Muse

support The Zutons + The Secret Machines
author DY date 20/12/04 venue Earls Court, London, UK

I bought my ticket for this gig on a presale the second they became available. For me, Muse are the best band to have come out of Britain, and one of the best, if not the best in the world at the moment. Go watch these guys play live once, and you will see what I mean, the talent that all three members have is unbelievable. Muse have become notorious for playing the most powerful and intense shows you will see anywhere. So as you can imagine I looked forward to this gig more than any other. I had seen them play live once before at Wembley Arena, London, a year before, a gig which remains one of my favourite ever.

I arrived too late to see the first support band, The Secret Machines, play their set and only caught the last few songs of The Zutons, but I wasn't bothered in the slightest, this night was all about Muse.

Muse

I must say though, the atmosphere before Muse took to the stage wasn't quite the same as my previous experience. There was a sense of anticipation in the air, but just not as strong as before. I didn't let this get to me though, as I had no doubt Muse were once again going to put on a blinding show. The crowd up in the stands kept themselves happy with Mexican waves whilst we waited for Muse to take to the stage. I scanned the ceiling of the venue in the hope of seeing that the customary confetti filled balloons were in place, and to my delight, they were.

The band kicked off with 'Apocalypse Please', a track from their latest release, Absolution. Muse are such a powerful live act, and their style of music is perfectly suited to huge venues such as Earl's Court. Next they launch into 'Hysteria', a song released as a single, this one really got the crowd moving, and created an atmosphere much more like the one I experienced at Wembley. As they moved through the set, they played a mixture of tracks spanning their three albums, 'Showbiz', 'Origin of Symmetry' and the latest, 'Absolution'. The crowd went potty when Matt began playing the opening notes of 'Microcuts' one of my favourite Muse songs to see live. This was followed by 'Citizen Erased', another classic.

Possibly my most eagerly anticipated part of the evening was hearing the song 'New Born'. In my opinion nothing any other live act can bring, comes close to seeing Matt Bellamy holding his guitar high in the air, knowing any second he is going to launch into the most monstrous riff on the planet. Muse continued their set with one more song from 'Absolution'; the awe inspiring 'Butterflies and Hurricanes', 'Muscle Museum' a classic from their debut album, and ending with 'Bliss' and 'Plug In Baby', two blinding songs from 'Origin of Symmetry'.

Thoroughly satisfied (and exhausted) with Muse performance, I wouldn't have been disappointed if they had finished then. But they returned to the stage with 'Time is Running Out', another single from the new album, and 'Blackout'.

Not content with leaving it there, Muse returned once more to end on an explosive note with the insane 'Stockholm Syndrome', complete with balloons, confetti and giant balloons filled with confetti raining down upon the crowd. The whole arena was awash with colour as Muse ended their set.

What else can I say? The whole concert was sheer brilliance. As far as live shows go, Muse are the absolute pinnacle. 'Amazing'.

10

Setlist:

  • 1. Apocalypse Please
  • 2. Hysteria
  • 3. TSP
  • 4. Sing For Absolution
  • 5. Microcuts
  • 6. Citizen Erased
  • 7. Piano Interlude
  • 8. Space Dementi
  • 9. Ruled By Secrecy
  • 10. Piano Interlude
  • 11. Sunburn
  • 12. New Born
  • 13. Butterflies And Hurricanes
  • 14. Muscle Museum
  • 15. Bliss
  • 16. Plug In Baby
  • -- Encore --
  • 17. Time Is Running Out
  • 18. Blackout
  • -- Encore --
  • 19. Stockholm Syndrome
  • 20. Outro Riff

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