Review + Photos: Måneskin Dazzle a Sold Out Crowd at Madison Square Garden

The recent VMA Award-winning band are one of rock ‘n’ roll’s new torchbearers

Il rock and roll è vivo e vegeto.

Last night, rock upstarts Måneskin dazzled the capacity crowd crowd with an energetic performance at the historic Madison Square Garden. The group is fresh off their win for Best Rock Video at the MTV Video Music Awards, where they also performed their latest single. The ceremony took place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, serving as a preview of coming attractions. Just a few days later, the band stepped up into the Big Apple, and took the World’s Most Famous Arena by storm.

Check out our full live photo gallery and setlist from the show below.

A velvety curtain draped over the entire stage is fans started to fill in. As the group’s set time inched closer, the energy in the venue was palpable. Chants of “Må-ne-skin!” grew louder and louder, the the curtain dropped causing a deafening roar from the audience.

They kicked things off with “DON’T WANNA SLEEP,” and from there it was a barrage of pure rock fury. The group has everything one could want in a rock band. Catchy hooks, fun lyrics, and a stage presence that’s dripping with sexiness. When you see them live, it’s not all too surprising their headlining arenas now (with no opening act).

Just four songs in, the band broke out their latest cut, HONEY (ARE U COMING?). Released on September 1, the stand-alone single follows their current studio album RUSH! which arrived back in January through Epic Records. Later, they gave The Garden the ultimate surprise and debuted a brand new, never-recorded song – “THE DRIVER.” The song tune has a solid groove to it, and fit nicely in the band’s repertoire.

Måneskin seemed to be a bit of a fad, but they proved all the doubters wrong last night. They stepped onto arguably the biggest stage in the world with poise and plenty of charisma. They weren’t just entertaining to watch, either. They sounded tight, and it was stripped down and simple – no extra frills, just a four piece rock band bringing the noise. Of course, they look every bit the part as well. Each band member donned a custom outfit from fashion juggernaut Stella McCartney. Rock ‘n’ roll is carrying on, and Måneskin is one of the genre’s new torchbearers.

Come next festival season, Måneskin could very well be topping big rock festival bills in the U.S. and Europe. Sadly, with the deaths of musicians like Chris Cornell (Soundgarden), Chester Bennington (Linkin Park), and Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell of Pantera, among others, the recycled list of headliners is shrinking significantly. With all due respect their greatness, Foo Fighters and Slipknot can only close out so many festivals before folks want something new. Along with contemporaries Greta Van Fleet (who also sold out The Garden just a few days ago), Måneskin are that something new – like it or not. As the band launches the biggest tour of their career so far on this continent, Ozzy Osbourne pulling out of Power Trip – which also features the likes of Metallica, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, and Judas Priest – reminded us all of the career mortality of rock music’s original guard.

And, to whom is may concern – a Måneskin and Greta Van Fleet co-headlining stadium tour seems like a pretty sweet idea for next summer.

If people don’t want to get down with Måneskin’s new brand of rock, especially in America, perhaps their incredible success will be a wake-up call to rally support behind acts like The Struts, Crobot, Rival Sons, Alter Bridge, and others who also deserve to take their place among the new guard of arena headliners. If rock fans can’t bring themselves to do that, then they’re going to have to sit back idly and watch rock music live out its last days on life support.

Thankfully, though, bands like Måneskin, Greta Van Fleet, and others are ushering in a new era of guitar-driven music while storied acts like Aerosmith and KISS are on their final tours.

Måneskin were recently the subject of New York Times piece foolishly titled, “Is Maneskin the Last Rock Band?” While the press was great for the band, we can say with certainty that Måneskin are not the last rock band – not by a long shot. The acts mentioned in the last paragraph are a solid start to the list of rock bands that are incredibly relevant right now. Plus, bands like Shinedown and Avenged Sevenfold are still charting well and packing big venues. Måneskin are not the last rock band, and hopefully on this run of shows they will serve as a gateway band for fans to explore everything else the genre has to offer.

To bring the evening to close, Måneskin wrapped things up with a two-track encore. The band played their hit single “THE LONELIEST,” followed by another rendition of their fan favorite, “I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE.” It’s safe to say that the crowd could have listened to it another two or three times.

“Thank you, Madison Square Garden,” Damiano said as Raggi ripped on his guitar and De Angelis thundered away on her bass as an outro. “We’re fuckin’ Måneskin.”

Thanking a sold out crowd at the most legendary venue in the world with a statement like that is the ultimate sign that rock music is alive and well, no matter how much some people seem to want it to die.