Propagandhi / Dead To Me / RVIVR @Zona Roveri, Bologna | November 8th, 2018
A Propagandhi gig in Italy is always an event, almost a moral obligation to attend it. The selected city this time is Bologna at Zona Roveri on a cold november night. The hype is at its peak, also because two really interesting bands named Dead To Me and RVIVR are opening the show. But let’s proceed with order.
The first one to go up on stage is RVIVR, one of the most interesting bands to come out of the large US punk underground scene. The band was formed when Latterman broke up and their guitarist Mattie Joe Canino moved to Olympia, WA and teamed up with Erica Freas (who shares vocals and guitar duties) and drummer Kevin Rainsberry, with the bassist spot constantly changing. In addition of being great musically, the band always spreads a message of gender and sociopolitical equality, something that hasn’t to be underestimated in times like these.
The venue is huge and the timing is not on their side (9 pm), so the four piece starts playing in front of a semi desert Zona Roveri. This doesn’t discourage RVIVR who puts on an energetic show of aggressive melodic punk rock, with a setlist that includes songs from all their discography. The vibe is great, the band is having fun and the crowd does as well, even if they would’ve probably fit better in a smaller venue, closer to the people.
Time for a quick set change and Dead To Me from California is up. The four piece belongs to the Fat Wreck Chords second generation of bands (those ones who gave up on the double kick in favour of a slower pace melodic punk rock, eg The Lawrence Arms) and has a troubled story between lineup changes, style direction and drug addiction. It seems that the line up is stable once again with the return of singer/guitarist Jack Dalrymple, who initially left the band after one album and one ep.
Compared to their tour buddies, Dead To Me is more lucky with the crowd attendance, with the venue slowly packing up. The band starts fast and the crowd gets owned after a couple of songs. The coordinates are always the same: a melodic and energic punk rock with Darlymple and bassist Chicken sharing vocal duties. Their set flows away without too many hitches through anthemic songs closing with “Arrhythmic Palpitations”, leaving more than one from the crowd with shiny eyes.
The set change before Propagandhi is so long that people uses it to collect some strength back. Do you need me to tell you who Propagandhi is? Do you really want me to? If you want me to you’re failing punk rock history.
The venue is finally packed and at 11pm the canadian four piece enters the stage with the public roaring in excitement.
There are three focal points in a current Propagandhi exhibition: Chris’ Final Conflict t shirt, bassist Todd’s extreme energy and not giving a fuck about the more extreme fans by playing more of the new material rather than the one from the first two albums. All these three boxes are checked and the band seems more powerful and energetic than the last time I saw them at Punk Rock Holiday in 2017. Nothing to say against the execution and the alchemy between the band members, with the latest entry Sulynn Hago perfectly engrained in the band’s mechanism, but it’s the energy that really struck me this time. Probably because I was in front of the side of the stage where bassist Todd was and he was so pumped and excited like a football player doing a touchdown throughout the whole set that it was so easy to be affected by his energy.
“Failed Imagineer”, “A Speculative Fiction”, “Fuck The Border”, “Note To Self”, “Back To The Motor League” speed fast with the crowd approving, but it’s with “Apparently, I’m a P.C. Fascist (Because I Care About Both Human and Non-Human Animals)”, “…And We Thought That Nation-States Were a Bad Idea”, “Less Talk, More Rock” e “Anti-Manifesto” that people literally goes nuts. Nothing unexpected, those are the Propagandhi that people carry in their hearts.
There’s time for an encore with “Victory Lap” and “Night Letters” (I would’ve personally closed the gig with “Anti Manifesto”) that gives a good farwell to a perfectly executed set played with heart and balls.
A definitely positive show that gave the certainty of a band that’s still killing it, but also the possibilty for two new bands to be discovered by people who are not that familiar with the underground scene. One funny thing was waking up the next day with the news that Propagandhi are the first band confirmed for the next Punk Rock Holiday. Call it destiny.
Live Report by Michael Simeon
Credit photo: Michael Simeon, Emanuela Bruzzi
