Jump to content
Muse

This is Somerset: Headliners Muse get close to The Edge

Tofu

By Tofu
in Muse In the Media

Recommended Posts

Tofu Escapee

Tofu

Posted
Posted

MUSE: PYRAMID STAGE (Saturday)

 

"This is our friend The Edge," said Matt Bellamy as Muse walked out for their first encore, and suddenly we had a ‘Glastonbury moment’ on our hands.

 

There had been a decidedly mixed response to the news that U2 had to pull out of their Friday night headline slot because of Bono’s back injury (whether this was caused by the weight of his wallet or his ego had yet to be confirmed), but when The Edge took to the stage, the place went crazy. And as they played Where The Streets Have No Name, the smiles on everyone’s faces, both onstage and off, were mile-wide.

 

Frankly, Muse needed The Edge’s help. The Teignmouth trio topped the bill here six years ago and play nothing but massive gigs these days, but for them to be given the prestigious Saturday night slot at the 40th anniversary festival was still something of a surprise to many.

 

Everything about them is huge, every song custom-built to get people jumping up and down, every extravagant gesture by Bellamy designed to get a reaction. What they are lacking is a change of pace. Occasionally, they threw in a snatch of straightforward blues rock, almost as if to amuse themselves between songs, and it sounded great – and their cover of Feeling Good, the song made famous by Nina Simone, was a rare break from the bombast.

 

And bombast they have in spades. At times they get so close to the previous rock music benchmark of ridiculousness, Rick Wakeman’s The Myths And Legends of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table, with its accompanying live show on ice, that it’s downright worrying. All Bellamy needs is a cape for the full prog rock effect. They even have a song called United States of Eurasia that sounds so much like Queen, it’s a wonder they haven’t had a call from the lawyers.

 

When it works, it works well. Supermassive Black Hole, Plug In Baby and New Born were good pop songs backed by a wall of noise, the opening Uprising sounded a lot like the Doctor Who theme and the whole show was smothered in lights and lasers.

 

But there were too many metal riffs (metal has never been at home at Glastonbury), and some of Bellamy’s guitar solos were technically brilliant, clearly great fun to play and awful to listen to.

 

Thankfully, we now know a way to curb Muse’s excesses: they should hire a bloke called The Edge.

 

PAUL DALLISON

 

6/10

 

http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/glastonburyfestivalreviews/Headliners-Muse-close-Edge/article-2350919-detail/article.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tofu Escapee

Tofu

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I don't agree with the reviewer for most of it; sounds like he just doesn't like Muse's entire style of music (PiB and NB pop? Metal riffs? Whuuut? just as the glaring examples) but I definitely agree on this part: "What they are lacking is a change of pace."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Anxyous Escapee

Anxyous

Posted
Posted

Clearly, the guy was at the wrong gig:

 

Very first line:

 

""This is our friend The Edge," said Matt Bellamy as Muse walked out for their first encore, and suddenly we had a ‘Glastonbury moment’ on our hands."

 

As if they played more than one...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
weird cOokie Escapee

weird cOokie

Posted
Posted
Bono’s back injury (whether this was caused by the weight of his wallet or his ego had yet to be confirmed)

 

how nice :LOL:

 

But there were too many metal riffs (metal has never been at home at Glastonbury), and some of Bellamy’s guitar solos were technically brilliant, clearly great fun to play and awful to listen to.

 

orly, metal riffs. then what's next, muse are country stars? :wtf:

 

They even have a song called United States of Eurasia that sounds so much like Queen, it’s a wonder they haven’t had a call from the lawyers.

 

he clearly ignores what brian may said about muse.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CarrieB Escapee

CarrieB

Posted
Posted

"Too many metal riffs" Too rocky for Glastonbury he meant! With some fans here complaining they weren't rocky enough! Muse can't please everyone. I think with their musical style as it is, they balanced it as well as they could.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mjartrod Escapee

mjartrod

Posted
Posted

reading a load of reviews/opinions about muse in a row leaves you wondering if people were watching the same set.

 

in this one they are criticised because of too many 'metal riffs' and bombast; in another one they were criticised because they didnt bring a UFO; but in yet another one they were criticised for not being as 'rock' as they were in the past and relied too much on 'tricks'.

 

then there is criticism that they should have played more 'classics' - when others complain that they didn't play enough material for the most recent albums and this was too similar to 2004.

 

for some, exogenesis should have been played - for others the set already has too many slow moments as it is and needed to be more 'rocky'.

 

:LOL:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tofu Escapee

Tofu

Posted
  • Author
Posted
reading a load of reviews/opinions about muse in a row leaves you wondering if people were watching the same set.

 

in this one they are criticised because of too many 'metal riffs' and bombast; in another one they were criticised because they didnt bring a UFO; but in yet another one they were criticised for not being as 'rock' as they were in the past and relied too much on 'tricks'.

 

then there is criticism that they should have played more 'classics' - when others complain that they didn't play enough material for the most recent albums and this was too similar to 2004.

 

for some, exogenesis should have been played - for others the set already has too many slow moments as it is and needed to be more 'rocky'.

 

:LOL:

 

No one's happy. :awesome:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mozza Assassin

Mozza

Posted
Posted

Interesting take, some of it is weird, some of it kinda sums up how I felt watching it, so here we go

 

I don't agree with the reviewer for most of it; sounds like he just doesn't like Muse's entire style of music (PiB and NB pop? Metal riffs? Whuuut? just as the glaring examples) but I definitely agree on this part: "What they are lacking is a change of pace."

 

Matt played a load of riffs, so so many it was frustrating, they could have just thrown in MK or Unnatural Selection or something rather than playing riffs by Nirvana, Led Zeppelin and Rage Against the Machine for example. Metal is the wrong term to use though. They definitely lacked a change of pace, it got bogged down in the middle so much.

 

6/10? Humph..

 

About fair, wasn't awful by any means, just not particularly great either.

 

Clearly, the guy was at the wrong gig:

 

Very first line:

 

""This is our friend The Edge," said Matt Bellamy as Muse walked out for their first encore, and suddenly we had a ‘Glastonbury moment’ on our hands."

 

As if they played more than one...

 

There was a huge gap between Plug In Baby and Knights. I thought they had gone off again, and to be fair if you count Man With a Harmonica as a seperate track (again playing bits of other peoples songs instead of your own :noey:) then it is perfectly reasonable to assume they did two encores.

 

"Too many metal riffs" Too rocky for Glastonbury he meant! With some fans here complaining they weren't rocky enough! Muse can't please everyone. I think with their musical style as it is, they balanced it as well as they could.

 

Difference between playing a rocky song that you've written and is fast paced than playing a load of rock riffs from other bands as outros to songs that don't seem to serve any purpose, again its badly written

 

Its the perfect balance of complaints and contradictions.

 

How are Plug in Baby and New Born pop songs? :LOL:

 

Well New Born isn't, and that is baffling, I don't see how it is pop. Plug In Baby does have a catchy chorus but I wouldn't say it was that much pop either. Again, he has good points but then just says nonsense after it :LOL:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kieren Escapee

Kieren

Posted
Posted

I can see where he's getting at, but I don't think they've got the right person to review them. At least get somebody who knows something about the fucking band rather than some dick who goes 'hey, that sounds like the Doc Who theme tune!'. Really? Does it? They're pulling out every cliche under the sun about the band instead of reviewing their performance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
EJ. Escapee

EJ.

Posted
Posted

 

Matt played a load of riffs, so so many it was frustrating, they could have just thrown in MK or Unnatural Selection or something rather than playing riffs by Nirvana, Led Zeppelin and Rage Against the Machine for example. Metal is the wrong term to use though. They definitely lacked a change of pace, it got bogged down in the middle so much.

 

There was a huge gap between Plug In Baby and Knights. I thought they had gone off again, and to be fair if you count Man With a Harmonica as a seperate track (again playing bits of other peoples songs instead of your own :noey:) then it is perfectly reasonable to assume they did two encores.

 

 

I personally love those riffs. But i agree i wouldn't be sad either if they'd done US or MK instead. And the gap was there to calm the crowd a bit down again for the Moricone part. I still think it is fantastic to listen to. But yeah, it is always a sad moment when it starts, cause you know this is the last song.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CarrieB Escapee

CarrieB

Posted
Posted

What the riff's or pieces of music by other artists or composers do though, is make it accessible to those who are not familiar with Muse without doing full covers. I don't know whether that's their intention, but it can be less fun watching a band when you don't know any of their music, particularly because, depending on how catchy the music is, it often takes a while for it to sink in and the first listen can just sound like noise.

 

It also sets the scene (Adagio before Resistance for instance sets the mood) and they do introduce new pieces here and there and vary them. Plus it's fun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Railroad Escapee

Railroad

Posted
Posted
It also sets the scene (Adagio before Resistance for instance sets the mood) and they do introduce new pieces here and there and vary them. Plus it's fun.

 

Amen, especially the bolded part :happy:.

 

I love the riffs too. And guitar, particularly electric, is not normally my favorite instrument. A lot of it depends on the skill of the player (obviously). With most bands, once the guitar solo starts, it's usually something I'm just waiting to get past (yeah, yeah, let's get back to the song :p), but never with Muse. I actually look forward to it (New Born, Hysteria, Plug In Baby, and Knights of Cydonia come to mind particularly). The riffs are so...musical, for the lack of a better term, rather than just sounding like noise.

 

I realize we're talking about riffs from other bands as well, but he manages to bring the same musicality to it because of his own personal interpretation as well as the degree of his skill. Matt has convinced me that the electric guitar has more potential than I used to think (piano is still my favorite, though;)).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...