Adventures and Dinosaurs

I’m not sure that pop music carries the same weight in Rome as it does in Sydney. The city doesn’t seem to have much in the way of record stores or venues, and the gig listings that I’ve come across seem to have a curiously empty space between (a sparse amount of) smaller local acts and large arena-filling groups – especially compared to other European cities such as Paris and Berlin. Perhaps also telling is the lack of musical exports – the only thing that comes to mind is italian disco, which seems to come from outside Italy more than the name suggests.

Mogwai was a frustrating experience. On one hand, it was Mogwai in an outdoor amphitheater. So it was going to be at least good, if not great, from the get-go. And it must be noted that they almost sold it out – a bigger turnout than Mogwai commanded back home in March.

But everything in its arrangement was so spectatorial that it made it hard to make that connection that pushes a show from good to great. The gigantic semicircular stage had the band a good 7-10 metres from any of their audience, who mostly sat in grandstands where the clicking of cameras and opening of bags was conspicuously audible against the bass-heavy outdoor mix. Adding to distraction were the click-clacking bottles of the gentlemen pacing the aisles selling refreshments, as if post-rock had suddenly become a contact sport. People seemed unsure how to act around a band that work on the contrast of sublime softness and overwhelming noise, cheering at the end of guitar bursts as if the calm remaining moments were an afterthought that followed the music. At best it was a headline slot that felt like a support slot, at worst it had the ambience of a crowd observing a dolphin show at the zoo.

That said, it was Mogwai in an amphitheater, and if you closed your eyes and let the music overtake you, there was a lot to enjoy. Even though it was near-castrated by the drum and bass focused mix (which did improve eventually), New Paths To Helicon I was an unexpected and awesome opener, and towards the end of the show they really started to get into a groove. I’ve seen them do better, but Mogwai are a consistently great live band, and even with tonight’s misgivings it was still a good evening out.

In contrast to greater Europe’s lofty reputation, though, it really does make me glad to live in a city and country with a thriving local scene and punters who love to get everything that they can from visiting musicians.

Two days in Rome has been pretty exhausting. With so many things to see, I’ve walked enough to be sore all over and rather worn out – about 12 hours yesterday and 7 today. The sights have been great – particularly the Colosseum, Vatican City and the Fontana di Trevi, but I’m not quite sure what to make of Rome. Perhaps travelling alone is changing perceptions too, but I’m finding this city hard to fall in love with. It’s an absolute sprawl, with everything spread across the city, and no central area that I’ve managed to come across. Its tourist attractions seem to all be bridged by a kilometre or two of souvenier shops, pizza joints and the odd fashion store, with endless streams of cobblestone sidestreets and alleys surrounding. Many areas are also quite forlorn, with broken windows, dirty streets and scaffolding being the status quo at times. The end result is pretty underwhelming.

Of course, there’s plenty of the sublime too, with the Colosseum being one of the most fascinating remnants of its era and St Peters Basilica a feast for the eyes. And of course, you can’t pretend to know much of a city after 48 hours. But after the exhausting experience of getting from place to place, seemingly with a lack of the fun distractions that most cities have peppered through their streets, I’m sitting on a loud, shuddering bus hoping that Florence will be a bit nicer.

(the bus, by the way, is to the Parco Della Musica to see Mogwai play an outdoor amphitheater… A snap decision made last night that should pay off in spades.)