Enrico Maso, translated into English by Ruth Stephens
Chapter 8 – The Vagabonds
At seven o’clock the next morning Umberto is the first to wake up.
“Mamma mia!” he groans, “My back!”
Five minutes later the others begin to emerge from the tent, all complaining of aches and pains.
“How can anyone ever sleep like this?” asks Alessandro.
“I don’t know but I need a coffee,” replies Umberto.
Gradually, during the morning, lots of young people appear from the other tents.
“They’re all so young!” observes Alessandro.
“A bit too young,” says Umberto, “I don’t see anyone from our generation. And to think my son hasn’t even heard of The Vagabonds and only listens to that horrible electronic music!”
At lunchtime they decide to go in search of a good restaurant in the Bologna area, where they stay until the evening. On returning to the campsite, they find a completely different atmosphere. In front of a large stage, thousands of young people are waiting for the musicians to appear. The four have to struggle to make their way through the sea of people.
“Have you noticed how they’re looking at us?” mutters Alessandro.
At that moment the concert begins. Antonino, Vittorio, Umberto and Alessandro remain standing while around them the young people are jumping and dancing. Coloured lights illuminate the crowd. On the stage there are just two people: DJs. The air resounds with electronic music.
“Excuse me, but who are they?” Antonino shouts into the ear of a young man.
“Who are they? Why, The Vagabonds!”
Umberto bursts out laughing. The four friends realize that they have confused the name of their favorite band with that of a new electronic music group.
“My old pals, we’ve done it again! But this time we haven’t got the wrong town. We’ve got the wrong Vagabonds!”
“Well their music certainly is rubbish!” exclaims Vittorio.
“So what do we do now?” he asks, as his friends begin to sway in time to this ridiculous new music.
“Join in?”