Attention Rolling Stones, U2, and virtually every major rock act of the past 10 years and beyond. There is a new rock sheriff in town and they go by the name of Muse.Going into Friday evening’s concert with Muse at the United Center in Chicago, I obviously knew and enjoyed their songs and understood fully what they were about as band. What I didn’t know was how many others knew what I knew and more. As I walked toward the seats amidst a minor, but decent crowd, I figured what I had thought all along had come true; Muse was a little too big for its britches and chose the wrong arena venue to further their path toward rock main-stream superstardom. However, as Silversun Pickups took to the stage (and played a phenomenal opening set) I couldn’t help but notice the entire arena applauding a little louder, chattering a bit more, and filling up. By the time the Pickups exited, even the seats behind the skyscraperish stage were filled up. Weird. Muse? Really? It all started from there.
The band came onstage after a tremendous light show introduction with the crowd almost hysterical. The skyscrapers opened with Muse 15 feet in the air, each one in their own skyscraper, rocking the first single, Uprising, off their newest record, The Resistance. Is there a more perfect song to get a concert started? If there is, I certainly can’t think of one quickly. The Chicago crowd was eating from the palm of their hands from there on out. Up next was the current single, Resistance, a song that the crowd loved singing along to. Following that was New Born, an electric song alone, but Muse turned it up 10 notches with a blinding green laser light show. In any other circumstance a light show such as this one could have bordered on annoying. Not with this song. Not with this crowd. Not with this band. It fit as perfectly as a Britney Spears costume change. Yes, Muse, in only three songs, created madness unheard of in an arena that big when you aren’t named U2.
Muse kept on rolling from there, cranking out hits such as Super Massive Black Hole and Hysteria, along with the melodic ballads they are known for such as Guiding Light and United States Eurasia. Aside from electrifying the crowd without saying one word, Muse lead singer and guitarist Matthew Bellamy was in pristine form all evening long hitting every note perfectly on both the guitar and his vocals. Muse’s sound allows for and needs relatively complex drumming to accompany its unique counterparts and drummer Dominic Howard proved it can be done just as good if not better in a live setting than in the studio. From the first note in Uprising to the last song of the night, Howard made the complex beats look as if he was playing When The Saints Go Marching on a single snare. Bassist Christopher Wolstenholme added his expertise to the trio as well. Along with nailing the background vocals all evening long, Wolstenholme held the entire set together seamlessly with heavy bass grooves and underrated melodic accompaniment.
To close out a mastery of a set, the band chose mega huge hit Starlight, Unnatural Selection, Time Is Running Out, and Plug In Baby. Not unlike the rest of the concert, the entire crowd in unison chimmed in on Starlight, clapping the drum part, and belting the lyrics. Though Unnatrual Selection is a newer tune those in the audience who knew the song well sang along and the others watched in mesmerized fashion as the band scorched through with passion and dedication. A blistering version of Time Is Running Out led into the perfect closer of Plug In Baby which ended with Bellamy going off on his guitar, swinging it in circles and driving him into the ground where he laid for the remainder of the set. The distortion of the guitar remained on stage as the band exited to a thunderous applause of jolted, electric, and satisfied but hungry, rabid Chicago fans.
Muse opened their encore with a slow and smooth “Symphony” from their new album. The slow rhythm and melody melted the fans into a hypnotic state for the shows final two songs, Stockholm Syndrome and Knights Of Cydonia. The ravenous guitar riffs in Stockholm promptly elicited the head-banging and fist pumping from the hypnotized fans. Knights Of Cydonia, simply put, could have been one of the most exciting moments in my concert life. The band started it off with a slow introduction in which you could imagine cowboys squaring off in an old western gun fight. From there, Bellamy hit the three notes everyone was dying to hear and rest was history. With the crowd entranced, Muse took advantage and built up a collective excitement in the audience. With the band, crowd, and probably even the geeky United Center usher, singing “No One’s Gonna Take Me Alive” that excitement bubbled over into the crowd collectively losing their mind while the band pounded out the rest of song with relentless precision and electric passion. Just as Uprising was the perfect song to start the show, Knights was the perfect choice to end it.
Overall, this was one of the best concerts I have ever been to. The interesting thing was that Muse was able to captivate the audience by letting the music do the talking. It was the music that got the place going and the music that held us all together as one as the night went on. Muse is a relatively new band with a lot left to do for the rock and roll world. They are adding new fans by the second not by changing the way they sound but by crafting and honing their own sound. With this tour, they took to the big stage for the first time ever and made the big stage seem like a backyard barbecue. It was that intimate and that special. Not every band can do that, only the best.
Rolling Stones, U2, Green Day, Pearl Jam, it doesn’t matter. Muse is on the way, gaining steam, and becoming one of the best bands in the world today.
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