by Barbara Visentin
The Belgian enchants the audience at the only Italian date of his summer tour
Few artists embody contemporaneity like Stromae. The Belgian singer-songwriter confirmed last night in front of the 16,000 present at the Hippodrome in Milan (he will return to Italy on May 16, 2023 at the Palazzo dello Sport in Rome) that he is a true champion capable of putting on a show with attention to every detail including technology, choreography, an eye for aesthetics, strong visual impact and then of course great attention to the music.
Opening the night lies with Rhove, fresh from the controversy for insulting audiences who didn’t jump. In this case, the rapper may not expect to be the center of attention, he jumps on stage here and there, surrounded by his crew, between suits and bags, a little indistinguishable between the others and between the recorded voices, he asks if anyone knows shaking. Margherita Vicario does better, accompanied by a real band enthusiastically warming up the atmosphere before one of her myths, which, as she says, is awkwardly greeted behind the scenes and overwhelmed by emotions.
Then it’s up to Stromae, the 37-year-old Paul Van Haver, who has reappeared this year after a long absence with the Multitude album and manages right away to overwhelm the audience with an electronic concert full of instruments, rap and rap also sung , with sounds from the world he has included in the new work and a strong theatrical component that sometimes sees him at the microphones of an imaginary press conference, sometimes lying on a sofa (moving on stage) and complaining of pain in Mauvaise journe, now frantically in dance steps (with instructions on how to learn the Sant dance).
Between screens that move across the stage thanks to robotic arms, a bizarre robotic dog that gives him the jacket to wear in papaoutai, three-dimensional videos with his cartoon avatar, people dance and sing in unison throughout the set, coincidentally unusual for a crowd of the knows all the songs in French. Stromae, in the sounds, in the origins (his father was Rwandan) and in the equally diverse nature of his musicians, embodies the multi-ethnic world. Her androgynous image (but Paul has a wife and child), the songs that sink into depression (among the flashes of L’enfer), question feminism, pay homage to the humblest of workers (and it’s no coincidence that Stromae is part of it all finally thanks crew, from the director to the drivers), his character but also a person, vulnerable and human, show a friendly contemporaneity, able to hug and not scream.
In the finale we jump with the first hit Alors on danse, between clouds of dust that rise from the dry grass and penetrate the eyes and lungs. After much dancing, Stromae greets with an a cappella piece Mon amour, which is sung in four parts and asks for silence. He walks away while people smile and say how beautiful and you think maybe there were more like him.
July 21, 2022 (change July 21, 2022 | 14:58)
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