2019.06.08 - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK

[czuczu]

On 6/5/2019 at 9:45 PM, FuseHelium3 said:

Golden Circle - what’s the deal?

So both UK shows so far have a Golden Circle which I’m guessing is primarily for VIP ticket holders. However, according to Twitter on Saturday for the London gig, wristbands for the GC were being given out on a ‘first come first serve’ basis (presumably because they wanted it to look full if not all the VIP tickets were sold?).

At Bristol tonight the GC seemed to be filling up quite slowly. I’d like to try and get in there on Saturday but don’t how straightforward it will prove to be (if it’s even possible). Does anybody know of anyone who managed to get in without a VIP ticket and how easy it was?

If they were been given out to anyone I’m sure those that bought the more expensive tickets wouldn’t be best pleased! 

 

We were in it for the London show, easy to walk straight for about 30 mins afer GA opened. Don't think anyone knew it was allowed and v little mobile signal so news didn't get round..

[Jobby]

There’s gonna be an attempted happy birthday sing-along for Matt in the break before Dig Down tomorrow btw, for anyone going.

For once, I’ll have a sign just to say something nice instead of asking for something 😅

[thatmusicismylife]

Looks like most of my flight is heading to parklife! Gonna head to Etihad just after 3 .

[DrMattLawson]

Anyone had any experience anywhere of changing tickets on the day to somewhere else in the stadium? I don’t like my seats...

[JimmyP117]

It feels good to be back here. Shame it's so quiet  

Absolutely no idea what their sets have been like since the RAH gig in December so it'll be good going into things relatively blind. Not expecting anything in the way of rarities as I imagine it'll be ST songs and 'the hits' but something mid tier like a Map, Bliss or TaB (which would fit perfectly) would be ace. Hope the Assassin riff is still part of the medley as well. Hid Muse from instagram as well so I'm unspoiled on the stage production as well.

Genuinely concerned about the weather though, I work in Rainhill which isn't too far away from Manc and we had severe hailstone, thunder and rain the other night. 100% gig cancellation weather.

 

Why my name changed? Why am I no longer Cyborgninja?  

Edited June 8, 2019 by JimmyP117

[DrMattLawson]

Weather now says rain stopping from 4pm so all should be well!

[fam201]

Gig tonight ! Getting excited! Really glad the weather forecast has changed to something a bit better, with rain supposed to end somewhere around the afternoon.

I also have a question about standing and the golden circle. Do you get a wristband when entering the golden circle and can then go in and out? And if you're not doing the golden circle, can you more or less move about freely between seats and pitch standing? Don't know when exactly we'll get to the stadium and my group will probably split up between standing and seating.

And also, can anyone give an opinion about how different crowd energy and stuff is between golden circle and somewhere fairly close to the golden circle? Given the time I'll get to the stadium, I'll probably be aiming for the latter. Hope I'll end up in a spot where people are into it .

Anywho, speaking of hopes, I hope that Bliss/smt similar (Map, CE, Showbiz, me getting hopes to high ) returns (bummer it left for Bristol...). Really improves the set.

Right then, much fun to anyone going tonight!

[JimmyP117]

Muse are on at 20:45 tonight.

 

Probably gonna have to leave during the encore to make that final train back to Liverpool. Never had to do that before, damn.

[DrMattLawson]

1 hour ago, JimmyP117 said:

Muse are on at 20:45 tonight.

 

Probably gonna have to leave during the encore to make that final train back to Liverpool. Never had to do that before, damn.

I had to do that on Wednesday. Left as soon as Chris picked up his harmonica. Thankfully heard the whole song as I jogged to station! Made me realise I could have sat on the street and heard full concert for free 😂

[Jobby]

What. A. Fucking. Gig.

Of my 19, that was one of the best. Amazing crowd. Brill energy from the band. Bliss in for UD. Morello filling the dream of coming out for BITM - huge pop. Took a happy birthday sign for Matt that he stopped and thanked me for 3 separate times, with a really nice one on the barrier walk. What a night, hope you all enjoyed as much ❤️

Edited June 8, 2019 by Jobby

[MuseboyDave]

11 hours ago, Jobby said:

What. A. Fucking. Gig.

Of my 19, that was one of the best. Amazing crowd. Brill energy from the band. Bliss in for UD. Morello filling the dream of coming out for BITM - huge pop. Took a happy birthday sign for Matt that he stopped and thanked me for 3 separate times, with a really nice one on the barrier walk. What a night, hope you all enjoyed as much ❤️

Hi Jobby, 

Glad you loved the gig, but i'm afraid i didn't. We will all, i think, have an opinion based on where we were in the Venue and it sounds like you had the perfect spot for Matt and the sign etc and i'm envious of your dedication and enthusiasm. Big up from me on that.

I've done 15 gigs now, and am down for Lisbon soon, but this one must rank in my bottom 3 of the gigs attended (yes i know it's hard, having  it compared to  HAARP, S.B.E. and R.A.H. so i suppose its a little unfair of me.....however.....

Here are my issues

1) Uprising.  Like it or loath it, the song is an anthem for muse lovers, so why start the base line, and then try and introduce the band over it as the song actually started..... from the back of the stadium, some started moshing, but others got a mixed message about the song being uprising (how many times have we heard an intro and expected it to go into a song we like, and the start of uprising 'misfired' and the crowd didn't seem to get into it much.

2) Sound levels and mix.  My god, what a horlicks from about the 3-6 song in. I assume it was a simple mistake, but the bass was literally trouser shaking and overwhelming the rest of the music, with the vocals and even drums getting lost behind the almost painful bass distortion. This didn't get 'fixed' until later, as the base was reduced and the sound went low in general, causing the atmosphere to drop accordingly

3) Setlist.   Ok, i know they have an album to push, but maybe they should not concentrate on this aspect so long after the album release as those who really want it will have it, and maybe need to start considering playing more of the older anthems (the mix songs) and get more albums sold from their back catalogue. I do not like the mix list set of songs as i heard that at the RAH in December but think that the slow bit does nothing for the energy levels, and Propaganda should be dropped for one of these, and Isolated System is a curious choice of slow music that doesn't add anything either. 

4) Stage.  Quote dramatic, but you cannot keep pushing the boundaries of stage presentation and graphics before it starts getting much the same. If i'm to be honest, i loved the HAARP stage design and Black holes tour one, and think the Drones stage was was actually very clever but failed in its split of the mosh crowd. 

5) Venue.  A great venue.... for football! Having seen Springsteen there previously, it isn't a venue for generating much gig atmosphere, where everyone can get involved. Good transport links in and out, and plentiful concessions and mobile drinks caddys. Time to lose the stadiums (that in this case still had swathes of empty tier seats (not lower tiers as we know they were for standing peeps too), and keep with arenas where you can control the lighting and not have to wait for the sun to go down and darkness to let rip with your expensive light displays. this can only increase atmosphere and in fact does.

6) Soldiers Poem.  In a week where 2 days before the show the 75th anniversary was held for D-day , i think, bearing in mind that it wouldn't have strained Matts voice and been only 90 seconds long, been a perfect time to play this as a one off in remembrance for the guys during that time that enabled us to enjoy the freedom to enjoy Muse today, no matter what the quality of the gig.

I'd give it a 6 out of 10. I'm not fully really, its just that i've seen better from them many times before, but i'm pushed to give you a truly musical 'stand out moment' from last night.

In closing......Dump the slow songs that lose energy, bring in a couple from the mix session, don't talk over your own anthem, get the sound right (i should have been in the perfect place for prefect sound (middle rear of standing), but wasn't until later in the gig when it was fixed, and dont overblow the stage with stupid robots no one can see farther back than 100ft from the stage front, and 'dancers' that seem to be just filers, and those god awful peeps on cables coming down the screen. Not needed! Keep the dramatic big robot thing as that was very impressive. 

Lets see if Lisbon is better than this. It needs to be!

 

Edited June 9, 2019 by MuseboyDave

[weezul]

Quote

1) Uprising.  Like it or loath it, the song is an anthem for muse lovers, so why start the base line, and then try and introduce the band over it as the song actually started..... 

Erm, they introduced chris and then he played the bass.

They introduced morgan and then he played the keys? It made total sense to me but I was at the back, unreserved seating.

 

Quote

2) Sound levels and mix.  My god, what a horlicks from about the 3-6 song in. I assume it was a simple mistake, but the bass was literally trouser shaking and overwhelming the rest of the music, with the vocals and even drums getting lost behind the almost painful bass distortion.

That's unfortunate because again, back of the stadium, unreserved level 1, directly facing the stage the sound was really really good. There was some trouser-flapping bass moments but they didn't cloud the sound at all for us. The only moment where it became really uncomfortable was dig down, it diddn't cloud the other instruments for me, but the bass was seriously fat. Balance wise, I felt everything was perfect apart from Tom Morello guest spot. Just a little bit obnoxiously loud for my tastes, you can hear it on the instagram clip as well.
 

Quote

3) Setlist.   that the slow bit does nothing for the energy levels

agree.  Dig Down , Madness, Mercy, is a particular low point in the set for me personally. Mercy looked amazing from the back, but eh. 

 

Quote

4) Stage.  Quote dramatic, but you cannot keep pushing the boundaries of stage presentation and graphics before it starts getting much the same. 

Will have to disagree, the graphic presentation, camera work and real time effects were WAY WAY above any muse show yet IMO. 

I do agree it was about 6 out of 10 though. Was also lucky enough for the past two gigs to be SBE and RAH.... It's really hard for a stadium to come close to SBE haha.

[JimmyP117]

Belter of a gig.

Proper enjoyed that. Going in blind was the best thing. My last gig before this was SBE so I had already made peace with the fact I wasn't going to see a show on that 'level' but overall the performance was excellent, the crowd were really into it (where I was at least) and I thought the set catered well to all types of fans. 

+ the ST songs all translated really well live, especially Algorithm (good lord that piano) and Break It To Me. Only Propaganda fell a little flat, felt it got a bit lost in the big open space. 

+ Tom Morello coming out was amazing and you could tell how much he and Matt were enjoying the moment.

+ the production/visuals were stellar throughout, I wish it had been dark the whole time! 

+ Great to hear Hysteria, PiB and SS as I wasn't sure they'd be played. Bliss and Take A Bow (which sounded great a half step down) were exactly the kind of songs that I wanted, fan favourites and they really fit the feel of the tour. Good set length too.

 

- I felt the sound could have been a smiiiidge louder on the whole. I've noticed that a few times with the Etihad in general though.

- It's becoming more noticeable that Matt is showing wear and tear on his voice. Not his fault by any means and he still gives 100%, it's just a shame. Quite evident from the number of breaks he has as well.

- Think I would have preferred The Void/Blockades over Propaganda but nevermind. 

An easy 8.5/10 for me  

Edited June 9, 2019 by JimmyP117

[weezul]

3 minutes ago, JimmyP117 said:

- I felt the sound could have been a smiiiidge louder on the whole.

Man, it was ear crushingly loud at the back! And when tom morello came out it was borderline ear rape. I think being higher than the standing crowd probably helped a lot in that respect.

[JimmyP117]

12 minutes ago, weezul said:

Man, it was ear crushingly loud at the back! And when tom morello came out it was borderline ear rape. I think being higher than the standing crowd probably helped a lot in that respect.

Interesting. It wasn't quiet or anything and the levels/mix were all very well balanced where I was (close to the b stage in the middle), a couple more decibels would have made it perfect.

I am on the short side mind so when I'm surrounded by a crowd of people I do notice a difference 😆lay

 

One thing that really made me smile was being stood next to a couple who had been fans since BHaR yet had never seen them live. Their faces lit up during TaB, lovely moment.

[LewisF]

What a fantastic gig. Being 17, my previous two Muse gigs were seated and, whilst I’d still rank the Drones gig’s setlist as being superior, being in standing put a whole new perspective on some songs I wouldn’t have particularly cared to see again. All the new songs translated really well, loved hearing them live (although the bass during Propaganda was probably heard from a remote island).

Queued from around 3pm and managed to land one of the golden circle wristbands — though our given turnstile (Y) was certainly a stroke of luck, being right next to the stage (and on Matt’s side :awesome:).

Pale Waves were alright, but Tom Morello was brilliant imo, that rendition of The Ghost Of Tom Joad has gotta be one of the best songs I’ve seen at a gig. And obviously Killing In the Name was always gonna be amazing.

Was on (roughly) the 3rd row from the barrier and around 3 people away from the B stage, so ended up having a great view, and to not be any worse off than those who’d paid for VIP hahahahaha. Until Knights comes on and you inevitably say fuck it and dive into the mosh pit a few rows behind you. On that topic, I’d have liked to have seen a few more typical ‘pits’, but the crowd was still pretty decent, lots of bouncing throughout.

Having only really seen clips of the Algorithm dancers and Murph prior to the gig (who was one mighty fella), some of the production I thought was mega, notably the spacemen during Break It To Me, and the STT Interstitial visuals were impressive.

Overall just an amazing gig experience, met some great folk in the queue before the gig and in the crowd, support was great, Muse were excellent. Now just have to see what this announcement is tomorrow...

Edited June 9, 2019 by lewisfielding

[Jobby]

^ You must’ve been dead close to me for the whole thing then! Also queued at Y (though from about 10am) and was dead centre on the b-stage barrier, amazing crowd around there that night.

[Buxomflirter Queef]

Must have seen you in the queue then Jobby, we were at Y too.

[LewisF]

57 minutes ago, Jobby said:

^ You must’ve been dead close to me for the whole thing then! Also queued at Y (though from about 10am) and was dead centre on the b-stage barrier, amazing crowd around there that night.

Yeah, me and my mate were on the far left queue out of the 4 or so mini queues they had going.

Lost count of how many times they showed us on the screen during Tom Morello

[TheMuseSmurf]

Excellent gig! Visuals superb, crowd were lively, band on form, the Tom Morello appearance was epic, and was so happy to get into the golden circle. We also queued at turnstile y from about 4pm. Didn't think we'd get the wristbands but was a nice surprise

[motobrox]

Having really looked forward to this, we left somewhat disappointed.

We have seen Muse 10 times plus from small to big gigs, including the last time at the Etihad.

What didn't we like:

1. Poor sound on the whole

2. The stage show was lame in comparison to other tours

3. The new songs met with a mixed response 

4. The energy and raw talent seemed missing other than a few highlights 

It's always great to see Muse live, but this was a real anticlimax.

[Yvo1]

8 hours ago, MuseboyDave said:

Hi Jobby, 

Glad you loved the gig, but i'm afraid i didn't. We will all, i think, have an opinion based on where we were in the Venue and it sounds like you had the perfect spot for Matt and the sign etc and i'm envious of your dedication and enthusiasm. Big up from me on that.

I've done 15 gigs now, and am down for Lisbon soon, but this one must rank in my bottom 3 of the gigs attended (yes i know it's hard, having  it compared to  HAARP, S.B.E. and R.A.H. so i suppose its a little unfair of me.....however.....

Here are my issues

1) Uprising.  Like it or loath it, the song is an anthem for muse lovers, so why start the base line, and then try and introduce the band over it as the song actually started..... from the back of the stadium, some started moshing, but others got a mixed message about the song being uprising (how many times have we heard an intro and expected it to go into a song we like, and the start of uprising 'misfired' and the crowd didn't seem to get into it much.

2) Sound levels and mix.  My god, what a horlicks from about the 3-6 song in. I assume it was a simple mistake, but the bass was literally trouser shaking and overwhelming the rest of the music, with the vocals and even drums getting lost behind the almost painful bass distortion. This didn't get 'fixed' until later, as the base was reduced and the sound went low in general, causing the atmosphere to drop accordingly

3) Setlist.   Ok, i know they have an album to push, but maybe they should not concentrate on this aspect so long after the album release as those who really want it will have it, and maybe need to start considering playing more of the older anthems (the mix songs) and get more albums sold from their back catalogue. I do not like the mix list set of songs as i heard that at the RAH in December but think that the slow bit does nothing for the energy levels, and Propaganda should be dropped for one of these, and Isolated System is a curious choice of slow music that doesn't add anything either. 

4) Stage.  Quote dramatic, but you cannot keep pushing the boundaries of stage presentation and graphics before it starts getting much the same. If i'm to be honest, i loved the HAARP stage design and Black holes tour one, and think the Drones stage was was actually very clever but failed in its split of the mosh crowd. 

5) Venue.  A great venue.... for football! Having seen Springsteen there previously, it isn't a venue for generating much gig atmosphere, where everyone can get involved. Good transport links in and out, and plentiful concessions and mobile drinks caddys. Time to lose the stadiums (that in this case still had swathes of empty tier seats (not lower tiers as we know they were for standing peeps too), and keep with arenas where you can control the lighting and not have to wait for the sun to go down and darkness to let rip with your expensive light displays. this can only increase atmosphere and in fact does.

6) Soldiers Poem.  In a week where 2 days before the show the 75th anniversary was held for D-day , i think, bearing in mind that it wouldn't have strained Matts voice and been only 90 seconds long, been a perfect time to play this as a one off in remembrance for the guys during that time that enabled us to enjoy the freedom to enjoy Muse today, no matter what the quality of the gig.

I'd give it a 6 out of 10. I'm not fully really, its just that i've seen better from them many times before, but i'm pushed to give you a truly musical 'stand out moment' from last night.

In closing......Dump the slow songs that lose energy, bring in a couple from the mix session, don't talk over your own anthem, get the sound right (i should have been in the perfect place for prefect sound (middle rear of standing), but wasn't until later in the gig when it was fixed, and dont overblow the stage with stupid robots no one can see farther back than 100ft from the stage front, and 'dancers' that seem to be just filers, and those god awful peeps on cables coming down the screen. Not needed! Keep the dramatic big robot thing as that was very impressive. 

Lets see if Lisbon is better than this. It needs to be!

 

Good grief.......wtf... some people like the slower songs, not jumping up and down stupid all the tine! You think they compose these songs, show, etc, just for you.,? I am sure you stand alone.., as a professional.., oh what is it do you do to enhance this life we All live in? And breath!!!

[Jobby]

Surprised at the talk of bad sound, thought all the gigs have sounded great so far tbh.

Me seeing a few shows probably helps noticing the extra energy, having others to contrast it to. But yeah, trust me, Matt was particularly up for this one. Crowd almost defo helped, comfortably the best of the tour so far and other places’ll have a job of topping it.

3 hours ago, lewisfielding said:

Yeah, me and my mate were on the far left queue out of the 4 or so mini queues they had going.

Lost count of how many times they showed us on the screen during Tom Morello

 

Aye, I was in the one to the right of that. Always find it freaky when this stuff happens 

4 hours ago, QUEEN of the Muse Board said:

Must have seen you in the queue then Jobby, we were at Y too.

Maybe we all did, hardly anyone got there until right before doors with the weather :’)

I was a marginally lanky fella shivering in a shite old thin waterproof and beat up boots with a face and hair that looks like it’s done approximately 130 hours of travelling, queueing and gigging in the past 2 weeks if that rings a bell 😑

Edited June 9, 2019 by Jobby

[Buxomflirter Queef]

3 minutes ago, Jobby said:

Surprised at the talk of bad sound, thought all the gigs have sounded great so far tbh.

Me seeing a few shows probably helps noticing the extra energy, having others to contrast it to. But yeah, trust me, Matt was particularly up for this one. Crowd almost defo helped, comfortably the best of the tour so far and other places’ll have a job of topping it.

 

Aye, I was in the one to the right of that. Always find it freaky when this stuff happens 

Maybe we all did, hardly anyone got there until right before doors with the weather :’)

I was a marginally lanky fella shivering in a shite old thin waterproof and beat up boots with a face and hair that looks like it’s done approximately 130 hours of travelling, queueing and gigging in the past 2 weeks if that rings a bell 😑

How far were you removed from the girl with the pen? :chuckle:

[Jobby]

11 minutes ago, QUEEN of the Muse Board said:

How far were you removed from the girl with the pen? :chuckle:

Ahhh, see that was a thing with the little group I was with, none of us had a pen and we were never sure where to get numbers when people asked  I think I did see one girl occasionally pop through with one though and I did get a number eventually but I never caught whereabouts in the queues she came from. Was it you??