The Article 31s are not aged a day. And it’s a relief

Few artists have demonstrated as sharp a sense of humor as the Article 31. It must be for this reason that, when going on stage at the Mediolanum Forum for the first date of their tour organized and produced by Vivo Concerti, J-Ax and Dj Jad choose to reach the stations with a double white coat, the tripod of an IV attached to the arm and a nurse in charge of escorting them safely to their destination. Article 31 jokes that they are too shriveled up to still be of interest to anyone, but the four sold out dates of the Forum tell them that this is not the case, given that few bands have managed to age as well as they have. This is confirmed by the fans: from the most frantic ones who shouted “Volume!” in full view of the many who, in the stands, wear a yellow T-shirt with “Article 31” written on it with the same pride with which basketball fans show off their NBA uniforms. «If it were up to me, I would have announced the first date at the Fabrique. Those around me, however, called me an idiot: they believed in it more than me», confesses J-Ax after abandoning the coat to wear an Elizabeth Taylor-style white fur coat and belt out the hits of yesterday and today . «I didn’t think this affection had remained so unchanged over the years. Indeed, it has grown. I see here in front of me people of different ages, and it’s cool. Listening to Article 31 is a matter of mind, we are one big family. You are giving us so much, thank you very much guys», continues J-Ax welcomed by a stadium choir, ready to ferry his audience into a almost two and a half hour show.

In a definite atmosphere amarcordwith a giant nineties stereo in the background, one of those devices that dotted our childhood and adolescence before being supplanted first by the iPod and then by the smartphone tuned to Spotify, the Article 31s do not take a breath even for a second, emboldened by the contagious enthusiasm of the public and by a stage which, after the interlude in Sanremo, they couldn’t wait to tread again. They sing everything: from newer songs like Fuck off philosophy to timeless classics such as Tranquifunky, Average Italian, I’ll stop tomorrow, Oval spiral And My girlfriend leads. The humanity in the stands is varied and infected by the bursting energy of J-Ax and Dj Jad: they say to raise your hands to the sky and the public obeys. Even the children who weren’t born yet when Article 31 was formed perform without batting an eye, some even singing the same verses as J-Ax without stumbling even for a second. «As I was about to make the lineup, like a true boomer, I scrolled through Facebook to read the news. At one point I catch an article by Rolling Stone which talks about the Avril Lavigne concert in which the one who writes is happy because the concert was short. That’s where I got the inspiration to do two and a half hours of setlist: I’m going to go on and on and on.” is the kept promise of J-Ax, who will take advantage of the stage to launch some messages that have always been close to his heart.

From Mary, dedicated “to the current government” with the never dormant hope that sooner or later it will be legalized – at a certain point it peeps out in the parterre a giant inflatable cane which is tossed into the air as if it were a balloon – a hymn to inclusion in all its nuances – «You can sleep with whoever the fuck you want, and as far as we’re concerned, you can even marry your chihuahua if you want.” -, up to a pebble against that print that, afterwards As well as, wrote that «the Article 31 are finished» – and here a gigantic tricolor middle finger stands on stage pointing at the music critic who rowed against them -. Together with numerous guests, from Fausto Cogliati at Grido dei Gemelli Diversi up to the producer Franco Godi, and a moment of panic when a girl faints and J-Ax interrupts the concert for a moment to allow the security to intervene in peace, comes a moment of deep emotion. It breaks in when J-Ax chooses to dedicate a thought to a close friend who passed away at just 41 in 2022: Guido Carboniello. “There’s someone who can’t be here with us, and it’s Guido. If it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t be here today. Life is a bitch sometimes, we have to deal with certain things, especially at our age. When I messed with Jad I didn’t sing his songs, with Fede (z) as well: then I made peace with them and now I can sing them all. However, I would like to say that the Guido songs that I am about to sing now I will remove from my repertoire: Guido, you will always be on this stage».

After singing Intro, one of his most beautiful songs, however, Ax inserts another reflection that is anything but obvious: the need to lighten up and indulge in a light and not at all busy moment. “After all these emo moments, I need a goofy moment. Someone asked me: how do you write Intro and then pieces like Ostia Lido? I understood one important thing in life: knowing how to have fun and not take yourself too seriously. Sometimes I look back at my old interviews and I’m like: fuck, you’re singing, you’re not curing cancer. I hope I learned it: sometimes not giving a damn is a way to defuse the evil. I like to underline that making people laugh is a serious matter, without necessarily inserting a message into it». And here, so, Ostia Lido, Maria Salvadorthe “threat” of never getting off the stage and a special guest: Fedez, who takes the stage a few minutes from the end to sing along with his newfound partner Without paying. «This is a moment of great love: there is no longer anyone in my sphere of friends who is arguing»J-Ax spells out before asking a Clare Ferragni to take a selfie with Dj Jad to make it «fashionable». To close such an engaging evening it can only be A nice trip, sung while the Forum lights up with smartphone torches making us understand that the gereatric department couldn’t be further from the Article 31, back to stay: beautiful uncle, beautiful for them, beautiful for everyone.

To receive the other cover of Vanity Fair (and much more), subscribe to Vanity Weekend.