The Bastille arrive in Milan, but this time it’s us who get caught

Or how to be kidnapped for an hour and a half by an English band on a cold November day

If they tell you that i Bastille live they rock believe it, because they really do it. For an hour and a half last night the English band led by Dan Smith literally enraptured the adoring public that filled theAlcatraz of Milansite of the only Italian date of the tour that follows the last album Give me the futurethe fourth in the studio, released at the beginning of the year.
On the other hand it was impossible to escape that pop-rock bubble which at half past eight enveloped us all with its sounds, voices and colored lights and kept us away from the world for a while, without letting us go until till it was not a little after ten. Here’s how we got caught, a bit like what happened in the Bastille on July 14 many years ago, Dan’s birthday and hence the name of the group.

That there would be a full house could be understood from the very long line that already at seven was stationed outside the Alcatraz. Understandable, given that he was opening the concert Alice Merton. If you say you don’t know her, you are unknowingly lying, because it will be enough for you write No roots on Spotify to understand who we are talking about.
This champion of indie rock with an Anglo-German passport and a life around the world didn’t struggle much to warm up an audience that, it was clear, was happy to find her there. And in fact they all sang with her on the enthralling refrain of Why so seriouswhich enters your head with lightning speed, then jump wild with the aforementioned No roots and its rough riff that made it known all over the world. Excellent reception also for Waste my lifethe new single that Alice is presenting during the live shows, asking for feedback from the audience, which has been decidedly positive.

Dan Smith, Chris Wood, Kyle Simmons And Will Farquarson they take the stage to the sonic interlude of a recorded voice that will return between songs. Behind them a long rectangular screen, the fifth member of the band by right, who will accompany the whole concert with his videos, his animations, his writings, his voices: a technological and futuristic vortex with a fundamental role in creating that rapture musical-dream above.

It’s the intro of Stay awake the signal that the public was waiting to unleash, after all they are all young and they are there for that, the electronic refrain of this song seems made on purpose. And in order not to curb the powerful charge that comes from the parterre, Distorted light beam it’s the perfect anthem, a song that calls out to infinite possibilities, draws you in and then lets you go, to pick you up when you don’t expect it. Things we lost in the firedespite a text that tells of the end of love in a couple, still keeps the pace high with a groove made of new sounds and retro moments. Laura Palmer And oblivion with their calm rhythms and their challenging lyrics are two moments to slow down and catch your breath, waving your hand with the cell phone flashlight on.

The keyboard input of Those nights and then the choirs of Quarter past midnight they keep us anchored in this nocturnal world where things don’t seem to be going well but deep down, if you look carefully, you can see a faint light of hope at the end of the tunnel (after all they’re both from an album called Doom Days). With Back to the future and the gorgeous Plugins we return to that futuristic pop universe narrated by the new album, a future full of electronic sounds and digital images which, however, seem already dated, things already seen and heard, so much so that they can only be the effect of a deliberate choice . And therefore appreciable.

The guitar attack and the drums of WHAT YOU GONNA DO??? they immediately set the tone for an audience that, if it sometimes slowed down, never stopped singing each song from start to finish. And how can you not sing a song like survivaldecidedly more pop and with a swaying rhythm, despite a not exactly cheerful text.
After Good grief, Promises And Revolution/Family Tiesthe acoustic moment comes with the wonderful Flaws and a moved audience singing at the top of their lungs There’s a hole in my soul. The same moment will be repeated in the encore, when Kyle and Will – shouldering the guitars – will accompany Dan in the poignant on stage version of Hope for the future. Along the same lines Bad days which follows immediately after, which still tells of dark vortexes on a dragged rhythm which however looks to the future with optimism with slow strokes.

Everything changes with Happier and this also allows for a happy digression. Because after starting, Dan descends from the stage and crosses the entire audience singing, filmed by a thousand mobile phones, with just two security men to accompany him during his digression in the parterre. He passes a few meters from us and is sweaty and smiling. That he has a lot of fun doing what he does can be seen from the beginning to the end of the concert: he talks a lot, tells the songs, interacts with the first rows of the audience, tries to say a few phrases in Italian that he has prepared, thanks all the time, it’s so serene. He moves from one side of the stage to the other, at certain moments he really jumps, occasionally waving the rainbow flag, which in these days of the World Cup in Qatar needs no explanation. Pure energy. the rest of the band is no less, with Will who is learning Italian and speaks it in our language, also saying that his teacher is in the audience, and Kyle who plays the guitar holding it on his back while Chris pounding on the cymbals . A fantastic interaction that made staying in the bubble even more enjoyable.

After Future Holds it’s the turn of the world hit Pompeii which starts with Dan on the keyboard and then continues in the traditional way, switching the end of the evening into dance mode. Along the same lines Shut off the lights, which should calm the spirits and instead, if possible, excites them even more. But it’s really the last song, the four give warm thanks and disappear backstage. The bubble has burst, it’s time for everyone to go home.

Click here to look at the photos of the Bastille concert in Milan (or browse the gallery below)

BASTILLE – The lineup of the Milan concert

Stay awake
Distorted light beam
Things we lost in the fire
Laura Palmer
oblivion
Those nights
Quarter past midnight
Back to the future
Plugins
What you gonna do???
survival
Good grief
Promises
Revolution/Family Ties
Flaws
No bad days
Happier
Future holds
Of the night
Pompeii

ENCORE
Hope for the future
Shut off the lights