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“Tempus edax rerum”, as once said in Latin, and, unfortunately, we have reached Sunday March 12th, the last day of the 2017 edition of the C2C. Remarks will be made tomorrow, but today belongs to Zac Brown.There will be, during the day, many other great concerts, in particular Marty Stuart, but it is the singer from Dahlonega, GA, who is the main attraction. At 16.30 the stage of the O2 Arena lights up and the show starts with the Brothers Osborne. The brothers from Maryland are often erroneously labelled as pop, but actually they have a sound that is more like that of Cody Jinks rather than that of the Nashville mainstream. They are good, country enough, and their live performances transmit great energy. Promoted. A singer who disappointed me though was Maren Morris. Obviously I speak for myself, because the public of the C2C on the other hand applauded her a lot, but the young Texan in my opinion, did not offer much, and had a rather flat sounding repertoire, lacking in momentum. “My Church” is a masterpiece, but that is not enough keep alive a show. 19:00, and it’s Professor Marty Stuart’s time to give a lecture on what country music is about and how it must be lived and interpreted. Accompanied by his Fabulous Superlatives (Kenny Vaughan -Lead and acoustic guitar, Harry Stinson-drums and background vocals- and Paul Martin-bass and background vocals-) Stuart opens with “I Know You Rider”, and the audience is all his. As well as being an extremely gifted singer, he is also a multi-talented instrumentalist and the Fabulous, as well as playing in a divine way, all sing very well. “Country Boy Rock And Roll”, “The Whiskey Ain’t Working” are just a taste of what’s to come. Some songs, taken from the new, amazing Cd “Way Out West” ( “Mojave”, “Old Mexico”, “Whole Lotta Highway”), and then the class and talent from this singer from Philadelphia, born in 1958, comes out.SCP_9105A lesson, as I have said, made with 7 notes, on the history of American country music. Firstly, “El Paso” by Marty Robbins sung together, then “Pretty Boy Floyd” by Woody Guthrie and finally, an electrifying rendition of “Orange Blossom Special”. The show ends with “Time Don’t Wait”,and the 20,000 fans in the O2 Arena give an endless standing ovation. After such an explosive performance, no other artist would have the audacity to go on stage and perform. Nobody … ..unless your name is Zac Brown. Zac is an alien. He’s not green, but he’s an alien. One could say, and I use the conditional, that when on July 2nd, 1947, in Roswell, New Mexico, they captured an alien, they also found a Zac Brown Cd on board, evidence of his origin. He is also very courageous. Coming to London and playing “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. Either you’re crazy or … .. you’re Zac Brown. A great set list, out of this world, (after all he is an alien). It starts with “Homegrown” and then “As She’s Walking Away” and “Whiskey’s Gone”. An intro like that would knock any one down, but Zac proceeds with a great cover of “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” followed by “Goodbye in Her Eyes”, “My Old Man”, and “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Then “Toes”, and a few more songs leading up to “Baba O’Riley”. In addition to Queen, it seemed only logical to include a song by The Who. 3 more songs, (“ Free” / “Into the Mystic”, “Tomorrow Never Comes”, “Colder Weather”) closing with “Jump Right In”. Then you’ve got the encores; “Beautiful Drug”, only to obviously end with “Chicken Fried”. A show like this is a bit like seeing a UFO, immediately after, you wonder if it really happened, or whether or not it was just a dream (after all, he is an alien). (Gianluca Sitta)