scariest: the dropkick murphy's in london. way too many people, many of them old-school punkers in their late thirties. impossible to get to the bar in less than thirty minutes. a large crowd singing onstage at the end, and everyone seemed to know the band. i risked being crushed several times.
most painful: a four-band festival i promoted for local hardcore/ska acts in a town near torino. i was running around the place all the time trying to get the show to run smoothly, which was impossible due to the lack of professionalism on the part of the club, and i ended up being knocked out in mad pogoing. i positively slammed my head against the floor. very, very tough.
most moving: bad religion in 1994 in milan. i was totally surprised that my parents would let me travel to another city to see a band, especially after they had said that i wasn't supposed to wear a bad religion shirt. it was a grandiose experience, seeing my favorite band live for the first time, catching a train at 6am the following day to get to school, and all that jazz. it's cool even to remember.
deepest experience: banda bassotti here in rome last november. i had just got the news about my father's illness, and had spent ten days in serious agony. then i decided i should go out and unwind, pogoed like mad for two hours of incredibly good show
feeling the music all the while. i'm just sorry that the following gig of theirs was not up to par, and that's the one my friends attended.
minor prizes go to enrico ruggeri in torino a couple of years ago (i have seldom been that drunk), davide van de sfroos in cernusco lombardore last year (i didn't anticipate the show to be so good), dark tranquillity in milan some time ago (i loved meeting the band and the concert was great), iron maiden in torino in 1992 (my first show ever), and vnv nation in hildesheim during the 2002 m'era luna (never rained so hard during an outdoors show, plus i was astounded at rahvin's determination, in the front row and all while it was pouring while i tried to crouch under a beer stand).
i'm now realizing that i probably have 100-odd shows under my belt. i'm cool.
