The Sound of Muse-Ic
Earlier this year, I was reminiscing the brilliant back-to-back gigs I witnessed when Muse shook the foundations of the Emirates Stadium to its' core back in 2013, where although me and my fellow cronies queued for near on six hours on both the Saturday and Sunday, the quality and sheer awesomeness of the concerts that proceeded were more than worth the wait. Almost two years later, with an impending seventh album on the horizon, Muse are finally back on the road with their aptly named "Psycho Tour", consisting of six gigs at rather small venues across the UK. Fortunately for myself, I managed to bag a ticket for their final show at the Brighton Dome and it would be criminal to say that the show was anything less than perfection.
Before the show even began, Muse fans were treated to the release of the first single from the upcoming album Drones, "Dead Inside", which I heard briefly before entering the beautiful and rather intimate Brighton Dome. I could only assume therefore that we were set to hear its' first live performance that very same night. Kicking off with the riff-ology that is "Psycho", it was clear there was to be no messing around tonight, with the fulcrum of the gig being based around the trio of drums, bass and electric guitar, adhering to the bands' promise of going back to their roots. As soon as the "bum bum de bum de bum bum" riff kicked in, mosh pits were evolving and the energy between the crowd and the band were in complete sync already. Next, the crowd was treated to the magnificent "Map of the Problematique," from Black Holes and Revelations, relaying echoes of both U2 and Depeche Mode, something of which could be said of the new single which was played for the first time ever swiftly after. If "Psycho" is Full Metal Jacket, then "Dead Inside" can only be described as Atonement, with it's funky beat centered around the idea of loss and love whilst clearly outlining the central themes of the upcoming album. Also, it sounds pretty damn great live.
Accompanied by the fan-favoured "hullabaloons", the band then bashed out Origin of Symmetry single "Bliss" which ended with a jam of Rage Against the Machine's "Maggies Farm" followed by Matt Bellamy retelling of how the band stayed in Winston Churchill's house in Brighton for almost a year during the recording of their third LP "Absolution". It was only apt for the band to then play the trilogy of "Time is Running Out", "Hysteria", and "Stockholm Syndrome" from that particular album, with the latter ending with a thrash-metal version of the rocking outro to "Micro Cuts" and Bellamy jumping energetically into his on-stage amps. If that wasn't enough, the band then treated the hardcore fans, me included, to B-Side "The Groove", leaving the crowd sweaty, the band pumped, and my neck considerably damaged from the headbanging required for that particular quartet of songs.
With that carnage of rock out of the way, it was only inevitable for the band to calm things down slightly with singles "Starlight", "Supermassive Black Hole" and "Uprising" all being performed to perfection, even with Bellamy's consistent improvisations and asking the crowd to sing parts of the songs for him. It was simply magical to witness thousands of people all scream "THEY WILL NOT FORCE US" at the top of their voices, and although I had seen this at previous gigs, the acoustics of the Dome enhanced the power this particular demonstration provided. The main set concluded with new track "Reapers" channeling vibes of 80's rock artists such as Van Halen and AC/DC, not surprising when Robert John "Mutt" Lunge is the producer of their upcoming album Drones, whose previous efforts include "Highway to Hell" and "Back in Black".
After a short break, the encore consisted of rare Showbiz single, "Uno", sounding as brilliant as ever, the classic fuzzed-up "Plug in Baby", and concluded with mosh-pit magnet "Knights of Cydonia". Even with it being the seventh time I had seen them, Muse continue to impress. The sheer amount of energy they produce could stabilise the economy, and their showcasing of the new tracks has made me even more excited for the album release in June. Best gig ever? Quite possibly.
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