web feature Muse at Wembley Stadium - (September 10th 2010)

[scifigeekgirl]

Aaand another review of Friday's gig, including supports. Again found via twitter:

 

@MuseSupport .@Muse at Wembley Stadium Review - (September 10th 2010) http://bit.ly/bhp2vh - #muse #musers #theresistance

 

direct link

http://www.411mania.com/music/concerts/152730/Muse-at-Wembley-Stadium---%28September-10th-2010%29.htm

 

cut&paste jobbie part 1 (orig too long!):

 

Muse at Wembley Stadium - (September 10th 2010)

Posted by David Hayter on 09.12.2010

 

Muse return to the site of their site of their greatest triumph to celebrate a decade of stadium sized rock dominance; and they've brought their friends along for the ride. As Lily Allen plays her final gig before retirement, while The Big Pink and White Rabbits open the show.

 

Three years ago Muse strode onstage for their first of two sold out nights at Wembley Stadium. Back then, the notion of Muse playing to hundreds of thousands of people seemed bizarre. Bands like Muse weren’t supposed to play Wembley. Wembley was for populist hit makers like Oasis, Bon Jovi & U2, not weird hard rocking prog nerds. Muse, however, had been on journey since 2003’s Absolution set them on the path to superstardom. A headline slot at Glastonbury festival in 2004 was the initial break through, as Muse slowly transitioned from a band who wrote epics into an epic live band. Laser shows, fire, dancing robots, huge stages, giant sci-fi orbs from The Prisoner and even a UFO followed, as Muse transformed themselves into the UK’s definitive 21st Century stadium act. Muse had become the heirs apparent to Queen, and after returning to headline Glastonbury in 2010; two sold out nights at Wembley Stadium felt like the natural climax of an epic journey. A band come full circle. With Matt Bellamy promising a new intimate album for intimate arenas, this may be the last stadium tour that Muse will undertake for the foreseeable future. So after all the pomp and circumstance of the last seven years, could Muse live up to the hype, could they top themselves one last time, and most importantly could they provided the perfect fairy tale ending to their remarkable rise?

 

Well before we get to Muse we have the small matter of the support, and Muse had lade on quite the line up. Brooklyn’s White Rabbits were the first to take to Muse’s suitably lavish and imposing main stage. Surprisingly the low key indie artisans were not fazed by Wembley’s mammoth scale and blasted through a heart felt and emotional set, of mostly subtle and subdued numbers. The band was driven by their propulsive rhythm section, layering multiple drum lines together to create entrancing grooves. White Rabbits culminated their set with a stirring rendition of their signature track “Percussion Gun”. Bold and surprisingly assertive, White Rabbits may well have won over some new fans with an unexpected master class in stadium sized subtly.

 

The same can not be said of the The Big Pink. It was no fault of their own, but The Big Pink’s sound and aesthetic was largely lost on the big stage. Their rich textural explorations of love seemed to get lost as they swirled fitfully in the cavernous void of Wembley Stadium. The Big Pink's plight was worsen by the lack of their usually staggering light show. The strobes and smoke that normally envelop the band were absent, and quite frankly they felt naked without them. Of course that being said; “Tonight” still felt vibrant, “Velvet” was as beautiful and hopeless poetic as ever, and “Dominos” remains irresistible. The Big Pink didn’t fail by any means, but this set, on this stage, just didn’t feel right.

 

After spending the best part of the morning worrying on twitter that she’d be bombarded by boos and bottles Lily Allen strolled on stage with great assuredness. The four to five month pregnant Allen certainly wasn’t at the top of her game, but in fitting with her knowing self deprecating aesthetic she was the first to point this out; “As you may have noticed I’m with child...so I’m wearing my Maternity tights, and I have to keep pulling them up, ergh...not a good look”. From then on in Lily appeared to have won over a sceptical crowd as she ploughed through a set that was heavy on hits; with dance remixes of “Not Fair” and a drum a bass variant of “Smile”. Lily was clearly feeling the effects of pregnancy as she was visible out of breath, panting heavily after certain lines, and at times it would affect her vocals. She was clearly flat on many of the high notes. Yet these issues never threaten to undermine her performance as the set list was well chosen and well crafted. Set opener, “Everyone’s At It” blared out bombastically before descending into a electro-guitar thudding beat down capturing the crowd's attention instantly. Later Professor Green joined Lily on stage for a quick rap at “Smile’s” conclusion before performing an extended version of their top ten hit “Be Good To Green”.

 

Lily has always been a canny and self aware performer, and tonight she knew her physical condition, and understood her audience; creating a set that thrilled and entertained while hiding her obvious limitations. For her final ever show it was an undoubted triumph, winning over a frosty crowd, and reminding everyone that even when she’s not at her best, she’s still a cut above the rest of the pop crowd. As she left the stage she thanked Muse for letting her play with them; stating in typically endearing fashion that’d she’d never have got to play on this stage on her own. It was an understated goodbye from a lady who’s made a big impact in a short span of time, but who is clearly ready to move on in life. Ironically “The Fear” was her album closer, and I'm happy to report that maybe, just maybe, this once confused and lost little lady, may have finally escaped from it.

[scifigeekgirl]

review part 2:

 

Setlist:

 

1. “Uprising”

2. “Super Massive Black Hole”

3. “New Born”/”Town Ship Rebellion”

4. “Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)

5. “Butterfly & Hurricanes”

6. “Guiding Light”

7. “Hysteria”

8. “Nishe”

9. “United States Of Eurasia”

10. “I Belong To You”

11. “Feeling Good”

12. “MK Jam” (Drum and Bass solo)

13. “Undisclosed Desires”

14. “Resistance”

15. “Starlight”

16. “House Of The Rising Sun” (Snippet)

17. “Time Is Running Out”

18. “Unnatural Selection”

 

Encore:

 

19. “Soldier’s Poem”

20. “Exogensis: Symphony, Part 1: Overture”

21. “Stockholm Syndrome”

 

Second Encore:

 

22. “Take A Bow”

23. “Plug In Baby”

24. “Knights Of Cydonia”

 

 

So with the crowd suitably warmed up after a good old fashioned sing and dance along it was time for Muse. The lights dimmed, ominous sirens blared, and then streams of flag and banner wavers stormed the stage, before Bellamy and co. launched into “Uprising”. The mammoth sold out crowd bounced in unison, pits exploded almost instantly as the crowd's hearty roar drowned out even Matt’s ear melting whine. It was clear the crowd were ready for a good time, and Muse had no intention of letting them down. “Super Massive Black Hole” turned moshing into hip wiggling as the crowd unleashed their best (or worst) falsettos. It became immediately apparent that Muse were preparing to unleash the greatest hits. “New Born” came next, sounding just as good, and just as vital, live in 2010, as it did in 2001. The riffage was mammoth, the sing along deafening, and the “Township Rebellion” outro was a sublime touch giving the crowd plenty of opportunity throw themselves headlong into one another.

 

Oddly the much maligned “Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)” was transformed into a euphoric high in the live arena, while the torturous “Guiding Light” was not only palatable but positively spell binding when surrounded by a sea of hands. It wasn’t all good news however, “United States Of Eurasia” was certainly enhanced by Muse’s live bombast but still couldn’t help but sink beneath its own pretentions. While the Bowie aping “I Belong To You” left large portions of the crowd cold. Being consummate live veterans it was clear that Muse had planned their setlist wisely; as these comparative low lights served as buffers for the crowd to rest and regain their stamina before the next wave of heavy hitters were to be unleashed.

 

At other points Muse used pageantry to enhance their weaker materiel. During a laboured rendition of “Undisclosed Desires” Muse span on an elevated platform leaving the live crowd in awe. Similarly during “Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1: Overture” we were given a glimpse of the legendary UFO as it hovered ominously before unleashing an acrobatic visual artist. Amidst all the insanity no one seemed to notice the bloated self indulgence that served to sink The Resistance. Equally the far more tasteful “Soldier’s Poem” provided the night's most unforgettable visual as Dom encourage the crowd to hold their lighters, phones and cameras in the air. The sight of a 90,000 or so, glowing blue and red lights is something that I will simply never forget.

 

With the pomp and pageantry put to one side it was time for Muse to blow the crowd away with their sheer visceral bombast. “Time is Running Out” flew by so fast that I can hardly remember it, “Starlight” had the crowd embracing on mass and clapping in unison before “Unnatural Selection” provided the surprise highlight of the night sparking the most ferocious pits of the entire set. From then on in it was time to send the night into over drive with the classic finishing flurry of “Stockholm Syndrome”, “Take A Bow”, “Plug In Baby” and a riotous rendition of “Knights Of Cydonia”. The latter created one of those great moments of crowd unity as the circle pits opened wide and people seemed content to playfully launch into one another before celebrating with a round of high fives.

 

Incredibly silly, but insanely satisfying, that sums up Muse, and this night, perfectly . The whole affair was over blown, ridiculous, and larger than life, but it never felt cringe inducing or false. It just felt like a bunch of prog-rock nerds fulfilling their wildest desires and having fun with 90,000 fans. If this is to the end of Muse’s stadium hegemony, before they return to more minimalist fare, then they couldn’t have asked for a more epic or charming send off. It wasn't the greatest Muse performance that these shores have seen; but it was an unforgettable experience, that no other band could hope to replicate.

 

 

The 411: The last of the great Muse stadium shows (for quite some time at least), the final performance of Lily Allen's career, and a setting of unparalleled grandeur made this gig utterly essential before a single note had been played.Yet with great significance, comes great expectation. Thankfully, by the time the reverb had finally faded at "Knights Of Cydonia's" conclusion no one in the 90,000 strong crowd doubted Muse's brilliance. Matt Bellamy and co. had crafted a two hour set that flowed superbly from start to finish; combining visceral grooves, with hand on heart sing-a-longs moments, and over the top

pageantry. The pacing was perfectly judged to keep the entire crowd engaged, but not burned out, as their show progressed. The set built to a series of epic high points and featured top notch production from start to finish. Muse proved they are the 21st Century's great stadium headliners, and on September 10th 2010, from the bottom to the top of the card, they delivered a wide screen experience of unparalleled grandeur.

411 Elite Award

Final Score: 9.0 [ Amazing ] legend

 

Let's hear it for the incredibly silly but insanely satisfying prog-rock nerds!