Live Report: Derozer + Deathwood live in Pescara – 4/1/16

I remember a kid on a bicycle, a square full of young people, a stage and a band. It was many years ago, in my small town, in front of my high school, when they played: Derozer. That same band that played on Friday, April 1st, 2016. After 4 years away from stages, they arrived here in Abruzzo, at the Deja vù in Pescara. The band from Vicenza that glorified Italian pop punk in the 90s is on the road once again for a mini-tour made of six gigs.
I arrived at the club very early and I had the opportunity to sit back stage for a while. The mood was relaxed, almost homey. Seby and his friends are chilling and ready for the concert. They walk around, have a drink, get interviewed and chat with the people there. Suddenly it’s time to make the amplifiers roar. The first band to play is Deathwood: a Horror Punk quartet from Abruzzo. They just published their first album “…and if it were true?”. They start strong and, with a powerful track-list that ends with a Misfits’ tune, they have the people moving and singing along.
Around midnight, Derozer take the stage and the audience bursts. The gig starts with the tight riffs of “Cielo Nero” and it feels like going back in time. Derozer’s music is echoing off the club’s walls and a big crowd forms underneath the stage. Now, just like many years ago, they played their most famous songs: “Mondo Perfetto”, “Tu Lo Sai”, “Cuore Brucia”, “Mururoa”. Seby is back: he’s playing, singing, smiling; he doesn’t take himself too seriously and laughs about Spasio’s age (50-something years). Funny and cheerful songs are followed by more serious songs, such as “La Nuvola” and “Straniero”. This was the moment that made me think how songs, themes and lyrics from twenty years ago are, unfortunately, still very present.
The show, after a brief break, ends with the song “Alla Nostra Età” and the fan-favorite “Branca Day”. There’s a lot of jumping, banging, singing and there are a lot of memories. The evening ends with Seby entertaining the crowd, taking pictures and signing some old records. It’s like a homecoming between old friends that lost track of each other for a long time.
What else to say? Derozer are back stronger than ever. Rumors say that they have some plans for the band’s thirtieth birthday. We’ll wait and see. The only downside was Mendez’s absence (replaced by the powerful Paletta from Punkreas), who supposedly had some beef with the rest of the band. We don’t really know what happened. What we do know is that, in spite of absences, in spite of years passing by and increasing ages, history is history and nobody can say otherwise.

Live Report by T.D.
Translated by J.L.