History. In 1995 I went to my first concert. I saw an advertisement in our daily newspaper for 5 or 6 concerts in Holland and I bought two tickets for the nearest town. My friend Christine joined me. I had only been a fan for about a year and had no idea how much music Angelo had made. The concert was an experience I will never forget I was addicted for life. I wished I had bought more tickets, as one concert is not enough to remember everything. After all the new and old music I had heard I started collecting, CD's LP's everything I could find. In 1997 I saw a very small notice in our local newspaper, only one concert of Angelo in Amsterdam. Only one concert, how awful, but I was one of the first to get tickets again, this time my eldest daughter joined Christine and me, to see for herself what was so fascinating about this performer. I was in trance again from the first big boom on the drum for A l'entrada del temps clar until the end. Again it was an absolute thrill. I tried to buy more tickets in Germany but I did not succeed. I swore there and then that in future I would do my best to go to as many concerts as possible. So I joined the German Fanclub EuropAMICI, got Internet so after that all the information just came flowing in. Tour 1998/1999. Angelo would come to Amsterdam in February, only one concert in Holland. Well, never mind, 10 days before the concert he would be in Antwerp. In the meantime I had made some email friends and they came in very handy. Mattias bought tickets for him and me for the concert in Antwerp and we would be in the third row, very good. We met some more fans, Amber and her mother and had a meal before going to the concert, a nice way to get to know each other. The concert hall was perfect, the stage looked great with the chandelier and the candles. The concert was unbelievable. From the very first tone of Confessioni di un Malandrino I was fascinated by Angelo, I saw only him, it was as if he had cast a spell on me. Highlights of the concert for me were La Raccolta (my favourite, but it was a bit too short), Now oh now, this wonderful 16th century song. La regola del filo a piombo, specially the rhythmic instrumental part at the end, Il Dono del Cervo with Christina playing a prominent part and the very impressive closing of the concert with Confesso che ho vissuto. The way this ended with just the tape playing and Angelo clearing up his guitar and violins at the end sent shivers down my spine. But the absolute hightlight was the unforgetable and unbelievable masterpiece Cogli la prima mela. This was even better than the long session played in the Camminando tour. The virtuosity of Michele Ascolese and Christian Toucas on guitar and accordeon, was the most fascinating performance I have ever seen. Accordeon and guitar were the leading instruments in this Flamenco style presentation, each of them trying to outride the other in virtuosity, speed and complexity of improvisations. No need to say they got a standing ovation. After the concert, body and soul still full of the music and the performance, Mattias and I decided to try to talk to Angelo. So we joined some young girls who had the same idea. I felt like a teenager. After a while we just opened a door and there were all the musicians. It was very easy to go and talk to everybody and get their autographs. After a while someone took the whole group of waiting fans to Angelo's dressing room. My dream had come true. I was able to talk to my star, he even said some kind words to me and I didn't even faint. It was all so normal, so easy. After I had asked for his autograph I took a photo of him, one of my most treasured posessions. I will send it with this message (thank you Sabine for scanning it and putting it on your site). The Belgian television made a registration of the concert and we were able to see this a few months later, so we were able to see the concert again. I have the concert on a videotape, PAL system. If you are interested in a copy, please let me know and I will send you one for just the postage and videocassette costs. Contents: Confessioni di un Malandrino, Vita quotidiana di uno spettro, Il giocatore di biliardo, Cogli la prima mela (!), Il dono del cervo, Domenica e lunedi, I Santi, La Pulce d'acqua, I Signore di Baux, L'ultimo giorno del circo, Confesso che ho vissuto and if you like I will also throw in Now oh now, recorded by Swiss television.
This was the first part, next time: Amsterdam.
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