Dockertae Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Aren't you a self-proclaimed rarity collector? Oh wait, you got it already so it doesn't matter that you haven't heard it since 2003... I really have to wonder what you're like in real life. I mean, just calm down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jobby Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Canada's not like that. No wonder the sets are worse in America. Should never blame crowds for sets imo. If Muse have started attracting lighter crowds, you've gotta wonder if that's because they started putting out lighter music. For my money, it might sound a bit unrealistically altruistic but bands should always put as much effort into every show as they can. Shortening the sets and playing lighter songs (which is pointless since the people who go on their phones will do so anyway) because of certain groups in the crowd (however large) isn't fair on the also large amount of fans who've paid good money and are genuinely excited to see them. At the risk of sounding cheesy, do it for them. Don't skimp out just because other people aren't as interested/engaged. If you're an actor in a stage show and the audience isn't participating much in one area or one night, do you shorten the play or half-arse your acting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueEyedFloozy Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Should never blame crowds for sets imo. If Muse have started attracting lighter crowds, you've gotta wonder if that's because they started putting out lighter music. [...] If you're an actor in a stage show and the audience isn't participating much in one area or one night, do you shorten the play or half-arse your acting? I'm not blaming them for sets exactly, I don't think (although Muse have been going long enough now to know which sets the majority of the crowd want). If you see people bouncing to song X, you'll play it again. I've seen so many on Instagram posting footage of gigs and saying they don't know what this song is but wasn't the light show great or they don't really like Muse but heard they were good live so went to check it out. Not a mindset I really understand. I guess it's a chicken and egg situation and we're so far down the line we don't know which came first, lower standard setlists or lower standard audiences. (It was the egg.) I dunno, it must be fairly soul-destroying. Performers definitely feed off the reaction of the audience and if the audience act uninterested the gig, be it musicians, a comedian, whatever, they're just not going to be as ... engaged. And absolutely if the audience of a play is not engaging with the actors I've seen the people on stage not give their all, and I don't blame them one bit. I wouldn't want to pull out all the stops for people who look basically bored. Also see: people breaking character to call out audience members for having their phones on, which you Do Not Do during a play. That's just rude! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanp16 Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 (It was the egg.) Do you define a chicken egg as something that a chicken lays, or something that hatches into a chicken? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueEyedFloozy Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Who said the egg was a chicken egg? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Museman8989 Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 i saw shows in Quebec City and then the shows from NYC to Philly. Quebec was no more energetic than the crowds in the states, the only difference I noted was way, and I mean way less people on their phones. I had two experiences that sum up the type of crowds Muse attracts currently. In NYC we walked into the GA 10min before Muse came on, we were able to effortlessly shimmy our way all the way to the near barrier of the catwalk mic. people we're eating food, on phones, basically not paying attention. Throughout the gig I saw very few and small groups jumping up and down sometimes but my group was the only one that legitimately moshed (and we got a load of evil eyes for it). one woman even threw punches at my friend for hitting into her. she didn't realize she was at a rock concert. In Philly i was in seats and jokingly said before madness "i hope they play madness!" and when it started no less than 5-6 people turned to me to high five me and be like "yay they played it nice job!" and I was sitting in the VIP area. Loudest fan reactions for all 3 america shows were for madness, resistance, uprising and starlight. Muse is attracting a more casual music listening crowd, so yeah it makes sense their sets are designed that way. is it annoying that OoS and showbiz aren't played? yeah. but i honestly can't blame them, people BARELY jump around for hysteria and tiro as it is, and AP was treated as a piss break in philly. bands feed off their audiences, its hard to rock when the audience does nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanp16 Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 If that truly is what the audiences are like, and if Muse are genuinely unhappy playing to that audience, then why don't they just ditch all the fancy production, ditch playing arenas and go back to touring the US in 1000-2000 capacity theatres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozenbanana Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 inb4 first Paris set is Drones + Reapers Dead Star Psycho Supermassive Black Hole Map of the Problematique Dead Inside Bliss (Long) The 2nd Law: Isolated System The Handler Fury Butterflies & Hurricanes Sunburn Space Dementia (Guitar Outro) Citizen Erased Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 (Redemption) Intro + Apocalypse Please The 2nd Law: Unsustainable Supremacy MK Ultra Liquid State Prelude + Starlight Plug in Baby Mercy Forced In Assassin (GOB) New Born Time is Running Out The Globalist + Drones Take A Bow -------- Showbiz Stockholm Syndrome Agitated -------- Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture) Uprising Knights of Cydonia Inb4 first Paris is Drones + Psycho Dead Inside Resistance Plug in Baby T2L: IS The Handler Supermassive Black Hole Prelude Starlight United States of Eurasia Munich Jam Madness Undisclosed Desires JFK + Revolt Time is Running Out Reapers Uprising The Globalist Mercy Knights of Cydonia (either way it goes, some people on here will be annoyed) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frakkles Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 If that truly is what the audiences are like, and if Muse are genuinely unhappy playing to that audience, then why don't they just ditch all the fancy production, ditch playing arenas and go back to touring the US in 1000-2000 capacity theatres. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozenbanana Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ This. Sad but true. Having said that I don't see why the band couldn't compromise money for enjoyment just a little bit and add at least a handful more club shows to their next tour, in between arena gigs. Unless they really do enjoy playing Starlight over 100 times in a row... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueEyedFloozy Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I thought someone said they barely break even on US leg of the tour? I think it's just expected of Muse now, that each tour will be bigger, and therefore better, than the last one. It was OK back in the early 2000s but now it's more about the show than the music from what I see. All the reviews seem to be saying, from a non-Muse-devotee standpoint, that the music from a performance perspective is still excellent, but for "us" it's lacking because we know they have so much more in their back catalogue. Personally, and I'm not a performer of any kind here so bear that in mind I've never really "got" arena or stadium shows. I grew up watching Queen gigs on video and then one of my first "proper" concerts was Download 1995 and I never did see the appeal, either from a performer or an audience member's point of view, of MASSIVE gigs to tens of thousands. I never felt a connection at the big outdoor festivals or gigs I've been to, whereas Terrorvision (stop it) in a pub in Wrexham with about 150 people was frigging brilliant, and Queen+Adam Lambert in Hammersmith Apollo was far better than them at Nottingham Arena last year. I've never been to a proper Muse gig yet for reasons so EVERYTHING will be new to me and while I'm really, really excited I do kind of wish it was more like the only other time I've seen them (at Manchester uni in 1999, supporting Feeder). Well OK maybe not that small, but maybe Manchester Apollo to Nottingham Arena-sized gigs rather than MEN Arena-sized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanp16 Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Unless they really do enjoy playing Starlight over 100 times in a row... I hate to nitpick but there were actually two gigs this era where Starlight wasn't played. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozenbanana Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I hate to nitpick but there were actually two gigs this era where Starlight wasn't played. The revolution is starting (I thought it was immortal!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Museman8989 Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 my friend met Kirk and got the setlist from him last night and he asked her how she liked the show and her response was "fucking citizen" and tom said "i know i know" and he explained that they almost played it at barclays but it wasn't up to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander DeLarge Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 This is definitely hearsay but I saw them in 2007 in a local amphitheater with 1200 people less than what they played to this tour in a giant arena according to the box office numbers. The crowds have definitely changed because that crowd with thousands of people there went nuts back then, and I know quite a few people from that show who bought tickets for the arena production being excited after the festivals (because you know, festivals are generally watered down arena sets), saw the general structure in Mexico/Texas, determined it wouldn't change beyond 1/2 songs due to the theatrics and sold their tickets. We've seen what happens when they play to that kind of crowd with the Zepp, the Psycho Tour gigs and Yes Please/Agitated popping up in Helsinki, it gets press, trends worldwide on Twitter, it gets people who haven't talked about Muse in years saying "holy shit, Muse is back", so why aren't they going to the shows? I really don't buy the "people outgrew them or got older" excuse because trust me, if you saw these guys play that kind of material in that kind of venue, you'd never outgrow them. Experiment with it, what is there to lose by pulling a Nine Inch Nails "assault" set once in a while, play 10 heavy rock songs, go off stage for 20 minutes, come back and play a safe set so no one feels unsatisfied by not hearing the hits. See if the rockers start coming back? Make up for the people snapchatting during the gig. tl;dr - The excuse that you can't have a crowd in the thousands having a good time being crazy as hell about the band is nonsense. They did it and they can do it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanp16 Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Experiment with it, what is there to lose by pulling a Nine Inch Nails "assault" set once in a while Yes. In fact it would be relatively straightforward to have a list of all NIN songs and all Muse songs and you could pair up most from each as being rather similar in either style and/or structure. Then they'd copy NINs setlists and see that Wish opens a shit load of gigs. Then Muse would open a shit load of gigs with Dead Star. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Museman8989 Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 If that truly is what the audiences are like, and if Muse are genuinely unhappy playing to that audience, then why don't they just ditch all the fancy production, ditch playing arenas and go back to touring the US in 1000-2000 capacity theatres. i do believe the theatrics of this tour and the playing of the globalist limited a lot of what they could do. imo the next tour will be more a step back toward what t2l tour was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander DeLarge Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Up until about 2008, I would say that they're quite comparable when it comes to their release catalog and live productions. Needless to say, there's quite a bit of overlap with hardcore NIN fans and hardcore Muse fans since both groups really thrived off of innovation/critical acclaim/making weird stuff that you just wouldn't find elsewhere. What amazes me though is how NIN can play the same venues that Muse plays and get more of a turnout than Muse does with a fraction of the number of fans/album sales/social media presence/"commercial success", but ultimately I credit that to Trent really building up his hardcore fanbase who will return every single time they play a gig. Meanwhile on the Muse side of things, you have a bunch of people who feel alienated from the material, from the live productions/setlists and a bunch of first timers that according to the box office, aren't returning. In a way, I think of Nine Inch Nails as what Muse could've been if they kept going with concept albums that didn't focus on singles and hits. Sure their growth wouldn't have been nearly as exponential as it has been, but I think it would've been a bit more sustainable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel_Tufnel Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 i do believe the theatrics of this tour and the playing of the globalist limited a lot of what they could do. imo the next tour will be more a step back toward what t2l tour was. All due respect but that just sounds like an excuse. Muse strayed so far from the whole Drones theme (that could have been very engaging) that it became fairly irrelevant. It would have been simple to tone down the theatrics for a 10-15 minute section and just play a few more random songs. Most of the set was just a greatest hits run-thru anyway. The theme-inspired playback and visuals appeared out of context and just caused the show to drag in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Museman8989 Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 (edited) All due respect but that just sounds like an excuse. Muse strayed so far from the whole Drones theme (that could have been very engaging) that it became fairly irrelevant. It would have been simple to tone down the theatrics for a 10-15 minute section and just play a few more random songs. Most of the set was just a greatest hits run-thru anyway. The theme-inspired playback and visuals appeared out of context and just caused the show to drag in the end. well, like i said it was my opinion. plus there's no rule that every song had to be related to drones nor do they have to be related to the theatrics. plus saying that it's an "excuse" implies that Muse knows they should've done something different but chose not to; which is not at all the case (and if anyone thinks they can claim otherwise, unless you have a quote from matt/dom/chris/tom contradicting me i dont wanna hear it) edit: that last part is basically directed at ADL Edited February 2, 2016 by MusersAdvocate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel_Tufnel Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Sure their growth wouldn't have been nearly as exponential as it has been, but I think it would've been a bit more sustainable. Besides, a career path based on endless growth is....Well, you get the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel_Tufnel Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 well, like i said it was my opinion. plus there's no rule that every song had to be related to drones nor do they have to be related to the theatrics. plus saying that it's an "excuse" implies that Muse knows they should've done something different but chose not to; which is not at all the case (and if anyone thinks they can claim otherwise, unless you have a quote from matt/dom/chris/tom contradicting me i dont wanna hear it) I'm just saying that a concept album like Drones and Matt comparing the production to The Wall suggested that they would do something different than what they did. If they truly put on a show to fit the theme and concept of the album, it would certainly limit the flexibility of the sets. As it was, I don't see how the concept or theatrics would have really constrained them at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessicaSarahS Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Besides, a career path based on endless growth is....Well, you get the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Museman8989 Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I'm just saying that a concept album like Drones and Matt comparing the production to The Wall suggested that they would do something different than what they did. If they truly put on a show to fit the theme and concept of the album, it would certainly limit the flexibility of the sets. As it was, I don't see how the concept or theatrics would have really constrained them at all. right, suggested. a lot of people on this board take things the band says in passing too seriously and then get mad when it doesn't unfold how they want. if matt had said "we are going to do this production just like the wall and play drones start to finish, blah blah" and then we got this tour, then you'd have a legit gripe. seems silly to complain about stuff that the band never promises. obviously the band plays the set it does for their own reasons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel_Tufnel Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 right, suggested. a lot of people on this board take things the band says in passing too seriously and then get mad when it doesn't unfold how they want. if matt had said "we are going to do this production just like the wall and play drones start to finish, blah blah" and then we got this tour, then you'd have a legit gripe. seems silly to complain about stuff that the band never promises. obviously the band plays the set it does for their own reasons I'm not complaining about it. I just don't entirely agree with the assertion that their sets were so constrained by the theatrics of the show. They may have been to a point but their non adherence to the Drones theme meant that they could have been more flexible. That's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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