Måneskin’s Dublin debut at 3Arena: The Italian rockers hold nothing back

Måneskin

3Arena

★★★★☆

When Måneskin first strutted on stage at Eurovision 2021, the Italian glam-rock/pop outfit were known only in their homeland, having busked on the streets and competed on the Italian X Factor series. After three minutes of Zitti E Buoni and Damiano David’s electrifying stage presence in Rotterdam, everything changed. Two years and a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist later, Måneskin is a global entity. Despite Ireland giving them douze points, the quartet of front David, bassist Victoria De Angelis, guitarist Thomas Raggi, and drummer Ethan Torchio, had never performed on Irish soil until Thursday night.

With an early start at 8.15pm and no support act, the theatrical quartet were making sure they had a near-two hour set all to themselves. Shimmering red curtains and a mammoth lighting system greeted the crowd before the booming rock riffs of Don’t Wanna Sleep and Gossip kick-started the show in riotous style.

“How many Italians are in the crowd tonight?” David asks with a grin, gaining a deafening cheer in response. Many fans couldn’t get tickets in the band’s homeland, which may explain the lack of “Olé Olé Olé” chants. (The Olé chant in Ireland goes back to Italia 1990, though the actual cheer harks back to Spanish bullfighting. Nevertheless - the Irish at gigs have made it their own, but the audience at the 3Arena didn’t get the memo, though.)

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Blazing through Zitti E Buoni and their cover of Four Seasons’ 1967 hit Beggin, fan favourite I Wanna Be Your Slave whips the crowd into a frenzy. David’s raw vocal talent sounds at its best in tracks like Coraline, a powerful rock ballad that strips away some of the more laughable sexual references and theatrics, with breathtaking results. Sure, nobody can deny his aesthetic appeal, which he uses to his advantage with expert charisma, but his talent is bona fide.

Much has been said about Måneskin’s electrifying live sets, particularly David’s commitment to camp, number of set list surprises and eye-wateringly loud guitar solos. Raggi and Angelis adore interacting with the crowd, sprinting down to the front and jumping through the fans whenever they get a chance – much to the presumed panic of security. Torchio even gets involved after the encore.

[ Måneskin: ‘People are going to talk s**t about you. It’s part of the game’ ]

Armed with a U2 cover of One – “playing it safe”, as David says, likely referencing the pressure of covering Shane MacGowan – pyrotechnics, platform PVC boots and even a (slightly cringe) moment of having front-row fans on stage for Kool Kids. Måneskin threw everything and the kitchen sink at Dublin. Here’s hoping they’ll return soon, and the crowd will be less sleepy to the Olé chant legacy.