b3tItalian GatheringtRokDaZonetfpf2s1c08 THE ITALIAN GATHERING f1c10 by RokDaZone f2c09Heaven is... f1c10... where the policemen are British, the cooks are Spanish, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian and it is all organized by Swiss people. f2c09Hell is... f1c10... where the cooks are British, the mechanics are Spanish, the lovers are Swiss, the policemen are Germans and it is all organized by Italians. c09Pescara/Italy; 06:09:97 Palazzetto Dello Sport; Via Rigopiano c10Nah-Kolor c09called and at least some came. For the second time after 1996, the Italian Scene had its own event; its own party. When in 1996 visitors described the Italian Gathering more as a f4"nice way to meet Sceners" f1than a real Scene party - whatever that may mean - the event this year was supposed to be different. f4"20 Hours of Pure Palpitations" f1the invitationtext promises. Yes, they've shown the will and therefore get the award for the most unnecessary foreignword in the most unusual place. Twenty hours of irregular heartbeating? No wonder the invitation ends with: f4"Party Place is near Central Hospital!" f1The facilities looked promising, the timetable unusual (deadline on all compos 2:00 p.m.; competitions starting the same day from 9:00 p.m.; party ends at 6:00 a.m.). Obligatory liveacts, conferences and the voting for the f2"Best Italian Scener" f1were announced. The competition prices showed a fine sense for understatement and f2the entrance was for freef1; which is a novelty on its own. There was absolutely no reason for an Italian Scener to not visit the party. In the end estimated 150 visitors filled the sportshall which easily would have swallowed 750. The reporters from a local TV station had to note that only two foreigners entered the stage, which were c10RokDaZone c09and c10Tassle c09from Germany. The couple took the party as one station on their holiday backpack tour through Italy. Else almost the whole Italian elite was present which in the end doesn't feature an unimpressive guestlist. c10Macnoc09, c10Parsec c09(+ Sabry), c10The Ripperc09, Manta, c10Posdunousc09, c10Randyc09, c10Modemc09, c10Kaosmaster c09to name but a few. Interesting here that we find evidence that the Italian Scene has brought the most impressive clutch of editors from all countries, although c10Fishwave c09is right when stating that Germany still is the most influential diskmag producing country. f2c08 ... AND IT'S ALL ORGANIZED BY ITALIANS f1c09Within every stereotype there are small bits of truth and it seems wise to not forget about that. No one can blame the organizers for the heat in the hall itself, which even around the midnight made it hardly possible to stay inside without getting soaking wet, but it seemed symptomatic for the event. Even in the late afternoon, when the party was on for a quarter of its overall time, c10Metaldesigner/Nah-Kolor c09being the spokesman of the organizers, had to declare that he hopes f4"that we will get the videoscreen running for the competitions." f1Rumours were branding through the gathered 150s saying that the partyplace will be closed at 2:00 a.m. and more or less people seemed to find the small lawn outside much more temting that the ongoings of the event. Environmental party this is called. Day in the Greens. Errr. The worst was yet to come, after the pricegiving around 4:00 a.m. f2the party was closed downf1, so the rumours were not that wrong afterall. It seems no one of the organizers actually understood that by inviting people they have taken over a social responsibility even in the forefiled. Like on most parties, certain people have travelled quite some time to get there (c10Macnoc09, c10Parsec c09and c10Sabry c09from Milan, c10Psycho c09from Naples, not to mention the two Germans) and now needed a place to sleep before going on. Especially for those to rely on public transport systems which were not yet active at that time of early morning. The party ended at a night-croissanterie where around 20 Sceners including c10MetalDesigner c09and two other organizers spend some time considering what to do. c10MetalDesigner c09explains: f4 "That was cause of last minute bureaucratic problems with the council. I know it sucked a lot but... I could't not do anything to change it." f1We thought the other organizers wanted to close down for no reason? f4"This is partly true. We could stay effectly until 6 a.m., but with no audio. Many of the other organizers were tired and so." f1He has to give in the ignorance. f4 "I asked to stay until six, but they said no to me and so the decision wasn't in my power. In fact you saw I was with you and others guys in the station until six." f1There he is right. Metal tried the best he could to fix the embarrassing situation by offering to host at least the German guests and staid with them at the trainstation to wait for the first possibility of departure. f4 "These are some consequences cause they chose to have no sponsor!" f1Metal finishes. And it's all organized by Italians... f2c08 STRANGE THINGS HAPPEN AT SEA f1c09The quality of the competition reflected the state of the Italian Scene quite well. Well minded and eager to play a role but not enough to come close to needed international standards. When on Amiga the effect wasn't so evident due c10Modem's c09and c10Randy's c09entries (c10"Massive Killing Capacity" c09re-release), the PC sector really looked poor, especially with c10"Claudia" c09from c10Deathstarc09, winning PC Demo at the c10Symposium'97c09, still in mind. The average multichannel competition entry could easily have been done on four channels using Mod2SMP, the graphicscompetition was far beyond demands. The only real highlight in the competitions was another entry by c10Randyc09. He actually delivered a f2JAVA-demo f1which was played out of contest and got the loudest applause of all entries. Considering himself to be a multiplatform Scener, the coder has drawn the most logical consequence and creates and collects JAVA-effects on his homepage which really is worth a visit. Once again he has given more fire to speculations that JAVA might become the demolanguage after the independent multiplatform operating system c10DemOS c09for the Demo Scene seemingly has failed. The two liveacts were of quite high standard with one crossover band and a group featuring a distorted violinist. Pardon, a violinist using the distortion effect on his instrument. Especially the later performance could have been a highlight if, yes, if the sound wasn't so messy. If not the hall was too huge to fight back echoes and not too empty for a decent mood. Even the dancing couple c10The Ripper c09and c10Metaldesigner c09didn't help out - although I would pay for a tape of their performance. The pricegiving allowed no surprises. c10Randy c09was punished for his re-release by getting the second place out of two entries, although "Massive Killing Capacity" on the first look seems more advanced than c10Modem's c09production. Interesting, however, was that c10Posdunous c09was voted as best Italian Scener. Despite Posda's remarkable activity in articlewriting, it seems doubtful if he really can stand next to a Scene character like c10Macnoc09. This would have been the ideal day to award Macno for his lifetime achievement, being the most influential Italian Scener in the past and being one of the most influential Sceners worldwide ever. f2Missed the chance, mates. c08 LOOKING BACK OVER MY SHOULDER f1c10Summing up there is little left to say. The organizers provided a good hall but weren't able to fill it with people and partyathmosphere. We had lights but no real highlights. It was enjoyable but not spectacular. What sticks into ones mind when remembering is an event which offered a good possibility to meet Sceners, but it was no demoparty. Therefore their main goal wasn't achieved and so the concept of the whole event failed. c10MetalDesigner c09still sees positive aspects: f4 "For all italian Amiga guys it ruled, for some PC Sceners it sucked a bit. For me it was a funny experience."