Muse Concert Recap

Amazing. Mind-blowing. Sensory overload. Muse.

As I am sitting here enjoying a cup of green tea, compliments of Julian, Alex, and Anthony and their awesome hot water dispenser, I’m still in a sort of shock.

The Muse concert was, simply put, phenomenal. I went with the Dow sisters to the Oracle Arena in Oakland tonight to catch Muse’s last concert of their 2010 Resistance Tour. They didn’t disappoint.

Arriving at the arena, I immediately noticed that it was much smaller than the Staples Center. Which was a good thing, because now we had a chance to get closer to the stage. We did buy general admission tickets, after all.

After finding a very good spot on the floor, probably 30 feet away from stage, we waited in anticipation for the concert to start. The Silversun Pickups, whom I listened to frequently when their album Swoon first came out, opened the concert.

They performed a great set, starting with my favorite song off Swoon, “Growing Old Is Getting Old.” As soon as the drums crashed into the mellow, guitar driven song, and I felt the vibration of the bass guitar and the ringing in my ears, I knew that it was going to be a good night.

Silversun Pickups performed a few more songs, mostly from their newest album, and ended with their two popular singles “Panic Switch” and “Lazy Eye.” Frontman Brian Aubert was a very funny guy, poking fun at the crowd and getting the crowd excited for the night’s events.

After a half hour hiatus due to set-up for the Muse set, the big moment finally arrived. The lights dimmed again, and the three giant pillars on stage suddenly lit up and began to show animations. Then a flash of light, and the material covering the pillar fell to the ground, revealing Muse, each band member standing on a pillar.

Muse went into their hit single “Uprising,” getting the crowd started with some awesome light effects and a catchy, sing-along chorus.

The band played a few more songs from old and new albums alike, and by the time they hit “Map of the Problematique,” I was in a state of euphoria. It dawned on me that I was listening to one of my favorite songs of one of my favorite bands, live. I was just enjoying the music and couldn’t have been happier.

The next song, “Supermassive Black Hole” continued the mood. It was such a catchy song, and with the bass and drums on full blast, it would have been impossible not to dance to the groove.

An added bonus was that Matt Bellamy played quite a handful of riffs from famous classic rock songs, including “The Star Spangled Banner” and “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” by Jimi Hendrix and “Back in Black” by AC/DC.

“United States of Eurasia” and “Take a Bow,” two piano-based Muse songs, were big hits because of the amazing Kawai grand piano that Matt played. The cover was made of  a clear and reflective material, and whenever a key was hit, a corresponding rainbow light would light up inside the piano and reflect off the cover, producing a colorful effect.

Of course, any Muse concert would be incomplete without oldies but goodies. Muse played perfect versions of “Starlight,” “Time is Running Out,” and “Plug in Baby.”

After, the band briefly left the stage and the arena was covered in darkness. They returned a minute later to play an encore, finishing their set of the night with a beautiful rendition of the first part of their “Exogenesis Symphony.” Another one of my favorite songs “Stockholm Syndrome,” followed, and Muse ended with the one and only “Knights of Cydonia.”

The concert ended, and I was in a state of happiness and shock. I was ecstatic that I had finally seen Muse live, after hearing about how amazing they were live. And they most definitively were. Muse is amazing, with a good blend of musical technicality and theatrics.

Their concert was obviously very well planned and practiced, and the extravagance and complexity of the crazy lighting left me in near-disbelief.

Brand new Muse tour shirt in hand, I left the Oracle Arena with the realization that this was one of the best concerts I had ever been to.

More Muse to come at randomtidbitsofthought.wordpress.com.