Drones General Tour Discussion Thread

[Uccellino]

Lol, ^ you ranked Manchester 2006 (2nd night) as one of your worst. That was my first Muse gig and they played Showbiz and I thought it was all amazing

[Clunge]

Problem with that gig is I was right near the front, nearest the barrier I've ever been. It was the gig that made me realise how much I HATE being that close. The crush was immense (it was my first ever time standing at a big arena show) and I think I blacked out briefly towards the end. I'm sure it was a decent show. Still the last ever performance of Showbiz to date. And we got City Of Delusion and Knights with trumpet, IIRC. And out-of-tune Citizen Erased.

[Uccellino]

Problem with that gig is I was right near the front, nearest the barrier I've ever been. It was the gig that made me realise how much I HATE being that close. The crush was immense (it was my first ever time standing at a big arena show) and I think I blacked out briefly towards the end. I'm sure it was a decent show. Still the last ever performance of Showbiz to date. And we got City Of Delusion and Knights with trumpet, IIRC. And out-of-tune Citizen Erased.

 

Yeah, I was a bit crushed like that at Newport, last year. Not nice. Was seated at Manchester 2006 though and had a good view of Matt throwing his guitar out into the crowd at the end.

[Clunge]

Yeah, I was a bit crushed like that at Newport, last year. Not nice. Was seated at Manchester 2006 though and had a good view of Matt throwing his guitar out into the crowd at the end.

That was literally two foot to my left - I nearly got a hand on it . I was on the verge of dying though .

[forevermusic]

Having given it some thought...

1. Reading 2011

It was either this or Wembley, but this gets it by virtue of how amazing Origin in full was, from the stageshow to how powerful those songs were, and a proper rowdy festival crowd. Also great renditions of Uprising, Stockholm and Knights.

 

2. Wembley Night 2 2010

Loses out by virtue of Guiding Light, even if that did come with a great streamer show. But I liked The Resistance stage-show, plus first times seeing Bliss, Citizen Erased and Take a Bow, only times seeing MK Ultra & Ruled by Secrecy, and a sense of this being a proper huge occasion. Plus it fully introduced me to Biffy Clyro.

 

3. Shepherd's Bush Empire 2013

This was a proper adventure, but it was amazing to see Muse in this small theatre among what felt like a proper hardcore crowd. First time seeing Dead Star and Sunburn, plus some great renditions. This was special.

 

4. Brighton Dome 2015

Shorter set means I put this behind SBE, but it had its moments - beautiful venue, great crowd, great to hear it all in a tiny room, first time seeing Hysteria & Stockholm in 4 years (I was surprised at how much I missed them), and only times seeing Uno and The Groove - neither I expected, but were strong.

 

5. Emirates Stadium Night 1 2013

Amazing first half, longest set with lots of faves, good crowd and great sound throughout, but setlist envy of night 2, people pissing during support, and Guiding Light.

 

6. O2 Arena Night 3 2016

Best sounding of the 3 O2 dates, started beautifully with Reapers & Psycho, surprise Sunburn and welcome return of Take a Bow, but sounded inconsistent, and too short a set.

 

7. O2 Arena Night 1 2009

This one's known on this board as a nadir of The Resistance tour. My first gig too. I don't maintain it was amazing, but I enjoyed it. Great renditions of MOTP and Stockholm, only time seeing Unintended, and even enjoyed the classics.

 

8. O2 Arena Night 2 2012

Good set, band was fun, great seats, but the sound quality for the main set was poor and I wasn't really as into the older songs (which were very greatest hitsy choice). New Born was particularly unimpressive.

 

This may not count, but I went to a park in Milton Keynes near the Bowl and listened to about 30-45 minutes of rehearsal back in 2010 a few weeks before the stadium tour that summer started. That was a good night.

[kueller]

Since most of the gigs have been at the same venue.

 

2013 - T2L tour was fantastic. Fun performances all around. Longest setlist I've seen and it was structured greatly so even the lighter songs were well deserved.

 

2011 (Outside Lands) - B&H, CItizen, amazing Stockholm performance. Held back by a duller middle secion.

 

2009 (NSSN) - First time I saw the band. Short setlist but still powerful enough. New Born and US for a radio hosted concert night was fun.

 

2010 - Standard Resistance Tour had its own share of excitement but was still very stiff and years down the road was not all that memorable despite the huge stage production.

 

2015 (LA 1) - Kind of like above, but with fewer energetic songs to make up for it.

 

2015 (Oakland) - yeah

[DifferentPerson]

Haven't seen Muse a huge number of times so this shouldn't be too hard.

 

1. Manchester Academy (22/3/15) - Epic setlist, intimate venue, awesome crowd, top notch performance. What more can I say? Oh yeah, Fury in the encore

 

2. Download (12/6/15) - Again, an epic setlist (although it became a bit stale towards the end) and the band were on top form. I was fairly far back which sadly meant the crowd was a bit dead where I was but still a great performance to watch.

 

3. Manchester Etihad (1/6/13) - My first Muse gig, so very important to me. Seeing Dead Star and Bliss at my first gig was awesome, and the stage setup/pyro was very impressive. Cringey actors and b-stage songs though. I also caught a water bottle which Chris threw into the crowd which was pretty epic

 

4. Brighton Dome (23/3/15) - Slightly worse setlist than Manchester (mainly due to them debuting Dead Inside which nobody knew at the time) but it was still great to see them in a small-ish venue, and I was very happy to hear Map and Uno. I was seated for this one so I got to see all the Hullabaloons bouncing around under that domed ceiling which was quite a beautiful sight.

 

5. London O2 (3/4/16) - The visuals and lighting were very cool, but setlist was slightly lacklustre (Map and Bliss were the highlights, with The Globalist being the only proper song I hadn't seen before) and the crowd were a bit dead thanks to the 360 stage. Also I will eternally be bitter about them soundchecking FG and Sunburn and playing the former

[That Little Animal]

1 - 2001 Heineken Music Hall - Amsterdam

Best concert of my life to date. So much energy, great sound, great crowd. Great set with complete OOS, Showbiz highlights and Deadstar and In Your World

 

2 - 2004 Ahoy - Rotterdam

Also memorable. Possibly the second best show of my life - I was far away from the stage. Everyone was bouncing. Sound was great, set was great.

 

3 - Oakland 2015

Legendary Horrible show. Worst set in history, failing props. Texting Crowd.

 

4 - But the BHaR tour stop in San Francisco at the Concourse in 2006 was the absolute worst. Good, but short set (16 songs), on paper. Decent energy from the band. First ever live play of CoD. But the sound was just a wall of high-pitched feedback bouncing around. I don't remember hearing any bass and I literally couldn't hear what song they were playing at times. I only remember Soldier's Poem, which I could actually hear (and during which people in the crowd were yelling to stop and play the next song) CoD, and TaB.

[MagdalenaV2]

1 - 2001 Heineken Music Hall - Amsterdam

Best concert of my life to date. So much energy, great sound, great crowd. Great set with complete OOS, Showbiz highlights and Deadstar and In Your World

 

2 - 2004 Ahoy - Rotterdam

Also memorable. Possibly the second best show of my life - I was far away from the stage. Everyone was bouncing. Sound was great, set was great.

 

3 - Oakland 2015

Legendary Horrible show. Worst set in history, failing props. Texting Crowd.

 

4 - But the BHaR tour stop in San Francisco at the Concourse in 2006 was the absolute worst. Good, but short set (16 songs), on paper. Decent energy from the band. First ever live play of CoD. But the sound was just a wall of high-pitched feedback bouncing around. I don't remember hearing any bass and I literally couldn't hear what song they were playing at times. I only remember Soldier's Poem, which I could actually hear (and during which people in the crowd were yelling to stop and play the next song) CoD, and TaB.

 

So jel.

 

Best Muse gig (and general gig) ever for me was Exeter in 2003. On the barrier baby. And just all round great.

[Clunge]

My parents wouldn't let me go to Exeter 2003 . Would have been my first gig.

[serpentsatellite]

This was surprisingly hard, considering how few gigs I've been to.

 

Minneapolis '13 / Denver '13 (tie) - I enjoyed the T2L stage leagues more than any other. Both of these sets were short, and hits heavy, but the energy of the band and the brilliant (and non obstructive) visuals made me enjoy even the songs I wasn't excited about. And even one I hate.

I think I probably enjoyed Denver more, because someone put me in a seriously bad mood right before Minneapolis, but Minneapolis was a better gig, and I got Map/Sunburn.

Both gigs were fabulous, even though they had more typically "US sets" and were for some reason shorter than most other US setlists.

 

DC '16 - Actually enjoyed most of the setlist, as I'm really into the Drones songs, and seeing CE really put me in a good mood for the rest of the gig. Visuals for The Globalist, The Handler, and Mercy, as well as the white orbs, were very cool.

Sound was great, band was decent; high point of the tour so far for Matt's vocals, imo.

 

Minneapolis '10 - first Muse gig. In hindsight, opening with Exo and closing with TaB makes me remember this gig better than I should. I remember being there during the middle of the gig feeling down that I wasn't enjoying myself as much as I wanted to, for how obsessed I'd been with seeing the band for 6 years.

The key there is "seeing" I think - band was impossible to see for much of the gig, and no matter how exciting the pillars were at first, they couldn't make up for that. My first time seeing Muse felt like watching a laser light show of their music at the planetarium.

15 song set in an arena.

 

Philly '16 - This is the gig that made me decide I'm likely not going to continue seeing this band live, even though DC was pretty damn good, and second. It's like playing the lottery. You could get a good set, but it's more likely no one in the US will. And travel is just too expensive. (and the one decently "rare" song DC got was the result of an entire tour of begging and pleading...)

Sound was terrible where I was standing, with nearly no vocals or guitar, visuals were in rough shape, and similarly to TR, I couldn't really see the band for large portions of the gig. I really hated that (here and in DC.)

Mostly, the band just seemed shockingly bored to be there; so much going through the motions. The 2nd worse gig for that I've seen (not all in person) since Matt sulked his way through that Weenie Roast festival.

Terribly disappointing.

Edited April 19, 2016 by SerpentSatellite

[Frakkles]

9. O2 Arena, London - 12/11/09

First ever Muse gig. Sound was terrible, performance was terrible, set was terrible. A thoroughly awful show.

 

8. O2 Arena, London - 27/10/12

It wasn't horrible but it wasn't anything special either. New Born over Stockholm really upset me.

 

7. Horse Guard's Parade, London - 02/06/13

Actually rather enjoyed this show. Wasn't expecting much and thought I'd go not worrying about what they played, was a free gig after all. Started a mosh pit during KoC, probably my favourite KoC performance ever.

 

6. Emirates Stadium, London - 26/05/13

Personally preferred the set from night one and I actually got no sleep from the moment I woke up (5AM) the day before till about 1AM on the 27. I was pretty tired and Sunburn wasn't as great as I'd hoped (plus I'd seen the majority of the visuals so it wasn't as impressive the second time around). Oh and I'm pretty sure Matt recognised me because he slapped hands with everyone, saw me and then turned back around.

 

5. Electric Ballroom, London - 11/09/15

Probably my last Muse gig and I almost didn't even bother going to try and get tickets! There was a big drama about the cash machine eating my card when I tried to get money out. Had a very similar mind-set as HGP, didn't really know what they would/wouldn't play but the opening run was very good and, as a whole, I just really enjoyed the small venue vibe. Nice gig to go out on.

 

4. Reading Festival, Reading - 28/08/11

Wasn't my best experience ever since I was right on the barrier. The crush during the set was awful, worse than during Shikari surprisingly to me. Still, pretty epic set and I wasn't too worried about the crush during most of it, can't say the same about others. I was also caught head-banging to Knights on the BBC coverage, not one of my finest moments...

 

3. Wembley Stadium, London - 10/09/10

You know, this show gets a lot of hate but I rather enjoyed it. Being aware of second night syndrome, I wasn't expecting a world class set/performance so I had a good time. It was a fun show overall. I got to see the only UK performances of NSC (Eh) and I Belong To You (which is fun as fuck live and an underrated song IMO). Butterflies & Hurricanes was superb and I also ninja'ed my way into getting Matt's setlist.

 

2. Emirates Stadium, London - 25/05/13

Dead Star. DEAD FREAKIN' STAR!!! Worth the price of admission alone.

 

1. Wembley Stadium, London - 11/09/10

Yeah, this one. I loved this show so much. The set, the performance, everything was just fucking spectacular. Had so much more of a rock show feel to it compared to night one and I got so many firsts. Bliss and MK Ultra were highlights.

[Destroya]

Hey my turn

 

1) Manchester Academy 2015

 

What a fucking gig, only finding about it a couple of weeks before the show, I didb't have time to process how incredible the gig was going to be until the queue started moving into the venue. Marmozets were utterly fantastic, only downpoint was when a large guy landed on my nuts in a mosh pit. Still can't believe how energetic the gig was, from the get go everyone was jumping. Started in the venue on Chris' side but due to the crowd surge we somehow ended directly within Matt's side. Bliss was awesome but Dead Star following it caused a huge uproar of screams from the crowd. Haven't been in a better crowd or seen a better show since. Don't think anything will beat this.

 

2) London Emirates N1 2013

 

One of the best weekends, starting off the day before at Thorpe Park, followed by a free trip to the London Dungeon and then my first Muse gig. Sadly this was one of the only times that I thoroughly enjoyed every song despite being up in the gods right at the top of the stadium (I can't remember seeing Morgan, think he was blocked by the PA) and the sound being abysmal.

 

3) Manchester Arena N2 2016

 

Really fun gig, amazing to finally hear Citizen Erased but was full of filler, disappointing rotations and shit staples (gotta admit that Reapers is still amazing). Crowd was still good, every standing where I was in the seats but were rather silent. If only they made this tour an extension of the Psycho tour with no fancy visuals. Just the band and an incredible setlist. I know it's been said a million other times, but it's the truth.

 

4) Big Weekend 2015

 

The crowd didn't know Bliss and didn't get jumpy until TiRO, in the second half of the set.

Edited April 19, 2016 by Destroya

[Clunge]

Forgot all about Big Weekend 2015. Was one of those great early cycle performances where all the songs still sounded quite rough and ready.

 

Reapers was ace.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyB6DV21WG8

[Dockertae]

Okay, I have to give this a go - I'm just drawn in by lists (worst to best):

 

1. Glasgow 2009

 

In general still enjoyed the gig for the show with the towers but the set was the absolute most bog-standard Resistance Tour arena set (except for Glasgow Jam). I also was expecting MK Ultra's debut which didn't end up happening. Good performance though.

 

2. Glasgow 2012

 

A good set with Ruled by Secrecy, the show itself was pretty memorable but I remember (at least where I was) that the crowd was dead. Lots of talking during all the 2nd Law stuff & RBS.

 

3. Glasgow 2016 (night 2)

 

The stage show the other night was absolutely spectacular but being in seating compared to being right up close the night before wasn't quite as good. Preferred the set of the first night too, not that this set was poor by any means.

 

4. Glasgow 2006

 

Of all the Muse gigs I've been to I remember this the least, probably partially because it was so long ago. My main memory is that my girlfriend was hoping for Exo-Politics but we got Assassin, which suited me. I think it was pretty rough at the front as well so we were kind of hanging out towards the back. Black Holes is a great album though so seeing most of it get played was good.

 

5. Leeds Festival 2011

 

It was a dream come true seeing Origin in full (my favourite album) but after getting up early to drive down from Glasgow and standing about all day we were knackered. Ended up getting pulled out of the insane crush during Hyper Music because we couldn't hack it anymore, then just enjoying things from the back.

 

6. Glasgow 2003

 

This is so long ago that again I can't remember it that well, but it feels like seeing a different band almost. Highlights for me were the lights flashing to drums during the intro (just stuck with me), Muscle Museum getting one of the biggest reactions of the night & me somehow not recognising Micro Cuts till the vocals kicked in. Also a massive pit to Bliss strangely.

 

7. Glasgow 2016 (night 1)

 

Just a great gig - was close up, crowd were up for it & a good set. The Drones songs all worked really well live I feel.

 

8. Emirates 2015 (night 1)

 

Felt like the band were on for ages, managed to nab Dead Star & Unintended after having not seen a Showbiz song live since my first gig. The 2nd Law stadium stage was really impressive during stuff like Survival, Supremacy etc as well. Only problem was I was right at the front so the band more or less disappeared every time they used the walkway.

 

9. Wembley 2010 (night 2)

 

The crowd were really good and the set was probably the best on the whole Resistance tour (IMO). Felt like I just didn't know what was coming next. Also featured an (infamously?) talkative Matt.

 

10. Glasgow 2015

 

Seeing them in a small venue mostly playing stuff that was out when I was at school just took me back to the band I was originally into. I don't think I'd rocked out as hard since I was about 16 and I of course managed to pick up some real oldies. I think Matt posted on instagram that it was a sweaty gig and I can't disagree, I was completely soaked and knackered by the end.

[Buxomflirter Queef]

Definite Top

Pinkpop 2004

Sportpaleis 2006

Ahoy 2003

casino de paris 2010

 

Middle

werchter 2006

ewerk 2012

reading 2011

leeds 2011

Sportpaleis 2012

Ziggo dome 2012

Goffertpark 2010

wembley (night 2) 2010

ziggo dome 2016

manchester 2016

 

 

definite low

Werchter (stadium show) 2013

 

glasgow 2009

Edited April 20, 2016 by Queen of the Muse Board

[trogette]

Manchester Academy last year is actually my worst Muse gig, didn't get close enough to the front to be able to stand my ground so spent nearly half the gig trying to not be squashed into someone's back. Followed by Dublin this year, being made to sit down in seats and being end-on to the stage so we didn't get the full effect of the visuals. Leeds was amazing, even though it was fucking freezing. Any gig with Sunburn is going to rate highly for me, so Tuesday and War Child are right up there, WC being special anyway.

 

ETA I remember being so jealous of people who went to the Casino de Paris gig!

[Tom//P]

My top 5:

 

5. Download Festival 2015

Surely one of the best setlists Muse have done for years (incl. Zepp). Micro Cuts was a surprise and Agitated sounded massive.

 

4. Manchester Academy 2015

Arguably not the best setlist from the Psycho tour, but the intimacy of the venue (went to my first concert 10 years prior at the academy) and the crowd made it one of the best (and most exhausting!) Muse gigs. I'll never forget hearing Fury being soundchecked - a favourite of mine that has always eluded me from all the gigs I've been to.

 

3. Wembley 2010

I was aware of the previous night's cheese-fest of a concert, so was blown away when they played Bliss, CE, MK Ultra and RBS on the second night. Matt's vocals were on top form that night and I think the CE performance is still the best version of that song. The stage, although had its flaws, was visually striking. The gig felt more special than The 2nd Law Emirates and Etihad gigs that I also went to.

 

2. Leeds Festival 2011

Very difficult to fault. The performances (Hyper Music, Micro Cuts, Space Dementia and Darkshines, in particular) were incredible, along with the visuals, pyro and minimalist stage design.

 

1. Teignmouth 2009

I agree to a certain extent with Cunge that the performances were a little lacklustre and (to add to that) the setlist was quite short, but this gig, for me, felt special. Partly because of its location and that it felt like a mini festival, but mostly because it was my first Muse concert.

Edited April 21, 2016 by Tom//P

[jonisdead]

Not gonna bother listing all of my gigs because they were so un-noteworthy but the best was LA Staples Center Night 2 2010. Bliss, Neutron Star Collision, Ruled by Secrecy, and riffgasm. This is the best 'rarity' collection I've gotten on any of their tours.

[Jobby]

ETA I remember being so jealous of people who went to the Casino de Paris gig!

 

Yeah, I've always had a soft spot for that gig - well jel </3

[serpentsatellite]

Not gonna bother listing all of my gigs because they were so un-noteworthy but the best was LA Staples Center Night 2 2010. Bliss, Neutron Star Collision, Ruled by Secrecy, and riffgasm. This is the best 'rarity' collection I've gotten on any of their tours.

 

That beats my rare-song-per-gig record by 1 song. :'(

So fucking sad.

[jonisdead]

That beats my rare-song-per-gig record by 1 song. :'(

So fucking sad.

 

I feel your pain. Since then I was lucky to get even one. I got B&H at LA Rising, and I think nothing since then ahahah. Oh wait I got Map twice so far I think actually, once in Vegas and once in 2013 Staples Center during night 3.

[kueller]

In the end though my favorite gig had the rarest song being Sunburn and to some extent for that tour, Plug In Baby.

[serpentsatellite]

Was Guiding Light rare on the US TR tour?

[kueller]

It wasn't rare ANYWHERE.