Patty Pravo is often in my heavy rotation. Every now and then, I revisit old favourites or try something new from her vast discography. She’s hands down my Italian singer numero uno.

But as someone based outside of Italy, I haven’t had a chance to see her concert. Until now! This April, I caught her at Teatro Sistina in Rome.

Who is Patty Pravo?

Patty’s music is difficult to classify. It ventures into alternative pop, electronica, worldbeat and sentimental balladry, but I’d say she’s a rock artist at the core. Pravo oscillates between the commercial and the avant-garde, alternating chart hits with experimental albums. Enigmatic and sophisticated, she has captivated the audience for nearly six decades!

A big part of Patty’s appeal is her cool, hippy-ish persona and the unconventional lifestyle. Pravo doesn’t shy away from provocation, sharing candid topless photos on social media.

Some people compliment her by calling her the “Italian David Bowie”. I can see why, even though I’m not keen on looking for equivalents to local artists from the English-speaking world. Patty is Patty, and Bowie is Bowie.

The concept and the band

The show is called Minaccia Bionda (Blonde Threat) which Pravo is on tour with since last year. It’s not much of a “threat”, though, but rather a treat, and a mellow trip down the memory lane. The singer looks back on her long career through songs and anecdotes. Actor Pino Strabioli, and privately Patty’s friend, makes appearances as the narrator of the show.

The concert opened with a video footage of Pravo’s hometown, Venezia. The visualizations were very much part of the show, complimenting the music. Throughout the 90-minute programme, Patty was supported by a six-piece band: drummers Filippo Lambertucci and Gabriele Bolognesi, guitarists Pietro Posani and Agostino Raimo, bassist Daniele Nieri, and Michele Lombardi on keys.

Oldies in abundance

A large majority of the songs were from the 60s and the early 70s. Was that my dream setlist? No, but I see the point in drawing from what is your most commercially successful period. “La bambola”, “Ragazzo triste”, “Il paradiso”, “Se perdo te”, “Pazza idea” – a Patty Pravo concert can’t go ahead without these staples!

But she also threw in some deep cuts from that era, such as the ethereal ballad “Poesia”. Pino described it as “a marvellous song, an absolute masterpiece”. He added that the composer Riccardo Cocciante thanked Patty in one interview for recording this track as it kicked off his successful career.

A nice surprise was “Per una bambola”, a 1984 song from the Sanremo Festival. An even bigger Sanremo hit, “…E dimmi che non vuoi morire”, was strategically placed towards the end of the show. The ambiguous “Pensiero stupendo” – perhaps her biggest hit – sparked a fervent singalong in the finale.

I was particularly excited to hear “Les etrangers”, another track from Patty’s late 90s revival era, and one of my absolute favourites of hers. She introduced it by saying something along the lines of people needing closeness “so that we don’t feel like foreigners, but the citizens of the world”. This live version added a long, superb outro on electric guitars. I was all there for it!

What was missing

At one point, Strabioli popped on stage holding Patty’s self-titled 1976 LP – originally a flop, but now regarded as one of her best. He admitted that the show could have featured tracks from other underrated albums: Oltre l’Eden, Ideogrammi, Cerchi. Instead, Patty’s intention was to pay homage to songs written by her composer friends.

This might explain why the show excluded her entire post-2000 repertoire. Even the recent Sanremo triumph “Cieli immensi”! I must say, an odd move for what was supposed to be a retrospective celebration of an outstanding career.

Another letdown was the lack of any merchandise stall. I was hoping to get hold of her biographical photobook which this tour was named after. Instead, I had to settle for a few flyers from the counter…

Nothing could spoil my experience, though. In fact, I left being an even bigger of a fan than ever.

Intrigued? Read more about Patty on Wikipedia, and if you’re new to her, check out my all-Pravo Spotify playlist.

Setlist

“Se perdo te”, “Les etrangers”, “Poesia”, “Le tue mani su di me”, “Mercato dei fiori”, “Ragazzo triste”, “Qui e là”, “Il paradiso”, “La bambola”, “Tutt’al più”, “Col tempo”, “Non andare via”, “Per una bambola”, “Pazza idea”, “…E dimmi che non vuoi morire”, “Pensiero stupendo”