On Sunday, October 15, 2023, Italian rock sensation Måneskin took over the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre at UBC. Although doors officially opened at 7:30 PM, die-hard fans began lining up before 10 AM for the 8:30 PM show. With no opening act, the arena buzzed with anticipation until the lights cut out and the quartet launched straight into their headline set.
From the very first riff, Måneskin’s energy was electric: there was crowd-surfing across the sea of hands, then lead singer Damiano David strode through the seating bowl mid-song—performing an entire track on the opposite side of the arena before sprinting back to center stage. His adrenaline was so intense he nearly stumbled back onto the main stage from the seats. After the tumble, he quickly recovered and pretended nothing had happened, though the crowd’s collective gasp and cheers to make sure he was okay only underscored how invested everyone was in the moment.
The production was massive: kinetic lighting, smoke plumes, and giant video projections made every chorus feel like a tidal wave. When they dropped into their smash hit “I Wanna Be Your Slave,” the crowd roared in unison, filling the rafters with punk-tinged euphoria.
Near the end of the night, Måneskin invited a handful of VIP ticket holders onstage to sing and dance along to “Kool Kids.” Among them was an “alt granny” who absolutely danced her heart out center-stage—her fearless joy was so inspiring that I aspire to have that same spirit when I’m her age!
Together they closed out the encore, capping off a night where barriers between performer and audience simply didn’t exist.