A taxi back through La Spezia, we did indeed miss the typical vacation stay. At the station, there are many people coming out wearing bikinis and swim wear, right off the train. This leads me to believe that there are some nice Mediterranean beaches around here... We are very early for the train, but Jeff and Jono go for a walk, and I update this blog. There is a nice constant breeze, it is, of course, much cooler here nearer the water than any other place we have been in Italy. I called Lorenzo, he said that there were about 1000 people at last night's Surfer Joe Festival, so we are excited to get to Livorno.
We are met by Valeria (rhymes with malaria) at the Livorno station. She is the girlfriend for Lucca (Lorenzo's brother) and greets me with the always awkward for Americans double cheek kiss. She drives us to our hotel, the Villa Morazzana which is on a beautiful walled estate. It either used to be a grand private villa, a boarding school or perhaps a sanitarium. The grounds are walled, but there are two entrances at the front and back both with long dusty, eroded driveways. We are all in a single dorm style room with no bath, but that is down the hall. Lorenzo calls and asks us to come to Califuria, the site of the Surfer Joe Festival. I can't believe how beautiful it is when we arrive.
The festival takes place on the large deck of a complex that houses a disco, a fancy restaurant, a and sandwich shop. Off the deck, the cliffs drop a hundred feet to the Mediterranean. Beyond the complex is a long bridge and underneath on both sides of a river hundreds of sunbathers. Too many Speedos on the men for my taste, but many of the ladies are topless, so there is balance in the universe. We shoot a few hundred photos of the amazing scenery, walk across the bridge and have bread, cheese and variations of salted pork for lunch. Lorenzo takes us back to the hotel. He is at the end of his tether; he was up until 5 AM last night dealing with the many issues of the festival. We crash for a couple hours and Jono and I do some guitar maintenance. There is a wedding reception going on at the hotel- and what a perfect location; a black woman in a rainbow clown costume blowing balloon animals clashes wildly with the formal wedding clothes.
Valeria arrives to take us back to Califuria. The patio is starting to fill up. We had hoped to eat at the restaurant, but every table is reserved, they won't even let me take food out. But, out side the small cafe there is a buffet set up, all you have to do is order one 5 Euro cocktail. We eat while watching Lorenzo's band, The Wadadli Riders. Last night he sang lead vocals with his Beach Boys cover band The Pipelines, now he is playing lead guitar, later he will be backing up Rev. Hank of The Urban Surf Kings on drums. No wonder the guy is exhausted. The Wadadlis play most of the material from their new CD, a perfect accompaniment to the orange setting sun. But after they play the fancy restaurant complains about the loud music (duh, they rented out the deck for an all night rock show, what did they expect?) and requests that there is no music from 8 to 10, which means the whole night will be delayed by two hours. If we get on by 2 AM it will be a miracle.
During the long break I found an empty deck chair next to a woman whom I assumed was Italian, but her husband came over speaking American English, and his newlywed wife, Ruth, speaking real English. They have come from the U.K. just for the festival. We strike up a long conversation, they are both ethnomusicologists and Tim, an associate professor at UCSB, is writing a book about the history of music associated with surfing. Unbelievable and fascinating. Not surf music, but music associated with surfing, so his story begins in the 1800s with Hawaiian chants and gets up to date with Jack Johnson. Somewhere in there will be a chapter about my beloved reverb instrumentals, but only a small one. After each band plays he interviews them to see if they have any association with the sport. I would love to read the book when it's finished.
Best costumes go to I Fantomici, for their red swim shorts and white polos. In between sets there is a second stage with The Hangee V playing garage rock. Then Reverend Hank plays a fun set and really tight considering he had not practiced with Nikki and Lorenzo at all.
Los Twang Marvels is next on the big stage, they are fantastic and the guitar players in the front row hang slack jaw watching Alex and his amazing wife Marisol. It is a real treat to see Los Twang Marvels because they are having a great deal of trouble getting a visa to travel to the USA. I think they do a great show, but Alex was not satisfied at all. One problem is that the stage shakes and causes the reverb tanks to have an annoying constant rattle. More Hangee V on the B stage.
The Kiaueas begin at about 1:15AM. Ralf, Tom and Olly stayed at my house a few years ago when they came through San Francisco, one of the best bands we have every had at The Hotel Utah. They always put on a great show, with their paper machie volcano blowing smoke every few seconds. I am getting a little wiped out at this point, we didn't get in until 3:30 last night, and woke up at 8:30, so I put my head back on one of the sunning platforms behind the stage, dozing slightly while the music blares. New guitarist Matti (who we me t in Stuttgart) led an aggressive version of Caravan. Hangee V again while we set up.
We go on at 3AM, I'm a little short on humor, but the adrenaline kicks in and we plow through the hits. there is still a sizable crowd here, maybe 150, but about half drift away as the 4'o'clock hours draws. The reverb rattling is a distraction, and Jeff's bass amp sounds blown. It's all a blur. After our show, the Pollo and The Kilaueas (also staying at our hotel) help clear the stage in hopes of getting back to our hotel asap, but we don't get there until after 5AM, the sky already lightening, and roosters crowing. The Kilaueas, who drove down from Germany Saturday, didn't register before they went to the Surfer Joe Festival, and our hotel has no night desk person, so they can't get their room, and Lorenzo takes them to search for another place to stay.
Eyeshades and earplugs...
...you know where to put the cork (MORE apologies to the Who)
ReplyDeleteAs we approached the gate of our walled-in villa, with several men in suits idling in the yard inside, we collectively thought of that scene in "The Godfather" where young Vito returns to Italy and takes his revenge on the local Don. There were two American ladies from NYC who later came to SJ Fest. Beautiful setting for the show, on the cliffs. onstage at 3am. Home barely b4 sunrise. Whatta day.
Thanks
ReplyDeleteWow! Lovely ladies in beach,I like the girl who play guitar she is so adventurous,however you can check this --> cowboy boots
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