The Universal Band,
a band born in internet, with musicians coming from different cities in Italy,
organized the first public exibition. The objective for all the members of the
band is to express their biggest passion: to play ROCKETS
music! The Universal Band is today the
one and only tribute band to the french group that intends to recreate their shows (costumes, lights, effects,
sounds).In the occasion of this appointment
the members of the band, together with a few people committed for a long time
now to keep ROCKETS name alive on the Web (among them Benny, Synthetic Man
and me) worked to make the concert a meeting for the fans and for that also the
former members of the ROCKETS band were invited.
With a lot of suffering and dramatic turn of
events, due to distances and respective commitments, we were able to obtain the
presence of Fabrice Quagliotti and Alain Groetzinger, former keyboards and drums
player, as well as the presence of the new ROCKETS singer L.B.M.
I wish to send my personal thanks to them for
the availability, courtesy and kindness demonstrated!!!
The 200 seats in the theatre have been filled
soon, but have been enough to allow to a lot of fans to meet after years of
electronic or phone relationships.
I wish to take the opportunity to apologize
with all the fans that I wasn't able to speak with personally. Little time and
emotions for the event prevented me to share my time with a lot of them. . .
In the following sections I publish a few
photographs taken for that occasion. I'm not a professional and I haven't got
sophisticated material, but I hope that my little analogic camera has been
enough to pass the emotions to people that wasn't able to be in Marzabotto.
My deepest compliments to the Universal Band (http://www.theuniversalband.com)
for being so professional, for the diligence and tenacity demonstated in the
organization and realization of the show!!!
Songs played were taken among ROCKETS main
successes (from 1976 to 1982) and in the central phase of the concert also the
electronic drum was used.
Played songs:
- Beta-Gamma
- Anastasis
- Universal band
- Fils du ciel
- In the galaxy
- One more mission
- Astral world
- Atlantis town
- Electric delight
- Astro storm
- Some other place, some other time
- Radiate
- The martian way
- Ballade sur mars
- Synthetic man
- On the road again
- Future woman
- Galactica.
The whole concert has been registered by the
band in audio/video format for the realization of a
VHS+CD and DVD+CD; with images of the concert and audio
taken from mixer (anyway the editing will take some time before they will be
published).
Universal Band Lineup |
Moog |
Atlantis, Man, Sky and Moog |
Atlantis, Man and Vega |
Man and Vega |
C3PO and Moog |
Fabrice, Alain and L.B.M. |
Atlantis, Man and Vega |
Atlantis, Vega, C3PO and Moog |
Atlantis, Vega, C3PO and Moog |
Man and Vega |
Man, Atlantis, Ziga, Sky and Moog |
At the end of the concert the
Universal Band rewarded the ROCKETS with plates, as a 'thank you' for their
presence and for the emotions aroused by their music.
The top of the evening was reached when after
incitement of the audience Alain and Fabrice sung the timeless Venus
rapsody with the Universal Band. More than twenty years have passed without
seeing Alain and Fabrice playing together on stage.
The song has been followed by an exciting Drum solo
by Alain that accompanied the Universal Band
in playing the track 'Universal band' that ended the triumphal concert.
Fabrice and Alain |
L.B.M., Fabrice and Alain |
Fabrice in Venus rapsody |
Fabrice in Venus rapsody |
Fabrice and Sky in Venus rapsody |
Alain in Venus rapsody |
Alain in Drums solo |
Alain in Universal band |
At the end of the concert in the theatre
took place a great party that joined all the participants in the search of
autographs, in finding old memories, in sharing experiences, and on top of all
in the hope to see again Fabrice, L.B.M and Alain together on stage, with the
other ROCKETS members, to start a new and long adventure!!!
For the survivors there was also the time for
the faster pizza of the history, followed by the audition preview of the new
album, now ready. Thanks to the generosity of Fabrice and L.B.M. the fans were
able to delight themselves with a few tracks that immediately wake up passions
soothed by 20 years of silence and sent away the scepticism about the missing of
the unmistakable ROCKETS sound in the forthcoming work (also the more doubtful
changed their mind!!!).
Sky and Fabrice, both silver!!! |
L.B.M., Man, Fabrice, Atlantis, Moog,
Vega, C3PO, Alain, Ziga and Sky |
L.B.M., Fabrice, The Rocket Man and Alain |
New ROCKETS album audition in the car |
Alain, L.B.M. and Fabrice,
the NEW ROCKETS have landed???!?! |
Synthetic Man, Alain and The Rocket Man |
GREAT Alain!!! |
I suppose that is unnecessary to point out the
great work done in the back stage for the realization of the show and the party.
I'd like to thanks the Universal Band that
allowed me to join them in this adventure.
Among other people a mention is for Alberto for
his great help in the good success and logistics organization.
The compliments are also for people of the
service that realized a great show with their lights, lasers, smokes and sounds
and to Marzabotto authorities that placed their trusts in this happy,
fanatic and silver gang of people.
The dinner the day before the concert |
The stage |
The stage |
Vega and Man at the vocoder |
C3PO and the gong |
Moog and his bass |
Atlantis guitar |
Ziga and Sky synthesizers |
Sound and voice check |
Laser and lights check |
The console |
Human and space suits! |
Via the following links it's possible to visit
other sites with information and photographies on Marzabotto event:
Back to
planet
March
29th 2003 at 9.00 p.m.in Marzabotto (BO
- Italy), at the 'teatro comunale',
an unforgettable event for every ROCKETS fan is going to be realized.
