Spotted: the mainstream sensations of glam-rock strut their way onto the stage of the O2 Arena.
Tantalizing the crowd with their flashing silhouettes and an extended instrumental session before lifting the red curtain, Måneskin kicks off their biggest London show yet with a bang, with ‘Don’t Wanna Sleep’.
Immediately they bring their all, giving an exuberant performance that balances their vintage-y black and white screen stylizations perfectly. The concert truly feels like it welcomes everybody; whether they are sporting dramatic eyeliner and spiked boots, an oversized jacket with a loose tie, or a graphic tee and jeans, the concert-goer is encouraged to dance, laugh, and yell to their heart's content.
Having started out as buskers in Rome, by the time the band had made it through the rounds of Eurovision, they were a #bigdeal in Italy. Since then, they have become an international phenomenon, and a bridge between diverging genres. In their own words,
Måneskin acts as “a translation of music from the past into modernity”.
Early into the night, they dip into the greatest hits of their repertoire. ‘Own My Mind’ works as a new sonic anthem for the band, with a catchy chorus that works its magic during crowd chants. The intro has the edge and flair characteristic of Måneskin.
The crowd eats it up: word, rhythm, and pitch perfect in every chant, from the chorus in ‘Timezone’ to the ratatata of their cover ‘Beggin’’. ‘Beggin’’ has an instantly electrifying effect on the stage that’s hard to conceptualize when listening to it on the phone. The song is introduced as a number that has been significant in propelling them to stardom, and for which he discloses people may be sick of hearing but the band “really doesn’t give two shits” because it’s so darn catchy.
Soyoon's own images.
Like ‘Beggin’’, ‘Zitti e Buoni’ and ‘I Wanna Be Your Slave’ are big crowd pleasers. The color-changing strobe lights, the pyrotechnic effects during ‘Gasoline’, and the flared leather and platform boots of the band members do not intimidate, rather invite. ‘Il Donno Della Vita’, with its sultry blue lighting and tentative crescendos, provides a refreshing contrast to the more hyped-up numbers of the night, demonstrating their loyalty to ballads and music with more emotional depth.
As if challenged by Damiano’s quip that if there are any Italians in the crowd (and there are tons - “stupid question, this is London”) that don’t sing along to the next song, “you fucking suck”, the crowd isn’t dettered, even when the next song happens to be the fast-paced ‘La Fine’.
Now, Måneskin is actually a very divisive band. The band’s genre is wholly tinged with the flavor of rock’n’roll yet, particularly with their most recent album Rush!, it’s easy to dismiss it as nonsensical party music. Which, of course, has massive appeal, as seen by how the band continue to make their mark on the UK music charts, but it can exclude the band members from that elusive title of artist.
While their Italian lyrics strive for a certain poetry - as can be heard through the emotionally charged, beautifully tragic ‘Coraline’ - their English lyrics often seem to go in a different direction. When the band’s not busy paying tribute to their many influences, Damiano croons on in hackneyed phrases that often becomes a superficial celebration of youth, sex, and rebellion. ‘Bla Bla Bla'’ and ‘Gossip’ in particular conform to this pattern.
But on the stage, this ceases to matter much. The frontman’s delivery - unflinchingly camp and charismatic - rejoices in this very aimlessness and excess of pure emotion and turns it into something valid and hauntingly soulful. In any respect, what no one can deny is that these people know how to have a good time.
They do not shy away from the exciting, the extravagant (though their stage setup is far from tastelessly excessive), and the energetic. They like to have unadulterated fun, and they like to include their audience in the fun: Damiano’s engaging, irreverent banter in between songs; Victoria’s rapturous bass-playing, complete with floor crawls and poses for the camera; Ethan’s confused expressions and drum fills that tease the close to every song; and Thomas’s killer solos that are only slightly undermined by the fact that he spends the better part of the evening arduously trying to keep a really dumb cowboy hat on, only to end up taking it off so he can properly shred on the guitar.
All in all, the Måneskin ends with a bang. Well, technically multiple bangs. The official last song of the night is ‘Kool Kids’ - where the band follows their concert tradition for which “the world hates us” and brings in members of the audience to join them onstage. Then, after clamors from the ever-patient audience, they come out with ‘Loneliest’, with an instrumental guitar solo by Thomas drives the emotions home. They end with a reprise of ‘I Wanna Be Your Slave’, proving once and for all that the enthusiasm shared between them and their audience is one that cannot be replaced by anything else.
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