The weird vibe of the second evening of Sanremo

The second evening of the Sanremo Festival last night was weird: closed in a hurry before one o'clock, with the stage flooded with booing during the moment of the ranking, full to the brim of more or less veiled sermons but above all strangely filled with old glories that have cannibalized the space of new proposals. The feeling was as if something was going on behind the scenes and everyone was agitated and confused. To grace the stage, however, alongside an Amadeus who seemed a bit tense there was Lorena Cesarini, splendid in Valentino and Roberto Cavalli, who, although betraying a certain emotion and an understandable disorientation, brought to the stage of the Ariston a breath of spontaneity that was like a fresh spring breeze in a mummy museum.

The best parts of the evening, incidentally, were young people: Sangiovanni, Irama, Ditonellapiaga and Matteo Romano above all – followed by the other young proposals (Highsnob & Hu, Aka 7even and Tananai, whose Dior outfit was better than his song, no offense) who showed a beautiful stage presence but with less monumental songs than those brought by the old glories that invaded the stage. Emma, Le Vibrazioni and Giovanni Truppi didn't really exalt me. Emma was about to win me back (even though I've never been a fan) but then she sent that snapping kiss into the camera that made me collapse a bit. Le Vibrazioni perhaps had to vibrate more intensely while Giovanni Truppi's song wasn't exactly an overwhelming emotional hurricane.

Speaking of old glories, if the first evening was full of men, this second was full of women, practically all the heavyweights of the female song of the last twenty years: the best of course was Donatella Rettore who, even if made up with a greenish make-up (was it greenish?) reminiscent of the first films of George Romero,  it has massacred the competition. Monolithic were Laura Pausini and Iva Zanicchi, clad in black as in an armor: after a song written by Madame, Laura sang with Mika I have a dream by ABBA, both were a bit rigid (I like Mika but he looked like they had pulled him out of naphthalene) and I had a traumatic flashback to Lea Michele in Glee; Zanicchi arrived on stage laughing and joking like an affectionate grandmother but when she started singing she looked like Danaerys Targaryen setting King's Landing on fire. Her song was a return to the classic Italian mega-love song, emphasis on the "classic", and therefore not particularly innovative but granitic and powerful like its singer. 

Finally, almost surprisingly, the main pretender to the throne of Sanremo, who came to challenge the uber-success of Mahmood and Blanco: Elisa. First of all – that woman doesn't age, it's amazing how her face is pretty much the same as it was twenty years ago when I have to fight with dark circles every morning. Second of all – give me more outfits than Valentino please because what he wore was a hit. Third of all – with all the good we want for Elisa, does her rock ballad really deserve first place against Brividi? I think not. Two unrelated notes to the side: 1 - Margherita Mazzucco and Gaia Girace are good actresses, perhaps the only Italians involved in an international series of level, why let them arrive on stage to give them a pat on the back and send them away after five minutes?; 2 - If Monica Vitti dies, I expect much more than a very hasty initial tribute, dedicate a few more minutes to her and a few minutes less to that sustainable cruise ship, I think that the business of Costa Cruises won't be affected excessively by it, considering the circumstance.

Finally, as a very final consideration, I would like to ask the Press Office publicly what exactly their problem is. Last night these invisible judges woke up from the wrong side of the bed, or they got the wrong the order at the restaurant, I have no idea, the fact is that they were nervous and honestly gave their votes ad mentula canis (I use Latin to escape censorship). On Elisa they got it right, okay, she was the best yesterday, but Irama, Iva Zanicchi and Matteo Romano deserved to be much more up in the ranking – which not surprisingly was whistled like few. Irama has style, he's good, he's taking on that  70s cultist vibe (think of a Charles Manson but without the murders) that hits every sweet spot possible. Iva Zanicchi is a national institution, they no longer make artists like her and should be celebrated and not relegated to the bottom of the ranking. And Matteo Romano, finally, is very young, he is good and maybe Virale will not be a revolutionary song but sounds like a song written in this century – and he definitely deserved a much higher place.  I also add that the public is not stupid, so if the organizers give announcements at the last second to poor Amadeus, like that of the closure, or like the mysterious guy who at a certain point invaded the frame of one of the conductors, the mess of the entrances and exits of Zanicchi and so on, we all notice it. For tonight, I beg you, understand each other better.