«Did you expect such a rocking audience in Italy?», a journalist asks Måneskin during a toast with the press at Pala Alpitour in Turin, Italy, to celebrate the start of the European tour. «Well, maybe we expected less rapture. But the feedback was unbelievable», they say with their simple manners, which almost make you forget that they are the Italian rock band most influential globally. They now collect a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, 18 Diamond records, 259 Platinum records, 51 Gold records. The dates of the European tour have already sold 350,000 tickets – with several stadiums already sold out in Italy.

On Saturday, Feb. 25, Måneskin set Turin’s Pala Alpitour ablaze (quite literally, with a burning microphone during Gasoline) since the very beginning of the show. It started with Don’t Wanna Sleep (from their new album Rush!) and continued relentlessly for the subsequent two hours. «Please forgive me», says Damiano, «but I won’t be talking too much tonight. It feels a bit embarrassing to say “raise your hands!”, “make some noise!” in Italian».

Måneskin: «Turin was a blast»

«It’s something a vocalist in a club would do», says Damiano to the journalists waiting for them in the backstage. «That’s not like me, but I did it and it was incredible». Yes, he did it even though (or because?) the audience of 13,000 people in Turin was warm and ready to jump and shout even before the start of the concert. The first fans started lining up at the gates around 4 AM.

They do not feel like strangers in their homeland. But Måneskin’s show looks designed more for the international dates than for Italy – consistently with the band’s global success. Out of 24 songs, only 7 are in Italian. Among the latter, they played Zitti e Buoni – the song that paved their way to the international charts – and the acoustic version of Torna a Casa for the most touching moment of the concert, as Damiano invites the audience to use the lights of their smartphones to illuminate the venue.

The fans jump on stage for “Kool Kids”

Relentless rock music, Damiano and Victoria’s stage diving, the audience in ecstasy, the special effects. Måneskin’s show goes on without any weak moments and keeps the audience’s adrenaline high with their smash hits. From Supermodel to I Wanna Be Your Slave, from Mammamia to The Loneliest (preceded by Thomas’ great guitar solo). From Coraline to Beggin’, «a song that we played so many times that you must’ve had enough, but we still like it», says Damiano jokingly.

The connection with the audience is not only tangible but gets literal when, towards the end of the show, Måneskin invite the first rows of “Kool Kids” to join them on stage. With their eyes still full of joy, their legs still in pain because of the jumping, warm hugs with their idols, they enjoyed a celebration that they will not forget that easily.

QUI LA VERSIONE ITALIANA

The photos of Måneskin’s concert in Turin

© Elena Di Vincenzo

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