Psycho/Drones General Tour Discussion Thread

[kueller]

I think they're sticking to 1 + Globalist.

[Zepp]

I would've thought that the gigs in A Whale's Vagina San Diego and Las Vegas might get a rarity as compensance for the last-minute re-arrangements. Or at maybe the least just digging back up Bliss or CE, even if that will probably be interpreted as a massive "fuck you" to other gigs.

 

I don't think they consider rarities a plus, because it would mean that they are aware of not playing the songs that people want. I mean, I believe they are genuinely trying to please the majority (and that they do it well). Sure, they know that harcore fans want more old songs and rarities and I agree that they should pay more attention to their bigger fans in the US, but I can't believe that they're taking the piss out of fans on purpose. Yes, the polls on TR tour were puzzling in that regard but that was a long time ago, and they have really made gestures towards us since then (R&L, T2L tour in general, the Psycho tour, the festivals...).

Edited January 3, 2016 by Zepp

[serpentsatellite]

They can easily please everyone by playing ONE or two songs for the "minority" of hardcore fans, and tailoring the rest of the damn set to the "majority."

 

In fact, having Bliss or CE in the first sets was actually doing that.

But, it was inconsistent, and then crossed out entirely, which actually did make it seem like a 'fuck you' to the consistent fans.

 

Add in actually rotating the two current "singles" from their new album, including a clear fan favorite, instead of actually extending the setlists by a song, and bringing it over festival length...

[Nicklord]

I never saw in my life fans that bitch more about setlist than Muse fans here. It's not only about the setlist (yeah, they are not the same, some are better and some are worse) but it's more about the performance, isn't it?

 

I saw Metallica in 2004 and in 2012. In 2004 they played my almost dream setlist with so many good thrash songs from the first 4 albums but that show in 2012 was far superior, one of the best shows I've ever saw in my life.

 

Yes, rotating Reapers is bad and not having at least something like NB or SS is bad too but you guys are seriously overracting. Like: "That show in Australia was better, they've go B&H and we didn't" but maybe the first show had the most epic Knights of Cydonia ever or something? I hope you understand what I want to say.

[serpentsatellite]

It's not exactly just about setlists in general. It's about what's going on with the US setlists, and what will go on with the ones outside there.

In both length, and content.

Matt's talking to fans about playing Map, TaB and Showbiz to fans, while crossing out Bliss on US setlists.

 

I think it's fair, regardless of how the "performance" feels, for fans to be upset that they're actually getting sets that are shorter than even previous tours, and that - replacing a few T2L songs with Drones ones - are damn near exactly the same as previous tours.

[forevermusic]

For me, all logic has been tossed out the window and I'm going in with neutral expectations. I learned my lesson from both nights in LA lol

 

For the sake of people who went to Vegas (and didn't go to Phoenix because it wasn't announced and the flights/hotels were booked/non-refundable), I really hope they do SOMETHING. There was a lot of fans in Vegas that got fucked over by that.

Yeah Vegas was way too short notice a cancellation. There's probably a few who would want a few rare ones as compensance, but as said, logic appears to have gone somewhere by the wayside so far on this touring campaign.

Some of the Absolution ones were amazing.

 

Citizen Erased > Apocalypse Please > Ruled By Secrecy > Space Dementia > Sunburn > Butterflies.

I thought the usual flow was CE->AP/SD->RBS->Sunburn->B&H for the 2004 festivals, with Endlessly instead of RBS on the 2003 arenas.

 

Also agreed the current tour needs more piano. I mean, if Elton John can do a gig sat at it and do lots of interaction...

There's an Italian gig where they did

 

Ruled By Secrecy > Citizen Erased > Space Dementia > Butterflies > Sunburn

 

the fuck

There's a few that had Sunburn after Butterflies, but given that period of the Absolution Tour, I doubt Rome had that. Indeed, the setlist.fm entry has the more expected setlist order, and apparently a bootleg of that gig has the order suggested.

[Nicklord]

It's not exactly just about setlists in general. It's about what's going on with the US setlists, and what will go on with the ones outside there.

In both length, and content.

Matt's talking to fans about playing Map, TaB and Showbiz to fans, while crossing out Bliss on US setlists.

 

I think it's fair, regardless of how the "performance" feels, for fans to be upset that they're actually getting sets that are shorter than even previous tours, and that - replacing a few T2L songs with Drones ones - are damn near exactly the same as previous tours.

 

I didn't say it's okay to do that but I feel that people here talk about that way too much. Yeah, it's okay to be upset but writing countless pages about that every few days is a bit too much I think. My opinion is that duration of the set is the only big problem here. You can't play 17 songs in USA and then 21 in Europe.

[Jobby]

Also agreed the current tour needs more piano. I mean, if Elton John can do a gig sat at it and do lots of interaction...

 

Thing is, I don't see why the need for interaction factors into it so much, if at all. Interaction or 'banter' just isn't something the band is good at and it's not what their live shows are/were acclaimed for. The general selling points of their shows are a big sound, energetic performances and, especially nowadays, an impressive production.

 

I don't see the point in stripping things away from the concerts, especially elements the band are known for (piano songs + guitar-playing), to focus on something next-to-nobody wants or cares about.

 

My opinion is that duration of the set is the only big problem here. You can't play 17 songs in USA and then 21 in Europe.

 

I'd be surprised if we even get that this time around tbh. I'm expecting 19/20 max.

 

Not taking away from the fact that it's wrong to fuck the US over so much. It's weird that they seem to be stuck in this awkward limbo of trying to 'make it' in the US whilst also disregarding it.

Edited January 3, 2016 by Jobby

[Alexander DeLarge]

I never saw in my life fans that bitch more about setlist than Muse fans here. It's not only about the setlist (yeah, they are not the same, some are better and some are worse) but it's more about the performance, isn't it?

 

I saw Metallica in 2004 and in 2012. In 2004 they played my almost dream setlist with so many good thrash songs from the first 4 albums but that show in 2012 was far superior, one of the best shows I've ever saw in my life.

 

Yes, rotating Reapers is bad and not having at least something like NB or SS is bad too but you guys are seriously overracting. Like: "That show in Australia was better, they've go B&H and we didn't" but maybe the first show had the most epic Knights of Cydonia ever or something? I hope you understand what I want to say.

 

For me, this tour is the straw that broke the camel's back. Living around the West Coast, I do my usual circuit, where the only reliably interesting show was Los Angeles, and we didn't even get that this time around. You say it's not about the importance of setlists, but rather the performance. I agree with this sentiment, but how can they put on a good show when they're doing the same shit night after night after night? LA1 literally got the The set is boring and they're visibly going through the motions too.

 

But then again, it's easy to come in and say these things as a new member of the site and presumably a new fan that hasn't done these shows. I did these shows instead of the UK Psycho Tour because I thought "okay, I won't get as many rarities but this album was primarily rock so they're going to tie things thematically meaning rock and politics and I can expect something comparable to festival sets". Nope.

Edited January 3, 2016 by Alexander DeLarge

[White Heat]

For those complaining about US sets:

 

 

0:22

[BeatriceB]

My two cents and partly agreeing with the above poster. I hate to admit Muse is pretty much giving us what we (the majority) want.

I have been obsessively watching compilations of past years live shows and I hate to see the deadly SILENCE North Am crowds reward those few rarities they include in their performance as opposed to Europe/some SAmer. that go wild as soon as they start the riff of the most obscure of their songs (not that they really do it often at all...).

 

But then again... they seem to me a proud bunch aren't they? so what goes first the rarity or the crowd loving?

.

My first muse live concert is in a few days. Hey, people better cheer up properly or I'll start going berserk

*ends rant*

 

(btw, Starlight is my husbands fav Muse song *not a Muse fan as you can obviously guess but is psyched abt the upcoming concert. he loves the setlists... you go figure*)

[Alexander DeLarge]

I don't have a problem with the singles being played, up to a point though, is it really necessary to play every single hit they've ever had at every single show? I mean, that'd be fine in a 21 song set, but 17?

 

1.) Time is Running Out

2.) Starlight

3.) Uprising

4.) Madness

5.) Dead Inside

6.) Mercy

7.) Resistance (Drop this if they're feeling like they want to play

8.) Plug in Baby

9.) Supermassive Black Hole

10.) Undisclosed Desires

11.) Hysteria

12.) *Current album rock song #1

13.) *Current album rock song #2

14.) *Current album rock/pop song #3

15.) Jam

16.) Obligatory piano song which could be Feeling Good

17.) Knights of Cydonia

 

There is such little room for anything else, imagine if we got another album like The Resistance that was really commercially successful, either they raise the number of songs or you can expect to see current album + the hits until the end of time. They're obviously not dropping singles. I am not exaggerating, this is literally their current set structure.

 

I can go 5 years back and copy and paste what I was saying during The Resistance tour, the fans aren't asking for much, it's always been 2-3 songs that are allocated for the fans that say "fuck it, who cares if 90% of the venue (that's exaggerating to the extreme, how many people don't know these songs? Even the b-sides have tons of listens on every streaming service I can look at) doesn't know what this is, they've been the focus the entire night, here's some deep cuts for the fans"

Edited January 4, 2016 by Alexander DeLarge

[serpentsatellite]

Literally no one is calling for the removal of the big hit singles, so who gives a shit if Starlight is someone's favorite song? (And do you really believe that isn't the case outside of the US...?)

 

It's been said a million times the sets are simply unacceptably short, and THAT causes the problem. It only leaves room for the singles and some new stuff, and they're even now dropping some of the new stuff.

 

Add two damn songs to the set. Solve the problem.

And this is exactly what will happen once they leave the US.

Which is why people are mad.

 

It's not like they're suddenly not going to play Starlight and SMBH in Europe and the U.K...

[kueller]

I thought the festival sets were pretty good. The big issue was how lower in quality most of them were in comparison to Download. I think I'm a lot more forgiving for setlists than a lot of the regulars though.

 

But those recent ones are actually somewhat affecting to performance. It just makes it all a bit more dull. Something like Starlight > Feeling Good > Madness > UD really kills the upbeat excitement even if I wouldn't have a problem with most of these songs individually.

 

And as has been discussed before, their pandering over the years to a lighter crowd has resulted in them getting a lighter crowd, which also doesn't help excitement much.

 

I have actually seen people suggesting to drop or rotate the big singles though.

[Regilistic]

And as has been discussed before, their pandering over the years to a lighter crowd has resulted in them getting a lighter crowd, which also doesn't help excitement much.

 

This is pretty much Muse's problem. They're know for their lighter, poppier songs and 85 percent of arenas are filled with people that are purely their for Starlight, Madness and Uprising. I guess what it is coming down to is that Muse don't care if they lose the 15 percent of fans that are dying for literally 1-2 rarer songs, because it is the 85 percent of lighter fans that are filling their arenas and singing along to their lighter songs.

 

Muse are obviously a band that feed off crowd vibe, why make the effort to bring out a rare song only for your crowd to stand there dumbstruck playing on their phones? When they can easily get a huge reaction out of a song like Uprising? There just isn't a whole lot of room in the US scene for rock music, and that's why Muse are struggling to get their heavier/deeper stuff known.

 

It's weird that this is happening after the momentum they gained. Coming off the T2L tour and the Psycho/Festival tour, it's really weird that they plummeted like this at this point.

[kueller]

I've mentioned though, and ninsp I think kinda agreed too, that they had more of a rock crowd, but it diminished as their own focus shifted. And it's not really helping much considering their turnouts.

 

I wonder if things had been otherwise. They'd probably be playing smaller venues but have more enthusiastic fans filling them. Something like Queens of the Stone Age maybe.

[Alexander DeLarge]

I think NIN is quite comparable when it comes to their material and live production, they have a fraction of the numbers, but their fans are so die hard, they're returning to the shows every time they play a gig. Not to mention the arenas were definitely fuller than they have been.

 

If this tour wasn't just a fluke due to the planning and the lack of a hit as big as Madness or Uprising, I'd say that the pop crowd isn't a repeat audience.

[Jobby]

Add 2 songs, taking the set up to 19:

 

- Add in a Map / Bliss rotation (two reasonably well-known singles that are also massive fan favourites)

- Bring back Stockholm as a staple

- Optional: drop UD (was never really a particularly big single and has always been guff live) and use the extra song slot for a piano transition rotation like Butterflies / New Born / occasionally CE if requested.

 

 

Psycho

Reapers

Dead Inside

Map / Bliss

Starlight

Supermassive

Hysteria / Resistance

The Handler

Butterflies / New Born

USOE

*Jam* + Madness

Revolt

TIRO

Uprising

PIB

Stockholm

 

Globalist

 

Mercy

Knights

 

 

It'd be that easy.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Jobby

[Alexander DeLarge]

Add 2 songs, taking the set up to 19:

 

- Add in a Map / Bliss rotation (two reasonably well-known singles that are also massive fan favourites)

- Bring back Stockholm as a staple

- Optional: drop UD (was never really a particularly big single and has always been guff live) and use the extra song slot for a piano transition rotation like Butterflies / New Born / occasionally CE if requested.

 

 

Psycho

Reapers

Dead Inside

Map / Bliss

Starlight

Supermassive

Hysteria / Resistance

The Handler

Butterflies / New Born

USOE

*Jam* + Madness

Revolt

TIRO

Uprising

PIB

Stockholm

 

Globalist

 

Mercy

Knights

 

 

It'd be that easy.

 

That little does so much? Fucking hell.

[Mozza]

That little does so much? Fucking hell.

 

Average setlist of 2015 (apparently):

 

Psycho

The Handler

Dead Inside

Plug In Baby

Interlude + Hysteria

Supermassive Black Hole

Reapers

Munich Jam

Apocalypse Please

Madness

Stockholm Syndrome

Starlight

Time Is Running Out

Uprising

Mercy

 

Encore:

[JFK]

Knights of Cydonia

 

Could easily modify this structure and add some rotations:

 

 

Psycho

Bliss/Map of the Problematique

The Handler

Dead Inside

Plug In Baby

Interlude + Hysteria

Supermassive Black Hole

Reapers

Munich Jam

Apocalypse Please/USoE

Sunburn/Ruled By Secrecy [piano selection]

Madness/Resistance

Starlight

Revolt

Time Is Running Out

Uprising

Stockholm Syndrome

The Globalist

 

Encore:

[JFK]

Defector/Supremacy

Mercy

Knights of Cydonia

 

New Born, CE, Animals, Uno, Muscle Museum could be waiting in the wings to be added somewhere from time to time

[Regilistic]

Taking into account all that's been said I reckon Europe will probably look something like:

 

(Drones)

1. Psycho

2. Reapers

3. Dead Inside

4. Map

5. Rarity slot - (Fury/MM/Showbiz/TaB/SFA etc)

6. Isolated System + Handler

7. Hysteria

8. Supermassive black hole

9. Prelude + Starlight

10. Citizen Erased/ New Born

11. Apocalypse Please/Eurasia (with a few appearances of Feeling Good)

12. Munich Jam

13. Madness

14. Undisclosed Desires

15. [JFK] + Defector (?) (maybe revolt)

16. Time is Running out

17. Uprising

18. Stockholm Syndrome

----

19. Mercy

20. Knights

 

maybe 20 is pushing it, and CE/ New Born before the piano section is optimistic.

[Mozza]

Hopefully by then it'll be Madness or UD (preferably neither and Animals is back)

[museisti]

It may be a long shot but let's try tweeting #ShowbizForLondon at them, Dead star for SBE worked on quite a short notice so who knows! I mean if we start now maybe they'll have rehearsed it by the end of he tour...

 

(in other words, please someone join me in this on twitter so it doesn't look like it's only one person constantly bothering them. )

[Jobby]

It may be a long shot but let's try tweeting #ShowbizForLondon at them, Dead star for SBE worked on quite a short notice so who knows! I mean if we start now maybe they'll have rehearsed it by the end of he tour...

 

(in other words, please someone join me in this on twitter so it doesn't look like it's only one person constantly bothering them. )

 

Requests worked pretty well at really short notice throughout the Psycho Tour as well. Apparently Showbiz has been tipped for London (and Bercy next month) so hopefully things'll kick up for that soon. If I had a Twitter I'd join

 

My plan is to try and meet them again after my gig in Manchester just before the 4 main London dates so I'll try and mention it then. Thing is, I wanna get some other requests in (1 for each gig, if they'll let me) as well and I don't want to come across as cheeky by asking for too much so I might have to sacrifice one of my requests for it I'd rather not have to though.

[museisti]

Requests worked pretty well at really short notice throughout the Psycho Tour as well. Apparently Showbiz has been tipped for London (and Bercy next month) so hopefully things'll kick up for that soon. If I had a Twitter I'd join

 

My plan is to try and meet them again after my gig in Manchester just before the 4 main London dates so I'll try and mention it then. Thing is, I wanna get some other requests in (1 for each gig, if they'll let me) as well and I don't want to come across as cheeky by asking for too much so I might have to sacrifice one of my requests for it I'd rather not have to though.

 

 

Yep that's what I remember too so I thought I'd narrow my #ShowbizFor2016 campaign down to London. And they must KNOW we want it, I've done my best at gigs/meeting them in 2013 and 2015 and they certainly have acknowledged the various signs/banners at gigs both years, and last summer both times I met Dom I pretty much begged him for them to play it lol. Don't think he was too enthusiastic about it...? Idk the response from all of them has been "oh we haven't rehearsed that one in ages!" every time.

 

But Dom did say at the live lounge thing he'd love to play some Absolution stuff, the only problem seemed to be to convince Matt... Although Matt did ask "when?" when we asked if they could play Showbiz, I think one of us must have said next european tour so let's see if he remembers...

Good luck with meeting them what are you planning to request??