Muse Concert Review
Thursday, March 4th, 2010Muse is an alternative rock band from Devon, England that is still comprised of the original members:
Matthew Bellamy — lead vocals, guitar, piano
Christopher Wolstenholme — bass, backing vocals
Dominic Howard — drums and percussion
Muse Performing at the Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA
“Muse is known for their energetic and extravagant live performances.”[1][2][3]
– Wikipedia
Lincoln Park said they hoped to one day be able to surpass Muse as the best live show.
Muse is also known for the fusion of many music genres, including progressive rock, classical music and electronica. Though unique in their sound, there are subtle resemblances to Queen, Dream Theater and Nine Inch Nails.
On March 2, 2010, they brought their live show to the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Silversun Pickups opened the show with an energy packed set. There were 3 giant building-like towers behind them on the stage. After they left the stage, 3 men wearing harnesses were winched above the towers. The men mounted lighting and camera rigs as if they were getting on horses.
The stadium went black and the 3 towers turned into a large screen multimedia show. The centers of the towers opened up with each member of Muse on their own little separate stages. The entire crowd rose to their feet as the first beats of Uprising pounded out. The arena was packed from the general admission area on the floor to the tip-top of the ceiling. Muse did their part to make sure everyone could feel and experience the impact of the show no matter where they were standing.
The sound had a nice, hard edge… screaming guitar… powerful bass lines… pounding drums. They had a forth musician on keyboards that was out of the lights; nevertheless, the show was much more “real” than anticipated. The music and energy were being created by real people in real time. The pure magnitude of the music had Muse live up to their reputation.
Add in the tasty eye-candy, and it is hard to imagine how a stage show could be any better. The giant towers would expand or collapse depending on the elements of the song. At one point in the show, Matthew Bellamy was raised into one with a baby grand piano. Dominic Howard would often be raised into the middle of one with his mini-stage spinning “in-the-round”. Sometimes the towers were used like projection screens with shots of the musicians or audience on the large screen TV’s. Other times, the towers were used like a light show.
There were also little stages with steps leading up to them on both sides of the stage. Mathew might be singing and playing guitar on one, then run down the steps, across the stage and up the other side.
Speaking of eye-candy, at one point in the show giant balloons made to look like eyeballs were released into the crowd. There was always plenty to watch.
The end result was every seat in the house was pretty darn good. No matter where you were sitting there was a good seat to watch a great show.