Go big or go home
It's been a really long time since my last arena show. I saw Neil Young play half of the Allstate arena, but that place is a dump so it doesn't count. No, the last indoor arena show I saw was Disturbed way back in high school. Awesome show. That kind of music fills the stadium. Muse's sound is even more epic. I can't think of a better way to kick off a St. Patty's day weekend that saw me on a bus drinking green beer next to a green river the following afternoon.
We didn't have great seats, but we could see everything that was going on, and that was more than enough. Mathew Bellamy, the lead singer/guitarist/pianist, has an unfair amount of talent. I'm not a trained musician, and I was probably 500 feet away in the cavernous United Center, but I still KNEW that he hit every single note and played every riff perfectly. Attempting to sing along with him is an exercise in futility.
The setlist was money. These guys know what their audience wants. For those that care, here it is:
Uprising, The Resistance, New Born, Map of the Problematique, Supermassive Black Hole, Guiding Light, Hysteria, United States of Eurasia, Ruled by Secrecy, Drum n Bass jam, Undisclosed Desires, Starlight, Unnatural Selection, Time is Running Out, Plug in Baby, E: Exogensis Symphony Pt I: Overture, Stockholm Syndrome, Knights of Cydonia
When they opened up with the first two tracks off of their new album I got a little worried that they were gonna play the whole album straight through, which would have been disappointed if only because that would force the band to ignore so many other good songs. My fears were assuaged when they proceeded to blast through New Born and dominate the rest of the set.
I love Muse. One of my favorite bands. And while I was watching this show, I got to thinking about how drastically different they are from, say, a jam band. I love a good, long jam that shows off a band's instrumental prowess. But Muse is the furthest thing from that. Every note is played for maximum effect; there is no wasted motion. That style of play, when handled by people with as much talent as this band, can be just as rewarding as a blistering, 500 note solo from a guitarist in a jam band (maybe more so).
This was a 5 star show, and a top notch weekend! Here are some high quality live videos from their DVD "H.A.A.R.P. Live at Wembley Stadium" to give you an idea of what it was like:
The Closer
The band's youtube channel is pretty bangin too:
http://www.youtube.com/user/muse
Stew
nice
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