioned in the credits is the Wham! song "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". I finally found where this is; for those who have this DVD and are not sure where they play that song, I'll give it away. You hear it played on some instrument that sounds like a cheap antique organ, and it immediately stops when Cooper enters the Black Lodge, or as I like to call it: Red-Curtain Land. In retrospect, that 10 or so seconds of "Wake Me Up" is actually the most happy sounding music on the whole DVD.

Claudio steps out after awhile, letting the musicians run wild. The synth sounds here are great. Francesco Chiapperini plays something called a EWI, which is some kind of electric wind instrument. It gets to the scene at the bank, when the bank blows up the music stops. The audience applauds, but I'm not sure if they are applauding the music stopping or a bank getting blown up. At one point you hear a sound similar to a hip-hop DJ scratching a record. Ends with the guitar notes from the very beginning; very 1950's rock'n'roll sounding.

This is worth getting just for the Twin Peaks part. If you liked the CD then you will like this as well. A very interesting DVD. I've never reviewed any other Videos/DVDs yet, so I don't have much to compare this to. I think this deserves 4 stars anyway.