•
Rating:
J-Ax – LIVE @ ALCATRAZ Club MILAN 10/18/2011
J-Ax - Meglio Prima (?) tour
"Partially successful concert; despite everything, J-Ax reaffirms himself as one of the few musicians still worth listening to in Italy"
J-Ax, ex-rapper? Neo rocker? Better before? Worse now? Despite being almost forty, the most snobbish voice of the new generation of young people still has a face. Legally known as Alessandro Aleotti, better known as J-Ax, active since the early nineties with the rap duo Articolo 31 alongside Dj Jad, he has been pursuing a solo career since 2006. Since ending the artistic partnership with Jad, Ax has always been subject to criticism from those who called him a sellout for changing his genre. His sound has always evolved, from the underground rap of his beginnings with funk influences to the punk rock of Domani Smetto, from the pop of some tracks to the crossover of the latest albums. He himself has refused any type of categorization in the past, calling himself a SNOB. Certainly, his music in Italy is unique and different from both the Rap scene and the Rock scene.
In 2009, he managed to find a compromise to define his music, which seems to have found refuge in more rocking sounds with rapped lyrics, the surprising result being Rap'n'Roll. Rap'n'roll is something new, never heard before, distinguishing itself from any type of sound already experimented with in both rock crossover and rapcore. A complete artist with a capital A, J-Ax manages to surprise across different genres in every album, maintaining an original and personal style.
To him, time seems not to pass; he manages to tame the Alcatraz stage with the energy and passion of a twenty-year-old. He kicks things off with "Ancora in Piedi", the first track from his latest studio effort "Meglio Prima (?)". The execution of the songs is exemplary, the funkytarro duets with Jake la Furia in the subsequent "Reci-divo" and with Guè Pequeno, another voice from Club Dogo, in the energetic "Rap'n'roll". On stage with him is the "Academy of the Hard-Headed", his loyal band composed of Guido Style on guitar and backing vocals, Fabio B and Dj Zak on the turntables, Steve Lucky on the skins, and (unfortunately) Space One as the second voice. The band is excellent, especially Guido Style, who has worked as a producer/songwriter on Ax's latest albums, taking care of the mixing and playing almost all the instruments in the studio. The arrangement of the songs shows much of his work, and live it makes a difference. It's a shame there's no bassist; in some songs, a pulsating electric bass line would have been perfect, but especially it's a shame about the presence of Space One; I can't justify the utility of a second voice that closes almost all the frontman's verses, I even find his vocal tone irritating. The audience is homogeneous, with a very young average age; most of the boys and girls in the audience are still minors, and for many, it's their first concert. Even some of them are accompanied by their respective fathers, completely out of place. The evening continues with old hits and new tracks from the latest album; for the nostalgic, they play three tracks from Domani Smetto: "Spirale Ovale," "Non è un Film," and the title track. It's a pity all songs from "Italiano Medio" were excluded from the setlist. The setlist seems to be going well, I manage to reach the front rows in a few minutes, and it's right here that I encounter the first disappointment I wasn't expecting to see: no one moshes. Occasionally two or three guys shove each other, but it's hard to call it a real mosh pit. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by the last Litfiba and Offspring. I try to convince myself that some tracks are difficult to mosh to, especially during the rap verses; but when, overcome with emotion, I try to start a mosh during the chorus of "Domani Smetto", a girl, who I accidentally brush against, asks me to "calm down and put my shirt back on", and I just want to give up. People who don't want to be pushed at concerts shouldn't be in the front rows, listen to the DVD with headphones and don't be a nuisance!
Ax moves perfectly, not failing to thank his "followers" multiple times, who, mosh excepted, are warm and participative, singing all the songs by heart. He even gives us a funny skit with the two jokes of "Per Una Volta". The set design is detailed, the concert is entirely accompanied by animations on a mega screen behind the band. The rap’n’roller is super energetic, maybe even more than the crowd watching. The setlist progresses and occasionally loses itself with some tracks that could have been avoided since, despite being beautiful songs on my iPod, they don't translate the same live, like "Aumentaci le dosi". "’Na Bomba" and "(La Notte) Vale Tutto" are absolutely to be forgotten, songs that seem to have been written to fill the album, as well as the awful duet with two other rappers in the song "Questi Ragazzini". The concert started excellently but increasingly gives me the impression (probably just to me) of deteriorating drastically; it's true, hits like "+ Stile" and "Deca Dance" remind me that having paid for the ticket, I have the right to get up, jump, scream, and enjoy myself with complete disregard for the crying thirteen-year-olds who perhaps haven't yet understood how to have fun at concerts. Another downside, in my opinion, was the choice of placing the four ballads "Ti amo o ti ammazzo", "Altra Vita", "Sei sicura", "Non è un film", one after the other in the middle of the setlist; as beautiful, engaging, and wonderfully executed as they are, after 20 minutes of soft songs, it's hard to regain the energy and strength to adapt to songs like "Musica da Rabbia".
Overall, in my opinion, the concert was partially successful; the former Articolo 31 member is an excellent artist who with his charisma managed to ignite the audience for 2 and a half hours of the show. Despite everything, J-Ax reaffirms himself as one of the few musicians still worth listening to in Italy, if only because he's unique in his genre and different from all those bands now imitating Afterhours & Co.
Better Before? Perhaps yes. How before? 2002-2003.
Loading comments slowly
