Muse
by Dom Gourlay, pictures by Gary Wolstenholme [Edit this content]
▾ 32 comments 10:58 November 21st, 2006
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Now forgive me if I'm wrong, but surely the whole point of going to see an artist live in the flesh is to get that mix of spontaneity, something unexpected and ultimately beguiling.
Well, I suppose the last two are evident in abundance tonight - if anyone had told me that Muse's hour-long set would consist exclusively of current album Black Holes And Revelations played in its entirety, chronologically no less, I'd probably have laughed at them and bought them a few pints of bitter for good measure.
Certainly the trio's choice of songs went against the grain, and as far away from the rest of the tour as one could possibly have imagined. At least no one could ever accuse Muse of resting on their laurels and slipping into an old routine.
On the contrary, in fact, as this is Muse we're talking about. Despite the disappointment that simmers about halfway through the show - when it became apparent that we were getting live renditions of their latest album and not a lot else - the artistry and musicianship of Messrs Bellamy, Wolstenholme and Howard does have to be seen to be believed. At times it a double take really is necessary to appreciate that there are only three of them on stage, as the likes of 'Supermassive Black Hole' and 'Knights Of Cydonia' really do sound like a thousand cities crashing down on top of each other, one after t'other. Such is the wreckless abandon with which they emphasise the balance of power and subtlety - which Muse share in equal measures - that three quite clearly is the magic number.
This show is as much about the visual element as it is the music - most bands of this kind often tend to find their sound gets muffled in the vast confines of arenas, anyway - and Muse don't disappoint. Their backdrop seems to have been lifted from Kryton's back garden and plonked randomly in the centre of the stage, while the thousands of pink balloons that greet '...Cydonia''s are a hydrogen-fuelled collage of Mr Blobby and blancmange-scented condoms.
Of course, the band don't stop with the album and nothing more: they re-emerge for a six-song encore that rescues the show from that of a strange daydream to a rapturous celebration, albeit one shorter than anticipated, as the familiar piano-led strains of 'Sunburn' segue into 'New Born' before the show arrives at its tumultuous end, a thunderous 'Stockholm Syndrome'.
All in all, then: a totally unexpected, if marginally disappointing evening that would probably have been dismissed as being irrelevant had it been anyone other than Muse. That, though, only emphasises the importance of this band as the first decade of the 21st century reaches its latter stages.
Photograph by Gary Wolstenholme
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Dont they have a live keyboardist to?
Didn't notice one.
Matt Bellamy played keys on several of the songs. There may have been someone else in the wings but there were definitely only the three of em visible - from where I was standing anyhow.
I think
they use samplers/tapes, with Dom playing to a click. Loads of bands do/did it, from U2 to King Adora. Except that King Adora used to put guitar and vocal parts on their backing track too.
I did
There is a live "knob twiddler" by the name of Morgan onstage. He plays some keys on Sarlight et al, and makes all those bloopy noises go by pushing some buttons. And he plays bass on one song.
They do.
Morgan Nicholls. He used to be the bassist for The Streets, and filled in for Chris on the Absolution tour when he broke his hand. They then took him on as a full time member of the live band. To the best of my knowledge, he doesn't do anything in the studio.
He also played bass on Hoodoo at Nottingham, when Chris took on guitar duties.
The reactions to this show that I've seen seem to vary wildly - some loved it, some were underwhelmed. I fall firmly into the former category. When I realised, around Soldier's Poem, that they had played the album in order to that point (and then continued to do so) I knew we were getting something unique.
In a few years time, this could be looked back on as something akin to Radiohead playing OK Computer in full. And I was there. This was a first, anywhere in the world, ever.
And realistically, looking at setlists from the rest of the tour, all we really missed out on was Bliss and Butterflies and Hurricanes. A shame, yes. The end of the world, no.
Blimey!
That's unexpected, given that they didn't do it any other night.
I would loved to have seen that.
wow?
Its hardly a unique thing to do now - see all those don't look back gigs - and i kind of like not knowing exactly which song is coming next. Can't imagine it was anything other than great fun all the same
When I made my post, It was second in line
I maybe should've clicked 'reply', rather than post a comment...
I'm a fool !!
Off to see muse tonight and being that I'm lazy (and skint quite a lot) i haven't got round to buying the new album yet. fuck !
The noisettes....
Any comments on the support or aren't they important enough?
that sounds utterly..
...utterly tedious.
the noisettes...
...are sex.
Track Listing
Although a band like Muse who care about making proper ALBUMS (as opp to the usual jumble of a few singles and loads of fillers), would probably structure the track listing, using segues and run-ins where necessary, to make listening to the album beginning to end feel like a journey...i.e. a live show. ..so playing the album beginning to end should feel like a good live set??
(I'm now imagining QOTSA playing Rated R in the same way...just imagine!)
Didn't watch
The Noisettes. The warm confines of The Old Angel seemed a better proposition having heard their last few singles. Oh well...
...
they were crap. Though the drummer must be related to Animal from the Muppets.
I was disappointed too...
As much as I like Black Holes... to play it all the way through didn't strike me as a great idea. I went hoping they'd play most of the great songs from Origin of Symmetry and Absolution (Bliss, Plug In Baby, Newborn, Darkshines, Feeling Good, Time Is Running Out, Stockholm Syndrome, Hysteria, Butterflies & Hurricanes), plus maybe half of BH&R. And the stage show didn't particularly overwhelm me either - I've seen better at the Rescue Rooms.
I can't say it was £30 wasted, though.
Their singles
(or should that be singer?) remind me of a noisier Bell Rays, who I also found dull.
I've heard various contradictory reports
about how this came about.
At least 2 theories suggest that it was a very last minute decision to play the album in full.
Apparently (I didn't see it happen, but I wasn't watching too closely) about 5 minutes before Muse came on, a roady came out and tore up the set lists he had previously laid down a few minutes earlier, and replaced them with fresh ones.
Another suggestion I've heard was that after Take A Bow, Chris started playing Time Is Running Out, and Dome started Starlight. They then carried on with Starlight, and it went from there. This could be linked to the first theory, in that there was still some lingering confusion as to what the set was at the start.
Finally, it could've just been something that they had planned for a while, to do on the tour, and they chose Nottingham to do it.
Hmmm... I can see the logic in this
but you really need to wait for an album to become a classic if you want it to work as it did for Metallica playing 'Master of Puppets' in its entirety at Download this year.
Metallica...
were f*cking awesome at Download. Best festival performance I've ever seen.
i wish i saw this.
and the ok computer thing.
:(
he wasn't...
wearing that outfit at the gig!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ouch...
glad they didnt do that at newcastle ! got a mix of origin, absolution and blackholes ! would of enjoyed hearing 'showbiz' but otherwise awesome!
the pic was taken in Sheffield
I hadn't a hope in hell of getting to Nottingham.
er.....
am I the only person who thinks that Muse are terrificly overrated? I mean I've had it with this pseudo-classical whiny pomp rock. It's awful, it really is.
'In a few years time, this could be looked back on as something akin to Radiohead playing OK Computer in full' - whoever said that is out of their fucking mind I'm afraid. Just not in the same league as Radiohead.
im genuinely surprised!
i'd have thought you guys would have liked em. What's not to like? ballsy sound, great original singer, top musicianship. you seen them live?
methinks you act with too much haste!
"er.....am I the only person who thinks.."
evidently.
What?!
Are you mad?! That was one of the most spectacular stage shows I've seen. Each track was accompanied by unique visuals and lighting matched to the song. When has an army of bad-ass robots marching to the beat of Supermassive Black Hole ever been dull? Were you watching from behind your hands or something?
And as for the setlist, well this is the BLACK HOLES & REVELATIONS tour not the Absolution tour, so you'd kinda expect the setlist to be heavy on new material. I can see why playing the new album in it's entirety and in order is dividing some people, but it's a one-off, I doubt it's something they'll repeat often. If you wanted a greatest hits setlist you probably shoulda gone to Reading or Leeds.
As for the "I've seen better stage shows at the rescue rooms" comment... I can olny suggest this must have been down to the crack that you were smoking...
Not in the same league as radiohead
...yeah, radiohead are shit...
They did the whole album thing again
at Wembley last night.
And they got Bliss and Feeling Good, and live trumpets in City of Delusion and Knights of Cydonia as well. That makes me a sad panda :(
In Manchester...
They played a mix of tracks, but only Muscle Museum off of showbiz. Playing the whole album live would have been pretty spectacular but think i would have missed the (better) old tracks esp. butterflys, P in B, Muscle Museum and suchlike. However, they're the best.
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