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Band(s): Muse Date: 2010-03-02 Venue: Wachovia Center City, State: Philadelphia, PA Reviewer: Nick
This was a show that I was on the fence about going to, but after nearly two hours of a fun and engaging show I’m very happy I hopped off the fence on the side that had me traveling to the city of brotherly love. Sitting through the opening act my friends and I speculated on what would happen with the three giant columns on the stage. I thought the sides were drapery, and they’d fall down exposing the band, a friend thought that they would raise up, and another simply hoped they would uncover video screens. Isn’t it nice when you can all be right? As the intro tape began to role the columns, which must have been at least forty foot high, lit up with video on all four sides, and then during the opening notes of “Uprising” the columns split in the middle introducing Matt, Chris, and Dom to the audience. From that point on I didn’t have a doubt in my mind that I’d be in for a spectacular visual presentation. After two songs the bottom half of the columns lowered to the floor allowing the guys full mobility as they kicked into “New Born”. By the end of that song the lighting and video effects had kicked into full effect and I realized I was seeing a show comparable to Pink Floyd back in ’94. The big difference being that, and I don’t think I’m letting out any secrets here, Muse’s music is a bit more energetic, and the guys in the band are a tad younger than the Floyd boys. Add to that the approximately half a dozen mics set up around the stage allowing Matt to fully play to the crowd and you had a truly entertaining show. For the most part the setlist was a thing of beauty, including personal favorites “Feeling Good”, “Map of the Problematique”, and “Undisclosed Desires”. The really neat thing was how nearly every song felt like it had to be in the set. So many high energy and well received songs made for a great first time seeing the band, though I can see how it might get a little old for someone seeing Muse on their third or fourth tour. The only major flub I thought was the inclusion of the first part of Exogenesis, which I don’t find a strong song to begin with, but certainly not to open the encore. Though, that was more than made up for when they closed the encore, and the night with “Knights of Cydonia”. Along with all the great songs being played there were plenty of quick heavy jams, a few song teasers, and a very cool moment where Chris went back-to-back against Dom as Dom’s platform raised from the floor while rotating around for an amazing bass and drums duet. At the end of the night I definitely left feeling I had seen something special. The band was energetic, and their show was stellar. They did a great job always having interesting videos for the screens, the stage setup was amazing, and the set was killer. You can’t ask for too much more from a show. |
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