Alta Felicità Festival 2018: another world is possible!

Be comfortable because I’m going to tell you about my adventure at the Alta Felicità Festival, and for such an important event and full of artists it would be almost impossible not to dwell on it. Ready?
For the third consecutive year in Venaus, Piedmont, the festival organized by the No Tav collective takes place. The collective has been fighting for years against the construction of the Turin-Lyon high-speed railway line, a huge and expensive project that would have a major negative impact on the territory. The festival, which offers musical events but also debates and excursions, wants to show that it is possible to live that wonderful natural area with a moment of aggregation in respect of the environment, away from the logic of consumerism and exploitation of nature.
The event takes place over four days, from July 26th to 29th, but I only manage to attend the last two, Saturday and Sunday, because of work commitments. I will tell you a bit about the festival in general, and as for the concerts, given the presence of many artists of very different genres, I will choose my favourite ones, hoping that my tastes coincide as much as possible with yours.

Saturday 28th
I arrive by car at Susa where, fairly and consistently with the principles of the festival, people must leave cars in the two huge parking lots available. From there, shuttle buses (constantly coming and going from morning to night) will take us to Venaus. The first thing that catches your eye when you get off the shuttle is the huge expanse of tents. It is in fact possible to stay at a campsite free of charge, equipped with toilets and showers, always respecting the environment. Then there is the area of the stands, with many catering points for all tastes (there is also a vegan stand, for example), drinking, information points, books, etc. Concerts, on the other hand, will be given a real arena with a large stage.
Among the concerts on Saturday I choose to tell you about the artist who has made me an irrepressible desire to participate in the festival, being (I think) the first time he performs in our country and after listening so much to him I had a great desire to see him live. His name is HK (it is pronounced in French “hache ka”) and he comes from France. What kind of music does he play? Uhm… take traditional French music, mix it with Mediterranean music from his Algerian origins, add some rap, reggae, and poetic lyrics rich in political and social content, and more or less you’ll have an idea (but anyway I suggest you listen to him if you don’t know him). On this occasion he presents himself with a very reduced lineup, voice, drums and accordion. He tries to explain in Italian the content of the songs he performs, such as “Refugee” (I’m a refugee, says the inscription on the t-shirt he wears) and “Citoyen du monde”, of which he translates the refrain into Italian (“citizen of the world, partisan of a world without borders”). He sings, and enchants, with extraordinary intensity, until closing with “On lâche rien”, which has become a real hymn during demonstrations in France. The half an hour he has is really too little, in fact I’d like to see him again in a complete concert. Bring this wonderful artist back to Italy, or I’ll have to go and listen to him in France, my favourite country for music trips!

Sunday 29th
The day opens with a big disappointment, the announcement that Talco will not participate due to the singer’s voice problems. But the Ska people are consoled with two historical groups from the local panorama, Vallanzaska and Persiana Jones. Although they play almost at the beginning and then still in daylight, they manage to fill the arena instantly. And as is to be expected, the moshpit starts. Great closing for both bands with their most popular songs, respectively “Cheope” and “Tremarella”.
Another performance worthy of being mentioned is that of the Canadian The Real McKenzies. I don’t think they need any introduction. Celtic punk, kilts, and a bagpipe that battles very well with drums and very tight guitars. Rude and tough the right amount, they dedicate some “fucks” to everyone, including themselves (they close with the song “Fuck the Real McKenzies”), and of course to the high-speed train. Arena in delirium.

And now, as in the best tradition of Radio Punk, my top 3 and flop 3.

Top 3
1. The organization. The “crew” was made up of 200 volunteers from all over Italy and also from France and Spain. They pampered us with great food, great drinks, and took great care of every aspect of the festival, from the coordination of the shuttles to all the technical aspects that such an event involves. They put on a festival that is the envy of most commercial events. Huge!
2. Respect. Perhaps thanks to the virtuous circle that is triggered in such situations, I was pleasantly impressed by the respectful behaviour of all festival-goers. While waiting for the shuttle no one tried to skip the queue. Everyone was very careful not to dirty the place and had a cheerful and friendly attitude to anyone. The world that I want, really.
3. The absence of “uniforms”. The security aspect was handled by volunteers, the Red Cross and the Civil Protection. As pointed out by one of the organizers from the stage, “there are no uniforms because we trust you”. Well-placed confidence, in fact nothing unpleasant happened. It shows that common sense works much better than authority.

Flop 3 (but in reality they are personal opinions not necessarily shareable)
1. Pop X. I had never heard about them (and I lived in blissful ignorance) but they seem to be much praised especially by the youngest. I think I’ve never heard anything more unpleasant to my ears from a stage. They even made me regret the extreme sadness of Le luci della centrale elettrica, who had performed just before. Just to say.
2. Too many artists. This results in too little time for each performance. I would have preferred fewer artists but with at least one hour available for each.
3. I don’t have the third flop. I could say the long queues for eating, drinking and going to the toilet, but that’s normal in an event like this.

If you have read this so far, I thank you for your patience, and I call on you to support these people who are fighting for a good cause. Come on, No Tav, and fuck the train, to say it with Mr. McKenzie.

Live report and photo gallery by Elvira Cuomo

Gallery 1 (HK) –>https://www.facebook.com/elvira.cuomo.31/media_set?set=a.10216800742441531.1073741858.1552331202&type=3
Gallery 2: (Persiana Jones – Vallanzaska – The Real McKenzies) —> https://www.facebook.com/elvira.cuomo.31/media_set?set=a.10216800726001120.1073741857.1552331202&type=3
Gallery 3: https://www.facebook.com/elvira.cuomo.31/media_set?set=a.10216800335191350.1073741856.1552331202&type=3