Drones General Tour Discussion Thread

[serpentsatellite]

By the way, before Fury, Matt says "this has got to be the most requested song from our hardcore fans."

 

If anyone *really* thought he wasn't aware of what rare shit people want to hear.

[denise3112]

US wasn't even that common during the TR phase, but it for some reason become common around the 2nd leg of the US tour, and I ended up getting stuck with that one instead of BH, Fury, or NSC.

The performance was pretty damn good, at least, and it was a good gig.

 

I really like it, the fast bits anyway. Take it over NSC any day

[denise3112]

By the way, before Fury, Matt says "this has got to be the most requested song from our hardcore fans."

 

If anyone *really* thought he wasn't aware of what rare shit people want to hear.

 

Yes he did say that, for sure, before one of the songs quite early on. He recognised some people too, and pointed them out.

[serpentsatellite]

Other than the lyrics and theme, it's mostly the drawn out "ocean" lines which I thought sounded so bad I couldn't deal with the song.

Matt rectified that live, and did some in falsetto and some in kind of a yell.

 

It wasn't bad, but as far as "heavy" Muse songs go, it's kind of been there done that, imo.

 

When Matt introduces a song as "requested by our harcore fans" (there was an inflection on the "hardcore" ) that makes me think he knows people there don't know it...

Otherwise wouldn't he say "requested by you guys"? Or just "our fans"?

 

They didn't give two shits if people at that venue knew the songs or not, it's just a smaller audience for it to "fall flat" on, and Matt's pulling out songs he enjoys playing.

Explains why he looks like he wanted to go home during the US tour, too.

Needs to just suck it up and do a couple of songs for himself instead of being so sensitive.

 

Also explains why he asked that fan he recognized if she had any requests and was taken by surprise when she said New Born, doesn't it?

[denise3112]

Other than the lyrics and theme, it's mostly the drawn out "ocean" lines which I thought sounded so bad I couldn't deal with the song.

Matt rectified that live, and did some in falsetto and some in kind of a yell.

 

It wasn't bad, but as far as "heavy" Muse songs go, it's kind of been there done that, imo.

 

When Matt introduces a song as "requested by our harcore fans" (there was an inflection on the "hardcore" ) that makes me think he knows people there don't know it...

Otherwise wouldn't he say "requested by you guys"? Or just "our fans"?

 

They didn't give two shits if people at that venue knew the songs or not, it's just a smaller audience for it to "fall flat" on, and Matt's pulling out songs he enjoys playing.

Explains why he looks like he wanted to go home during the US tour, too.

Needs to just suck it up and do a couple of songs for himself instead of being so sensitive.

 

Also explains why he asked that fan he recognized if she had any requests and was taken by surprise when she said New Born, doesn't it?

 

Haha Maybe! It's my bedtime

[serpentsatellite]

So, I've been looking for an article I read when I was stuck at the airport all day and night in Philly.

I stumbled across a Muse gig review that began with the reviewer admitting that they only knew a few of the radio hits, and didn't know Morgan's name. At one point, they expressed surprise that Matt played guitar in some songs.

 

I turned to my bf, ranting that this was exactly what the US didn't need.

He read it, and asked me if I'd finished it.

By the end, the reviewer was raving and saying Muse had a new loyal fan, because of the incredible musicianship, and was glowing about Hysteria, the riffs, and even the Jam. The Handler was his new favorite.

 

I haven't found the article, but after perusing the first page of Google results, I've seen a lot that follow that vein.

(some of these are paraphrased)

 

'there were plenty of hits, but the standouts were Psycho and The Handler, arguably the hardest rocking song in the archive. Which is certainly saying something'

 

other than the hits there was 'Citizen Erased, a "hard core fan" favorite juggernaut from 2001'

 

'not just a fantastic crooner, but can shred, too. Highlights were post-song riffs such as Heartbreaker'

 

'after the slower hits the delight in getting back to something slightly thrashier was evident' due to the riffs

 

'under-the-radar-good guitar playing'

 

a terrible one that refers to Matt as a heart throb because of Kate Hudson, but where the interviewer admits he only knew the hits, became a fan, and says 'raucous crowd for the entire concert, not to discount the high-energy loyalty of Muse fans.'

 

And my fave:

 

'And jeez, I didn't realize just how unaware of Matt Bellamy's ability to shred I was. He is unsung greatness on the axe. When the hairs stand at attention on the back of your neck one, two or 30 times in a show, that's something.'

 

So yes, the rockier songs do resound more with a crowd that isn't familiar with them, of course, than a slow ballad everyone is talking through does.

And an unfamiliar song isn't the end of a gig for the crowd.

It was notable that each article I read made only a passing reference to the hits.

 

And I think Muse is making a huge mistake force feeding the crowd *only* the increasingly bored hits gig after gig after gig, making sure every person knows every single word, and not taking a chance on something unknown.

It creates a cycle where the gigs are even predictable to the most "casual" fans, and takes away that element where they can be surprised, completely blown away, awed, and drawn into the band's catalogue.

 

Muse is not only depriving us the hardcore of living our gig dreams, but missing a huge chance to show the crowd that they are so, so, so much more than a handful of guitar-less radio hits with a light show.

 

I firmly believe Matt needs to open his eyes (yay puns) to the possibility that sometimes the sound of a song "falling flat" is actually the awed, attentive silence of someone finding their new favorite song, or realizing there's so much more to a band than they ever expected.

[JessicaSarahS]

 

I firmly believe Matt needs to open his eyes (yay puns) to the possibility that sometimes the sound of a song "falling flat" is actually the awed, attentive silence of someone finding their new favorite song, or realizing there's so much more to a band than they ever expected.

 

I tend to sing along to songs when I'm not as engaged in the show. I don't sing when I'm absorbing and hanging onto every note

[Finn.]

I firmly believe Matt needs to open his eyes (yay puns) to the possibility that sometimes the sound of a song "falling flat" is actually the awed, attentive silence of someone finding their new favorite song, or realizing there's so much more to a band than they ever expected.

 

Usually i don't singalong or spend the show jumping like crazy (maybe just on few songs), i am what some people would call a boring atendee. That doesn't mean i won't enjoy the show, i like to try to catch every note and i don't care if a song is heavier or softer as long as i can enjoy it.

 

...and besides, Muse already had 70000 people singing every song of the set before, like in Rome.

 

Saying that, i don't know how would i react in a gig like Montreux, the thing was insane.

[White Heat]

Maybe Muse is not that bad after all.

[FabriPav]

...and besides, Muse already had 70000 people singing every song of the set before, like in Rome.

 

What makes you think that actually happened?

[Alexander DeLarge]

Wasn't it mostly the other way around? I mostly saw US fans calling European fans entitled for having petitions and asking for songs when the US got even less.

 

There was a lot of inner hostility between the "Muse could fart into a microphone for 2 hours and I'd be happy" kind of fans and the people who basically said "you know, I bought these tickets knowing that the Psycho Tour was a bit of a wake up call, that the festivals were great too and then all of a sudden in the US there was an unprecedented drop in set quality, I'm not happy with it". The usage of the word "toxic" got thrown around quite a bit.

 

Of course the people who were defending the US setlists were the ones doing 15 shows here and spending thousands to go overseas to do another 15 more.

[kueller]

Toxic just gets thrown around everywhere now.

[hyena17]

Of course the people who were defending the US setlists were the ones doing 15 shows here and spending thousands to go overseas to do another 15 more.

What exactly is a "setlist defender?" Just curious. There's a difference between someone saying "I'm OK with what they play, there's nothing I can do about it -- I'm just happy going to gigs" and someone saying "the US setlists are great! I'm completely satisfied with the song choices they've made!" I don't think there has ever been a person in the history of the Muse fandom that has said anything resembling the latter.

 

Edited to add: wow, it just hit me how depressing that sounds - how many American fans are just resigned to the fact they'll take what they can get.

Edited July 6, 2016 by hyena
words

[serpentsatellite]

No, no one said the setlists were great.

 

But, that leaves people with:

 

- What ADL said "you should just be happy to be in the presence of Muse" which people did say, and is kind of dumb, and doesn't address the issue of why they're unequal in the first place.

 

So then the other options are "yeah, that's a terrible setlist, but we just accept it" which implies slight negativity towards Muse.

Or "that was a terrible setlist, but you deserve it. US crowds are shitty, and don't deserve anything better than what they get. It's a business decision. If you don't like it, shut up and don't go. Go to Europe where they get the real tour."

 

So, when people are dead set on Muse can do no wrong, the latter was the option everyone went with.

Insulting an entire country worth of Muse's fans instead of admitting, possibly, that Muse might not treat them the best.

And you know what? The US fans didn't spam the shit out of Muse's Twitters and Instagrams with "fuck you," either... Although some of them did try asking nicely for CE and Reapers back.

 

So yeah, pardon any of us who think it's slightly ridiculous the way people acted over Montreux, including the petition.

The US apparently didn't deserve something like CE or Bliss, and people defended it, and now Matt's openly saying everyone else doesn't deserve The Groove or Futurism, and suddenly people are losing their shit.

And there's a pretty wide gap between Bliss/CE and Futurism/Groove/Fury that sadly shows exactly how bad they felt towards the US.

 

I'm not in the gig business, but I fail to see how it's better for a crowd to have their gig cut one song short (or 2-5 if you're talking the last couple of tours,) instead of playing a song that the crowd might be unfamiliar with.

I think I made it pretty clear I think playing a big unfamiliar song like that is a GOOD idea for multiple reasons; and every other band I've ever seen seems to believe the same way.

Edited July 6, 2016 by SerpentSatellite

[serpentsatellite]

I don't remember if I've said this before... but the only song at Montreux that I'd have rather seen than Bliss is Fury...

I don't even really think I'm that "entitled" or demanding.

I have very low expectations in the first place.

 

And the costume thing doesn't really do it for me. (I've seen enough of Matt's scrunched plums in the Zepp vid for one lifetime, thanks.)

In seriousness, it was fun as a one shot, but then it felt spontaneous and in the country of origin.

[Hat]

Yeah, are they gonna have a gig every tour where they bring out the costumes?

[serpentsatellite]

I think people have a hard enough time taking them seriously without them, really.

[hyena17]

It sounds like ADL has a problem with the "you should just be happy in the presence of Muse" people...(and I do too) - but I think that group encompasses both US fans and European fans that think Americans don't have a right to complain.

 

So then the other options are "yeah, that's a terrible setlist, but we just accept it" which implies slight negativity towards Muse.

This is the camp I'm in, and it seems like a lot of people are in

 

Insulting an entire country worth of Muse's fans instead of admitting, possibly, that Muse might not treat them the best.

[....]

Agree with all of this.

[michael8888]

Apparently the Russians are given a chance to vote for rarities. Note that they hasn't got Showbiz in it.

[Tesseract]

In b4 Starlight wins that poll.

[Jobby]

Is that real? Don't recognise where it's from.

[hyena17]

For the love of god, take the standard songs off! How hard is it to screw this up?

 

If we got this in America (minus the standards), CE would win every one and then I'd go jump off a cliff.

[michael8888]

In b4 Starlight wins that poll.

 

The fan club from Hong Kong held a song request poll last year, and Unintended won the poll.

Of course Muse didn't play that.

[serpentsatellite]

So they followed through, AND they put their big hits on it just so Matt can turn around and say "there, I told you no one wants rarities"....?

 

He's not that stupid. It's a calculated move if it's real.

 

Putting songs on there that have been played at 100% of the gigs and making fans fear they'd actually be removed is manipulating the entire thing.

 

*edit: it's real.

I'm out. Officially.

[redneonfish]

Vote for Drones choir reprise.