Måneskin performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland, Calif. on Oct. 13, 2023. Chloe Catajan/STAFF.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Some bands are built to play the largest stages possible, and Måneskin is one of them. The Italian rockers touched down at Oakland Arena on Friday at their first Bay Area appearance since a pair of sold-out gigs at the Masonic nearly a year ago. Those intimate gigs were a clear indicator of the quartet’s trajectory.

Red curtains draped the polygonal stage as the lights dimmed and fans chanted the band’s name. Flashing strobes projected the band members’ silhouettes onto the curtain. As the curtains parted, vocalist Damiano David appeared, clutching a microphone that hung from latticework overhead. Donning silver sunglasses, a cut sport coat and oversized baggy jeans, the singer launched into opener “DON’T WANNA SLEEP,” the first of about 10 tracks from their latest album, Rush!

The first part of the performance was primarily upbeat with energetic tracks like “GOSSIP” and Italian-language tune “ZITTI E BUONI.” What was most impressive was when David pointed the mic to the crowd during the latter song’s chorus and many enthusiastically sang right along. It seemed David asked the crowd to sing most often on the Italian songs.

Måneskin performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland, Calif. on Oct. 13, 2023.

“I’ve gotta take my glasses off to see all you motherfuckers,” David said, getting chatty early on.

Måneskin is at the intersection of fashion and rock, managing to harness the larger-than-the life bombast of days gone by. At Oakland Arena, bassist Victoria De Angelis and guitarist Thomas Raggi were the engine that made the car run, fusing raw passion with skill. Drummer Ethan Torchio provided a reliable and steady backbeat. The band’s collective kinetic energy was something to behold.Even newer songs like “HONEY (ARE U COMING?)” and “SUPERMODEL” kept the crowd singing, clapping and jumping along.

“This new song deserves to be introduced even if it doesn’t need a presentation,” David said before launching into the band’s first smash, “Beggin.”

Multiple times, each member took turns getting close to the crowd, either standing on the barricade while playing or even crowd-surfing. De Angelis was consumed entirely by fans as she walked from one side of the floor to the other through the general admission section while performing. There’s so much trust required of an audience to pull of something like that off.

Måneskin performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland, Calif. on Oct. 13, 2023.

“We’re a loud band, we need a loud crowd,” David said after not getting the initial response he was looking for in hyping up the crowd. Måneskin then charged through new track “THE DRIVER” before rolling out “Find Your Love,” which had the arena going dark and David shining a trio of flood lights far into the crowd and toward his bandmates.

During captivating crowd-pleaser “Gasoline,” a massive triangular rig of stage lights dropped to right above the band. Six narrow columns of fire burned behind the four and even David’s microphone was set ablaze.

After a quick break, the band returned to a second smaller stage at the back of the arena for a pair of acoustic songs.

“We apologize for the delay, we thought the way to get here was a lot shorter,” David said with a smile on his face. “We all make mistakes.”

Måneskin performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland, Calif. on Oct. 13, 2023.

Raggi and David shined on “Timezone” and “IF NOT FOR YOU,” with a cigarette hanging from David’s mouth on the latter track as he delivered in his signature rasp. A drum and bass interlude brought the full back back to the stage for “I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE,” during which David had the crowd kneel down low before jumping upward.

“How many Italians are here? Are you sick of Italian stereotypes?” the frontman asked prior to “MAMMAMIA.” Di Angelis and Raggi locked in at the front of the stage, ferociously jamming and soloing on the track.

One of the biggest surprises of the the night was a cover of Kendrick Lamar’s “HUMBLE.” The band rearranged the song but this new take honored the original in its simplicity. It also worked as a natural transition into Italian-language song “IN NOME DEL PADRE,” which had a rap-like cadence to it.

“Sometimes we’re so angry at someone, we run out of insults,” Domino said as an intro to “BLA BLA BLA.” “This song is for that.”

Then, during the rousing “KOOL KIDS,” about two dozen fans were brought on stage to dance. They got on their knees to mimic Di Angelis and gave bowed to Raggi during his closing guitar solo like Wayne and Garth to Alice Cooper in “Wayne’s World.” Måneskin wound down with an extended looped guitar solo and pointed ballad “The Loneliest,” before concluding with a second round of “I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE”—complete with the jumping bit all over again.

There was no opening act but Oakland Arena was still mostly full by the time the show started, even as early arriving fans showed up to a police investigation that had delayed the opening of the parking lots. According to social media posts by concertgoers, police were investigating a suspicious backpack that was abandoned near the venue.

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald. Follow photographer Chloe Catajan at Instagram.com/riannachloe.