Tiziano Ferro - Il Mestiere Della Vita Tour 2017

This is not my usual concert review. For once, I do not care about all the technical detail but the feeling. In all exaggeration, this is the concert of my life. Or more likely, the concert of my 2017. So I only write about my sentiment, my story and my journey. The usual concert review will be posted later :)

I still remembered the day they announced the tour on Facebook. It was October and I was counting down to my first visit to Italy in January. I stopped breathing the moment I saw the picture. I do not even speak Italian. I was not sure when is 'Giugno' and 'Luglio'; all I knew was the fact that I have to go.

The day to buy the ticket came. I decided that I would attend both the tour on Salerno and Firenze, because it works with my schedule. I did not even know where is Salerno, what is it like and how to get there. It was not as easy as I thought. I am a trained Kpop fans, I have the instinct to click the page and buy the second it's opened. But my credit card did not work, I did not know who to ask and things were just complicated. I did not give up and finally, I got the ticket. 

I was about to go to Italy for the first time in January but I already planned for my second visit in October. I even bought my plane ticket for the concert before I actually went in January. I was secretly hoping 'I better fall in love with Italy because I have to come again in less than 6 months'

Nobody knew about this. Oh, the things I did for this concert.

The day is getting nearer, applying for the visa was tough although it was my second application in three months. I said to myself, "I've been waiting for many many years, I won't give up this time"

Things were smoother the moment I arrived in Italy. I fell in love with Salerno and I should actually thank Tiziano for bringing me there. Yes, I barely met anyone who speaks English but it was actually fun to challenge myself with my very broken Italian.

I was alone in the entire journey and I came to the stadium way too early as my host thought I would go for the Prato. I waited for more than 2 hours before realizing that I could actually change my voucher to ticket early. How come? Well, no one told me and the email said they only open 1 hour before the concert. 

My expectation went up the moment I sat on my seat. This is it.

The moment they turned off the lights... The moment his name appeared on the screen...

Then Tiziano appeared. I could not stop smiling.

I saw old, young, healthy and physically challenged, female and male... Everyone came. Everyone sang along. I did not realize that I know the whole melody of his songs and roughly a good 40% of the lyrics - without even searching or speaking Italian. The first song that touched me deeply was Il Regalo Piu Grande. I discovered Tiziano in late 2008 and this song and the album was newly released. The whole album was my daily soundtrack.

Then Indietro. I have no idea how this song grew on me, I think I must have listened to it more than a hundred times because I actually remembered the lyrics and the helicopter. The next one, La Differenza Tra Me E Te is from the time I was already into him. It was beautiful. Then all the hype hit its peak when he sang Xdono. This song is on my permanent Most Played list, along with Rosso Relativo and Senza Scappare Mai Piu. 

When the time for Senza Scappare Mai Piu came... so much feeling. This is the song that wakes me up every morning. The song that my best friend used to hate the most because I could not stop playing it. The song that gives me the nostalgia with the video clip. The song that represents me.

In my Salerno concert, my personal hit was Troppo Buono. It was never my favorite song. I tend to like his upbeat song. But I would never forget the video clip with footage from his concert. The feeling of watching it for the first time still lingers. I once wished I would be part of the crowd. I once wished that I would have the chance to come to Italy. I once wished that I could thank Tiziano for the joy that he brings to all his fans.  

I am beyond happy and blessed. I would forever cherish the chance to be able to come to this concert. Dreams do come true. 

Back in 2008, all I wanted was finding a good Italian singer who could motivate me to learn Italian. I came across him after trying to listen to some other singers and immediately liked him. Since then, I always appreciate his presence, not only in my darkest, toughest moment but also my happiest days through his songs. 

I am sure he changed many lives. I am sure he has given so much impact during his career and for that, I am forever thankful.

Post concert selfie: so much happiness!

Back then, being a fan was so much tougher. I always support my favorite artists by buying their CDs but his CD is not available in Indonesia. We did not do online shopping nor streaming. There was no such thing as digital music. I had to beg my mom to get me Tiziano's CD from her friend who does shop on EBay. I always treasure my first package of his CD, a pack of his four earliest albums. I got his fifth album when my dad was touring in Europe. He was away for a few weeks, visited many countries and of course - he asked us if we wanted anything. I only asked for Tiziano's CD.

Bakc then, even streaming for his video on Youtube was a real challenge. I do not live in Narnia, but Tiziano Ferro's music videos are blocked in my country. The uploader (Vevo and his label) chose not to reach out to the world, or rather a specific part of the world. I had to use DailyMotion and it was just... not right.

Back then, Google Translate was not as good as now. I do not speak Italian. I do not get the latest news. I do not know what is happening out there. But all these struggles were never a good enough reason to stop listening to him. Thank you, Tiziano Ferro. 

I would always remember 12/07/17 and 15/07/07. Being able to finally come to his concert is a good enough reason to let go all the things that I missed in 2015.

Hours of working last semester to afford this trip, my 24+hours and 11000km+ of travel to Italy... Everything was worth it. Thank you, Tiziano. Thank you for not giving up and sharing your gift with us.