Article by Stefania Clerici | photo by Federico Buonanno
He is the one who did not enjoy the victory of his first discoverde al Festivalbar of '84, which a few years later with the duet of Sea people with Umberto Tozzi he ranked third in theEurovision Song Contest '87; he who participated in 4 Sanremo with the successes of Inevitable madness (1988), What will remain of the 80s (1989), Today I don't have a God (1991) e Like a fairy tale (2015): he is RAF and finally returns to the stage to celebrate a significant anniversary: 40 years of career.
It all started in 1984 with the international hit Self Control, which gives the title to the tour that has just started fromUnipol Forum in Milan and which will touch clubs and theaters on the peninsula between now and December: Rome (15 November, Alleanza), Bologna (16 November, Estragon), Florence (21 November, Teatro Cartiere Carrara), Brescia (23 November, Teatro Dis_play), Venaria Reale of Turin (27 November, Teatro Concordia), Padua (Saturday 30 November, Gran Teatro Geox), Naples (Friday 6 December, Casa della musica) and Molfetta near Bari (7 December, Eremo Club).
Tickets at this link > https://tidd.ly/3ACBIHE
Last night great party in Assago for the great start with date zero, in a packed Forum and with the desire to dive into 80s and 90s crossing the hits of the innovative singer-songwriter: because let's face it, if today that “light” music has become “Pop” it is thanks to a precursor of the times like Raf, capable of creating the sound and the rhymes that then paved the way for other greats of our music (I'm thinking of Jovanotti, Pezzali, Cremonini and the lucky trend of the “90s”) .
The start of the live show is a little later than expected, due, as Raf will later tell us, to the strike that forced artists and workers to arrive at the concert venue last minute: but this doesn't mean the audience isn't full, on the contrary , the esplanade of the parterre set up for seating does not see a free hole and even the stands of the building are only well occupied by the artist's fans. We start with aHyperbole very naked, made up of voice and strings, and then arriving in a crescendo to the entire composition of the band, with An unexpected emotion and the beautiful one Two, sung at the top of your lungs.
The stage setup is minimal but impactful: on the sides, screens reproduce images of what happens on stage, while in the background a large LED screen shows visuals and creatives that enrich the musical story with graphic images and abstract videos on some songs or more didactic ones on others. The dive into the past has begun and with Raf we slide from the most melancholic ballads such as Forget And It's never a mistake to more sociable and dance pieces, like Distracted passengers, Free and Oasis, whose visuals send us back to a deserted elsewhere.
Then comes the moment that many of us have been waiting for: Raf heads to the piano, his great friend and traveling companion, to sing Oxygen, followed by the first big surprise of the live show with the first guest of the evening… he arrives from behind the scenes Umberto Tozzi and leaves Sea People: the audience's jubilation is total, a roar and raised cell phones immortalize the key moment, which continues with another duet, that of You can give more, written by Tozzi and Raf and which earned Morandi, Ruggeri and Tozzi the victory at the Sanremo Festival '87. The friendship and artistic respect that binds the two is profound and special, Tozzi's words towards Raf are truly sincere and full of meaning, increasing the symbolic value of what turns out not to be the classic “hosted”.
Raf brings us back to earth as he does best, singing about loveone of the most repeated words during the evening and which dot his musical production: let's be clear, love that is often difficult, tormented, unrequited, finished, but still Love let's talk. Here comes the tearjerker Stay with mefollowed by the romantic You are the most beautiful in the world (rearranged for the occasion), from the poignant Tears and Strawberries and the Sanremo success of Inevitabile Madness. The apex is reached on the notes of Like a fairy tale, dedicated to his wife and life partner Gabriella Labatewho is called on stage for a slow dance duet, in an embrace full of true emotions.
To a great surprise, as soon as the intro is mentioned What will remain of these 80s the second guest of the evening makes his entrance: Giuliano Sangiorgi for a duet (never attempted, the two artists confess to us at the end of the performance) full of pathos that transports us to the ethereal heights of Sangiorgi's falsettos. An all-pop meddley with Away, We are alone in the immense emptiness that exists and All the time, it makes us relive the dance of those legendary years, the 80s, and then ends in black in a Forum without even a light left on.
The remise sees the white LEDs on the stage pulsate slowly, to gradually grow: the stage becomes a huge electrocardiogram, from which the heart begins to pulsate, beat, just as the music begins again, always increasing in frequency. It's there for the amazing hit de The animal beat, super revisited in one rap version in a very particular and successful performance together with J-Axanother great guest of this evening's featuring. There yield is truly galactic and I must admit that it is the song of the evening that exalted and amazed me the most: well done, well done, well done.
Having greeted his rap friend, Raf remains alone on stage to give us a grand finale in crescendo with The sound is there and I really want you, followed by the great successes of I demand you (also rearranged and more “colorful” than the original version) and the Hit that started it all: Self Control, which turns the Forum into a huge one dance floor, complete with a rotating disco ball on stage and that magical sound that catapults us back in time. The party should be almost over after almost 2 hours of live, but it seems like it's just begun, so much so much excitement is going on chorus “oh oh oh” which seems to never end. The jubilation is achieved With hands up which ends the wonderful evening in a great way.
The encore is short and intense: a greeting full of meaning, entrusted to the tautological and poetic Infinite, almost to remind us that yes, this concert is coming to an end in this space-time, just as many other aspects, situations, loves of life, can reach a figurative “end”, but which in reality can persist in time and memory , in an “infinite” moment only if we want it.
Click here or browse the gallery below to see photos of the RAF concert in Milan
Discover the setlist of the RAF concert in Milan
Hyperbole
An unexpected emotion
Two
Forget
It's never a mistake
Distracted passengers
Free
Oasis
Oxygen
People of the Sea (with Umberto Tozzi)
You can give more (with Umberto Tozzi)
Stay with me
You are the most beautiful in the world
Tears and Strawberries
Inevitable madness
Like a fairy tale
What will remain of these 80s (with Giuliano Sangiorgi)
Go
We are alone in the immense emptiness that exists
All the time
Animal beat (with J Ax)
The sound is there
80 desire for you
I demand you
Self control
With hands up
Infinite
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
