Jack Johnson
Live@Alcatraz, Milano, 09/03/2006

LA RECENSIONE

A Stone Above

The first album pleasantly surprised us. Big American guy with a guitar and some stories to tell. Hawaii. Surfing. Cinema. Ben Harper. OK.
The second one was a bit disappointing: a copy of the first.
The third one definitively got on our nerves: a copy of the second (and therefore of the first).

Not satisfied, we bought tickets for the concert. Well in advance (November for March).

While waiting, we also listened to the fourth CD, the soundtrack of a children's movie or something similar (we lacked the strength to delve deeper). A copy of the copy of the copy.

When the handsome Jack steps onto the sold-out Alcatraz stage and starts the first piece (we lack the strength to look up the title) we finally understand that it's really time to give up on him. Eccheccazzo.

Because, well, maybe with six or seven friends, in front of a bonfire, on a tropical beach, with little crabs tickling you and coconuts falling from palm trees... Jack might fit in. But like this, with the volume lower than the audience's voice, the pieces devoid of any verve, the only difference from the recorded versions being some trivial piano accents (which inexplicably provoke audience ovations)... well, by the third piece we detach from the crowd in front of the stage and head to the bar. We sip very expensive cold beers. We observe the audience: MTV to its fullest. We are surprised by the number of Americans present. We notice that despite the sellout there's still plenty of space. We look at the technicians' computers for the lights. Basically, we no longer know where to turn.

For the first time in our life, we leave before the encore.