Summer in Italy

Last night I went to see Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals play in Verona Arena. The show was absolutely amazing! The setting itself was spectacular, an old colosseum... I would love to see the look on the man's face who designed and built it to see what it is used for today. Ben came onstage at about 9:30 and opened with 'Steal my Kisses' always an old favorite, although I couldnt help but wonder if he ever gets sick of playing it. The band left the stage three times, only to be lured back on by the crowd, who ironically were chanting 'seven nation army' by the white stripes (we can thank Totti for that one) - the crowd was clearly still pumped from their World Cup win. Unfortunately for me, when Ben came onstage alone to do some solo acoustic songs, the guy next to me decided that the silence was a perfect time to make a phone call. Damn mobile phones, some people simply have no manners. When he didnt respond to several shushes and prods, we had to resort to throwing bottles and punching this guy to get him to shut up. One too many beers for him me thinks. Other than that, the atmosphere was buzzing, especially during 'With my two hands' when the crowd chanted 'with my own two hands' whilst waving their hands in the air for about 25 repititions - it almost felt like we were a pack of revolutionaries at a rally, refusing to beleive that what we have now is all humankind have to offer each other. This feeling continued through songs such as 'better way', 'black rain' and 'there will be a light'. When it came time for Ben and his boys to go, they emerged with an Italian flag, and a Totti shirt, causing the Italians to go crazy with applause and do a mexican wave, that did maybe ten laps of the arena, getting faster and faster each time, until Ben decided to climb the scaffolding! The gig was awesome, the energy was amazing, and I would like to give a big THANKYOU to Ben for giving the world such warm, honest and beautiful music, THANKS BEN!!!