Milano show

[borneoman]

Setlist:
The greatest bastard
Delicate
Woman like a man
Elephant
9 crimes piano
The professor
Volcano
Cannonball(unpl)
Older chests
I don't wanna change/we will rock you
Cold water
I remember
----
Colour me in
MFFF
Trusty & true with choir
The blowers daughter/Creep

[Circa1992]

Sarah and I were just saying we would've liked to have heard Creep! But we really can't complain.

[dawno]

Thanks for the update, Marti!

[Shillelagh]

We will rock you. Neat!

[InspirationDestination]

Thank u! Did he bring his own choir or was it an audience choir?

[conanemily]

Oh Creep!!

[madhat181]

Hope someone took videos

[ashleyz]

Thanks for the update! So jealous he did creep.

[DesoleInBoston]

I'm a huge Queen fan, can't wait to hear Damien doing We Will Rock You. Too funny.

[signalfire]

That Queen song! Oh I do hope there's video. Wonderful set. Thank you, Marti.

[carrroline]

Nice set list especially the encore!
Any guests?

[damien lisa]

lol, we will rock u

[glo32]

Little report: the show was great. Didn't actually expect it, because the venue was huge and a bit "cold", and it being the first European show at all, I was expecting a safe setlist... and it actually was - well, at least nothing compared to The Box's shows in NYC - and we didn't have any 'rare' song at all... but, despite that, the show was "all kind of amazing" (as Marti would say).

He started off with Bastard and the whole place went completely quiet for 4 long minutes. You could not hear a single sound apart from Damien's voice and guitar. When he finished the song, the audience exploded in applause and cheering. Then super quiet again for Delicate... in general, the audience was great, joining Damien with singing and clapping when the song required partecipation, and being quiet for the rest of the show.
I think Damien immediately got that, and after Delicate he played Woman Like A Man, really powerful and energic, and the audience went crazy. He must have felt the energy in the audience too because from that point on the gig went in a great direction, with Damien very relaxed, joking a lot with everyone and having a lot of interaction with people.
After Elephant and 9 Crimes (on piano) he said something like "well, there were a lot of feelings mixed inside those five songs" and then started saying something about sperm and testicles, how a man's decision can be influenced by them, and that if you really like a girl, then you have to go to the bathroom for a moment, "relax", and if you come back and you still like it, "then it's really good" (I had heard this one before) - and then The Professor started.

He played Volcano solo on stage. The stage was actually very tall and there was no way to get upon it so we knew he wouldn't ask people to join him on stage. He divided the audience in three parts though, and made us sing. Again, I think the audience partecipated in a very active way, but actually I was too absorbed in singing my "aaaahhhh" part, to pay attention to whether the others were singing or not.
Then he said "let's do something completely different", unplugged everything, and played Cannonball at the edge of the stage. I was worried that people seated at the end of the venue wouldn't hear anything, but after the gig they all told me they heard it like if Damien was 2 meters away from them. There was complete silence in the room.

Then he asked ifwe wanted to hear something. Of course a lot of people shouted songs, and he could only hear the request for Older Chests. I was a little disappointing because, come on, just ask for new songs or at least something a bit more unusual...
And indeed, after Older Chests, we asked for new songs - especially Marti - and Damien played I Don't Want To Change You. During the final part of the song, the audience started clapping in time with the song and it kind o built from there, with Damien going on with the guitar outro and then turning it into a strange improvisation where he was singing casual words (or at least something I didn't understand) in the guitar's mic. At some point he turns back to the main mic and sings "We will rock you" to finish the song. Don't expect a real cover of the song though, it was just a funny way to end the long improv outro. If you guys want to see only one video from last night's show, make sure you watch IDWTCY then

The whole audience at the point was very amused and when Damien asked for a girl to sing Cold Water with him, a male voice from the audience asked if a girl from Spain could sing, and Damien said it wasn't a problem. The guy also said that they had to go to Milan because Damien never plays Spain, and he replied that he only goes on holidays there and that's not a place for "work".
Anyway, the spanish girl standed up and asked Damien if his son could come up on stage too. Damien said "you son? sure" and I think he was expecting a little kid, but then when the girl and his son came up to stage, this hugh tall boy appeared and Damien was like "wow, is this you son?? he's... big".
and then the boy (his name was Carlos) started saying something like leaving a cd for Damien on stage, then taking it off, and he was super excited to go on stage with Damien and at some point Damien gave a weird look to the audience and said "he is VERY enthusiastic". Everyone was having fun anyway, and Damien was very relaxed. They chatted a bit on stage and then, when Damien was about to start playing with Carlos' mom (called Patricia I think) Carlos started recording and Damien said "oh, you're recording... I was about to ask to turn the light off". And Carlos replied something like "that's fine, but please don't make out with my mom in the dark". And then added "well, actually, if someone has to make out with my mom, I prefer it'd be you". He was quite a character, this Carlos, but I liked him. Damien promised to behave and then asked to turn all the lights off. When the lights went off, in the total darkness, Damien was like "oh yes, Patricia, yes" you know, in a sexual way, and everyone of course was laughing.
The duet on Cold Water was great, and the spanish girl was really good with her part, and then providing harmony on Damien's part and all. At some points even Carlos joined the duet. When the song was over, the audience was completely awe-struck by it all, and Damien seemed particularly impresed too.

Then hea asked where people came from, if there was anyone from Ireland, anyone from abroad. Of course everyone started shouting different countries and Damien joked "wow, I make a lot of mistakes as a live performer. Asking for people's requests and then their nationality... at least now we know there isn't a single person from Milan here".

I Remember was great, of course, and then Damien said goodnight and went away. When he came back, he said he was going to play new songs, and started with Colour Me In. I think that at this point this is my favourite song from the new album, along with Trusty and True...
Then he ****ed up a lot on My Favourite Faded Fantasy, forgetting a lot of lyrics and also a guitar part. Said he has to learn it at some point, and that when he records an album, he's never done with the song but actually goes on adding pieces here and then, changing lyrics and putting always new ideas in, until the song is recorded - and at that point he doesn't really remember what the hell he did with the song, so he has to learn it like it was someone else's song.

Then the Coro Barbarossa joined him on stage, and he told a story fro Trusty and true. Baiscally saying that this song is about taking all the different people inside you (the person you are with your mom, the person you are with you lover, the person you are with your boss...) and put them all together, and accepting the mistakes of them all... "and then the song is also about England and Ireland, but it's not really about it", and then about a lot of other things (I can't remember right now) but really not about any of them in particular.
Then he asked the crowd to stand up and come up to the stage.
And a beautiful version of Trusty and True started, with everyone in awe, really close to him. The choir did a pretty good job for the final part, and it was all really beautiful. My highlight of the night, I think.
Then Damien asked the choir to sing a song and they did a cover of All I Have To Do Is Dream by The Everly Brothers.

Then Damien finished the gig with The Blower's Daughter. Everyone at this point was standing and was close to the stage, and there was a really good energy going on, and at the end of The Blower's Daughter I knew that Creep was coming. He sang the final "can' take my eyes off of you", he thought about it for a moment, then made up his mind and said "this is for the fans, haven't done it in a while... but i'm a creep..." and everyone went crazy and sang with him.

Ok, this had to be a little report... but then I started remember things from the gig and that's the result. Sorry for the long post! It was truly a special night, even with a "normal" setlist.

[borneoman]

yes, great show, highlight for me was hearing Colour Me In again

[borneoman]

and yes, he didn´t really do We Will Rock You he did a sorta guitar improv continuing from IDWTCY that was kinda crazy and finished it going to the mic and shouting We Will Rock You!!!!

and the ending with Creep was all kinds of crazy!!!!

he really needs to practice more the newer songs cos he messes up the lyrics all the time there´s a part in Colour Me In that he always get wrong, and MFFF was very very messy yesterday, he even stopped for like 20 secs cos he couldn´t remember the lyrics...

[carrroline]

Thank you Glo! Great report!
Can't wait for Sunday now...

[InspirationDestination]

Fantastic review!! I love the little details. I wonder if the lines he forgets are the lines he didn't originally like with Rick Rubin (from the article). I like when he forgets, though. Makes it real and not automatic. Can't wait for videos!

[borneoman]

Colour Me In

not sure if it´s already up or still processing

[borneoman]

Creep


I Don´t Want to Change You/We Will Rock You



MFFF with **** up



Bastard


Trusty & True

[ashleyz]

Awesome videos!! I love when he just messes around with a song and just has fun with it like he did for idwtcy

[Chrysler]

Thanks, Marti

[signalfire]

Thanks for that report. That Carlos guy sounds really entertaining. I love how that sort of energy can just make a performance special.

[RenataAQP]

thanks for sharing!! enjoyed reading all the little details about the show!

[eva_arg]

Thanks for the vids and report, guys

someone recorded the whole thing O_O

[SilentNight]

Thank you Marti and glo, nice report! you are quite a team!
"we will we will rock you!" is just funny

[conanemily]

Thank you for the review!!

[ShimmerinShell]

Was there any merch (concert posters/tee shirts) for sale before the show?

[Circa1992]

Thanks for the detailed report- sounds like he was in a great mood! I also really liked Colour Me In when we heard it last week.

[glo32]

No merch at all.

[dawno]

Thank you for the in-depth report, Glo and the videos, Marti!