Live: Måneskin at Dublin
After two and a half years since their iconic Eurovision win, I finally got the chance – Italian rockers Måneskin came to Dublin. How did the concert go and did it live up to my expectations? You will find out in the article.
The band caught my attention right away during Eurovision 2021 with their competition song Zitti e Buoni. It was something unconventional (within Eurovision from recent years) and fresh. I still remember the first time my friends and I listened to this song and debated whether we liked it. Within a few days we were all “hooked” and when Måneskin won the whole competition, we were all over the moon.
For the first time, my friends and I tried to get tickets for their concert in February 2022 in Belgium. Tickets went on sale in September 2021 and were all gone within seconds. I remember that we were really disappointed at the time and couldn’t believe that the tickets sold out so quickly. Fortunately, the band added Dublin to the list of Rush! tour and we got tickets to the 3arena in Dublin with no problems. Now that I look back, it makes sense that their first big European tour sold out, after all, they won both Sanremo and Eurovision that year and Europe was absorbed in Italian rock mania.
The concert took place on 14 December 2023 at the 3arena in Dublin. Normally I quite follow the tours of the people I go to so I kind of know what to expect. But in this case, I didn’t and everything was a surprise. In addition to the setlist, I managed to listen to it before the concert and I knew almost all the songs. Surprisingly, the production even announced the stage times a week before the concert (Like when they will open the building that evening and when the band will come on stage. These times are normally released only in the afternoon right before the concert). That’s how we learned that Måneskin don’t have an opening act and that in that case the concert will end a bit earlier.
My opinion about opening acts is that they are usually fine, and with some of them I started actively listening to them even after that concert and went to their concerts. However, what usually happens is that the opening act plays different music than the main artist/band, and while you’re in the mood for certain music and instead have to listen to something completely different for about 30 minutes. It’s stupid, I know, but sometimes it just annoys me. So with Go_A and Måneskin I was very very happy that we avoided the opening acts.
So what were the Måneskin like?
In short: amazing. We went in quite a large group (friends brought their husbands with them) and we sat opposite the stage and not to the side, which is always a win. Or at least I thought so. Quite enthusiastic fans were sitting in the row in front of us, and right in front of me there were children who simply had to stand for the entire concert. Even for slow songs. So in order to see something, I also had to stand up and I felt sorry for the people behind me (I’m quite tall).
As for the concert itself – I had a headache all day and it stopped shortly before the concert. However, the moment the band started to open the evening, my headache returned. Måneskin are much louder live than, say, a pop concert. Which is great, of course, but my head wasn’t expecting it. Coincidentally, I took my Loops with me to the concert (this is not an advertisement, pretty please). They are earplugs, but they are different from ordinary earplugs. They have a special shape, so you can sleep with them. In addition, they are built in such a way that they only minimize the sound/noise and do not block it completely. Loops come in several variants – I currently only have the Quiet variant, which is recommended for sleeping. However, I must say that they served me well at the concert – the music was muted, so my head didn’t hurt so much, and at the same time, Damiano’s voice stood out beautifully. In the future, I would like to purchase the Experience Pro version, which is recommended for concerts.
Damiano otherwise did not speak much during the concert. Not once did he mention Eurovision or Sanremo, but then again, they’ve played so many concerts since then that they’ve had all the necessary mentions. On the other hand, when he spoke, it was worth it – once he got the introduction to a song wrong and the second time he got the name of the new album wrong haha The fans didn’t mind these misspokes at all, because the band made up for it not only with an energetic concert, but also with direct contact with the audience – several times Thomas, Vic and Damiano not only came to the barrier, but also literally climbed into the auditorium. At the end of the concert, Ethan let himself be “couch-surfed” in the audience. During the punk Kool Kids, selected female fans were then allowed onto the stage directly next to the band (so at least I understood that they were fans and not so-called paid bushes from the production).
Despite the headache, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the concert and will definitely want to go again in the future (as I simply have to, I hardly listen to anything else from that concert and I can’t help it). I have to admit that I wasn’t quite sure if I would like the concert, I hadn’t listened to all the songs properly and I wasn’t feeling very well that day. But I’m glad that in the end it was completely different. I left excited, feeling that this was the best concert I could have done to end my 2023 concert season.
Simply, if you liked Zitti e Buoni and then other songs from socials (like a cover of Beggin) and you have the opportunity to see the band live, then just go. You will not regret. It’s really just an experience that’s worth it.
Due to recent events I must include this disclaimer: Please do not re-post any of my photos, do not attempt to get rid of the logo (it’s ugly for a reason). If you are interested in any of my photos feel free to reach out to me on Facebook or Insta. I’m usually a reasonable person. Any unauthorized use of my photos will be prosecuted.
