Brian May of Queen said Muse is one of the greatest live acts of our time. He even thinks Muse are better than he was, though Muse told Brian May that Queen’s music was an influence. Having seen Muse at Coachella 2010, and hearing so many wonderful things about them, I knew it would be a great show. But now trying to describe their greatness live seems like an overwhelming task.
Muse live is like a neutron star collision, supermassive black hole, and starlight at warp speed…and that doesn’t even seem like enough. The intensity of their live act combined with the raised platforms and LED screens on the sides of the platforms gave everyone a great view. Their set towered imposingly on the stage during the opening act, ominous even though covered by screening. Humorously, bassist Wolstenholme’s screening got stuck and had to be torn down manually. Not only that, their stage set is dangerous. A fall from one of those platforms could…well, let’s not think about it.
They opened with “Uprising,” a surprising choice considering that it’s been a huge radio hit. It combines electronica with heavy-hitting guitars. But that song doesn’t come close to their most fabulous. They encouraged singing along by projecting the words on their LED screens for an audience choir of 20,000. Why not get the audience singing from the start?
For those who saw them at Coachella 2010, but this was even more amazing—even without the pyrotechnics they used then. Part of their visual interest, even for a distant audience, is that they perform in 360 fashion, seeming to visit every inch of stage at least once. Muse, particularly Matt Bellamy, could write a book on whole body performing. Even his backside is interesting to watch. The kings of grandiose physical gesture also tone it down beautifully to pull every eye to their smaller gestures. When they stood still, the audience focused every eye on them.
Not everyone viewed the concert in the same way, my seats were next to the stage and it was mindblowing to watch Dom Howard’s drumming without obstruction or depending on his image to be flashed across the screen as at Coachella. The ease and strength he possesses at the kit is an absolute wonder to behold, even from 200 feet away. Even though he spent most of his time on the kit, he used different drums for “Undisclosed Desires” which allowed him to stand close to the front of the stage. He also played orchestral timpani. He is one of the great drummers of our time for the way he rapidly alternates rhythms and styles with steady power and grace.
If he were a hip hop drummer, he would have started out with a bombastic nickname, but he’s truly earned a moniker by now: The Dominator. Find out more about The Dominator at a fan website, www.musedrums.co.uk which features drum tabs and videos. Check it out.
Longtime fans enjoyed hearing very old favorites like “Bliss,” “Plug In, Baby,” and the hard metallic drive of “Stockholm Syndrome.” There isn’t a bad song in the set. Muse can do everything musically. They cover nearly every style from the hip-hop informed beats of “Supermassive Black Hole” and funky grooving bass of “Undisclosed Desires” to space opera/ intergallactic western soundtrack material and heavy metal.
It’s pleasant to think of the band playing more intimate venues, as they once did. Even without all the bombast of their set, the show would still be amazing. But it would be sheer delight to watch Matt Bellamy play the piano and be able to see his fingers fly on the keys from a lot closer. The piano he uses in concert ranks far cooler than anything Elton John had. Under a clear top, lights change inside as he plays each note. Add Bellamy’s mirrored suit and Venetian blind sunglasses and he takes his place among the most fabulous of glam rockers.
Not everyone likes “Neutron Star Collision” because of its glamrock throwback style and connection to Twilight, though the song certainly sounds like them lyrically, vocally, and instrumentally. Muse fans ought to give Bellamy a break, he wrote it after a breakup with his longterm girlfriend in 2009. We already know he loves Queen and I’m guessing he secretly likes Leonard Cohen or Abba. The hardcore cosmonaut has often sung about his heart. Mixed in among “radio unfriendly” Stockholm syndromes, plug in babys and hard- driving supermassive black holes, they also hold the more delicate tones of “Absolution,” “Unintended” and the fragile “Soldier’s Poem” though they did not select those for this concert.
Happily, for devoted fans, Muse concerts have not become events awash with teeny-bopper Twi-hards as some may fear. Now, now Twi-hards. Before you go off in a huff, think of it differently. Longtime Muse fans want to keep Muse to themselves as much as you would like to keep Taylor Lautner (Jacob) or Robert Pattinson (Edward) to yourselves. But Matt Bella-my loves you, “Of course it doesn’t matter we have gained fans because of Twilight and that might seem to be uncool. That doesn’t bother me at all.” Honestly, just wait till you hear some of their really hard metallic-tinged stuff, the stuff that reminds us, as our parents did, that the younger generation is going to the dogs–but for real this time. (It’s also fairly certain Twi-hard moms will draw the line at Twilight soundtrack brother Cee-Lo Green’s Youtube sensation video, “F**k You!”)
Bellamy’s voice still sparkles like starlight, at times evoking a few tears in the audience. His voice has held out remarkably well for the amount of singing and performing (and partying) he’s doing on this tour. His voice cut out on him momentarily a handful of times on very top notes of songs, though that’s the peril of live singing. It’s completely excuseable. The scope, range, ambition, and virtuosity of these songs takes an intense amount of vocal power and skill, and vocal chords are really just two little folds of flesh which can bruise and blister. Using scintillating instrumentals, blues riff interludes while pianos are moved to platforms, or impromptu audience sing-alongs definitely helps pace the concert for him vocally while thrilling the audience. Fans wish Bellamy’s glorious voice to last as long as possible. Forever would be nice, if it’s not too much to ask of the universe.
One of the KROQ DJs (That was Ted Stryker, btw – Nat) riled up the crowd by asking before the show, “For how many of you is Muse your favorite band of all time?” That seems too small in scope. If the aliens are watching us, it’s because Muse is their favorite band of all time and eternity in the universe. Of course, alien rockers also enjoyed Queen’s Flash Gordon soundtrack, Depeche Mode’s Songs of the Universe and the Beastie Boys’ “Intergalactic..” But Muse catapulted themselves to intergallactic attention with atomic force because of The Resistance. Everything they do sprinkles stardust into our ears.
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