Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ is sounding larger than ever tonight in Milan’s industrial venue Alcatraz. The iconic words “I did it my way” float through the pipelines on the ceiling, which still give away the venue’s factory origins. While the song is still playing, Bleachers make their way onto the stage. The band takes a strong stance, allowing the crowd to loudly cheer them on and feed them the energy they need to kick off the first European stop of their Bleachers Forever Tour.
The stage is packed, with the band counting seven members tonight and seemingly unlimited access to a range of instruments that give away the musical explosion awaiting us. As each member grabs an instrument of their choice, the show starts with ‘sideways’. Somehow, it does an excellent job of continuing where Frank Sinatra left off as they sing “Watched you make a fake call. Memorize the highway. Back then, you were a miracle. You did it your way”. The show continues with another offering from their latest album, everyone for ten minutes. As if the three pianos, two drum sets, two saxophones and keyboards on stage aren't enough already, Jack Antonoff pulls another instrument out of his pocket: the harmonica. It becomes the true star of ‘the van’, elevating the folk sound of the soft-rock song.
The Milanese crowd is here to party. This becomes clear the moment Evan and Zem launch into ‘Modern Girl’ with a soaring saxophone. It’s the perfect song to test the energy in the room tonight. And trust us when we say the energy is big. Everyone in the audience happily joins in, from the cheerful “Woah oh oh” to the loud screams. No one is holding back. This sense of freedom is clearly encouraged by frontman Jack, who, in turn, jumps around as if he were alone in his room with no one watching and absolutely no shame. As he sings “Play it like a heart attack for ya. We play it like a heart attack”, he throws his body around uncontrollably, making his voice hitch.
As a producer and songwriter for Lana Del Rey, Kendrick Lamar and Sabrina Carpenter, Jack knows how to tell a story. He sings with a certain sincerity and urgency, especially when the lyrics become personal, as they do on ‘Everybody Lost Somebody’. Even though his fans are singing along at the top of their lungs, it's almost as if he's talking and shouting his way through the noise. His ability to deliver the songs in such a conversational, raw way is exactly what makes Bleachers stand out from other bands. The same happens during ‘Goodmorning’. Towards the end, a saxophone solo takes over the vocals, bringing the song up close and personal through instrumentation alone, before Jack joins in again and they end on a beautiful interplay between harmonica and saxophone.
Parts of the show feel like a summer festival. The joy the band brings to the crowd, encouraging everyone to chant along to the simpler parts of the songs, has us feeling as though we're standing in the burning sun, surrounded by strangers who feel like friends, beer in hand and singing at the top of our lungs. It's songs such as ‘dirty wedding dress’ and ‘Rollercoaster’ where this feeling is at its strongest. For the latter, we're asked to climb onto each other's shoulders. Before we know it, the venue is filled with fans climbing on top of one another, creating a sea of people up in the air.
Their hit ‘I Wanna Get Better’ gets two moments during the show. Jack tells us that the song was initially written as a folk song before eventually being released into the world as the huge indie-rock anthem we know today. The version it was originally meant to be allows the band to take a short break, as the lead singer performs the acoustic version by himself. This folk interpretation gives him the chance to show off his warm, intimate voice. Fans of the original version don't have to worry, though. Near the end of the night, we're treated to the full, energetic and explosive version of the song as well. Twice the fun!
The highlights of the night go to songs from their third studio album, Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night. We've never had particularly strong feelings about which Bleachers album is our favorite, but hearing them take turns performing songs from each of their releases makes it clear that this is the album that sounds at its very best live. For ‘Chinatown’, the band adds another member as they invite one of their fans onto the stage to play guitar and sing along. This spontaneous moment adds to the overall easy-going vibe we've been feeling throughout the night. The way the band casually walks around the stage and switches instruments is incredibly comforting and beautiful to witness.
The band closes the night with ‘Stop Making This Hurt’. The song's production gives everyone another chance to shine and perform at full force. A night that started with Sinatra facing the final curtain ends with Jack telling us to say goodbye like we mean it. We do.