Muse!

As my husband and I were walking out of the US Airways Center after the Muse concert on March 16, we both said, "That is the best concert I've seen since...." Neither one of us could finish the sentence. Does that mean this is the best concert we have ever seen? That is saying a lot because we are OLD! My husband has seen the Talking Heads play at the Night Train in the late 70s. I saw the Clash's Combat Rock tour and U2's Unforgettable Fire tour. Really? Muse in 2013. The best concert ever??


I was so happy that a couple of the early songs were from my favorite album, Black Holes and Revelations. Whenever I listened to that album in the past, I thought some of the great sounds must have been fancy studio work. After hearing Muse live, I realize that three guys can really make a big sound! Okay - there was a fourth guy on stage, but for whatever reason, you never hear about this fourth member of Muse. I think he was playing keyboards.

Matthew Bellamy's voice is even better live than on the recordings. I knew Bellamy was an amazing piano player, but the guy can really play guitar too. Christopher Wolstenholme's song "Liquid State" was not a highlight, but his amazing bass playing more than made up for this slight misstep.

I admit I was a bit ambivalent about going to the Muse concert because the hits from the new album, 2nd Law, are not my favorites. After hearing "Panic Station" and "Madness" live, I have a greater appreciation for these songs. I really loved Bellamy's sunglasses in "Madness" with selected lyrics appearing on his glasses on the large video screen. Speaking of video screens, I am not usually impressed by all of the theatrics, but the pyramid of screens, lasers and smoke were perfect accompaniments to the great music.

"Uprising" was one of my favorite songs of the night because of the audience participation. I felt like I WAS part of an uprising, pumping raised fists with everyone else. "We will be victorious!"

I am showing my age when I say that this may be the first big concert I have attended where people call for the encore with their cell phones instead of a lighter. It was quite a magical moment that I enjoyed almost as much as "Starlight," the first song of the encore.

We spent way more money on this evening than we usually spend on a night of music and it was worth every penny. Did anyone else see this concert? What did you think?

~ Sandy