Tuesday 19 April 2016

Ranking my Muse Gigs

As the U.K leg of the Drones World Tour comes to a conclusion, the time would seem right to go over each of the Muse gigs I have attended to try and decide which one would come top of a list. This is something I have long mulled over in my own mind, and debated with fellow fans.

I have been lucky enough to have attended 9 Muse gigs, and rarely have they let me down. Epic stage shows, massive riffs and huge choruses are just some of the inevitably huge spectacle that Muse fans enjoy when seeing their band live.

It should be noted before going into this list, that obviously, these are my opinions. It will differ from your own, and no doubt some of you might question my ordering. This is purely for fun and debate, enjoy!



9. SSE Hydro (2016, Night 2) Drones World Tour


The final gig of the U.K leg of the Drones Tour, and it was a good gig. But that's all. Nothing amazing, but nothing bad either. It was however a tough choice to put this last on the list, it was still an excellent night. A lot of fun. Resistance, Feeling Good - it was definitely on the weaker set list side as far as rotations go. It looked like Madness and Undisclosed Desires would complete the very casual-centric set list until; no Madness! I couldn't believe it. Muse went straight from an epic Glasgow Jam (complete with bagpipes, Scottish dancers and Matt sprinting around with a Scottish flag like a mad man) into Map of the Problematique. Cue a very happy crowd. We even managed to miss Undisclosed Desires and get Take a Bow. Crowd was also very lively, but my view was slightly obscured by others at times. Overall it was the weaker of the three Drones gigs I attended (more to come on those). However, it was a nice wrap up to a pretty amazing week of Muse gigs.

High Points: No Madness or Undisclosed Desires, Glasgow Jam

Low Points: Bad views on occasion, Set could've been better slightly






8. Leeds Festival (2011), Origin of Symmetry in Full

Near the bottom of this list, perhaps surprisingly, the 2011 U.K festival run saw Muse play fan favourite album Origin of Symmetry in full for its 10th anniversary. Whilst the gig itself was also my first Muse gig, it is also one that I struggle to remember a lot of. The bits I do remember, whilst amazing, are damped by the biblically bad weather conditions experienced on the day. The set list itself was incredible; Origin in full is a spectacle in itself. New Born, Bliss, Hyper Music and THAT Space Dementia outro are just incredible. The performance was also good, but perhaps in my opinion not up to the highs of other gigs on this list. It will always be very special to Muse fans, Leeds was a pretty damn good night - a night Im would have probably appreciated more now than back then.

High Points: Space Dementia's outro is absolutely bombastic, Hyper Music, Bliss

Low Points: Weather
Darkshines

7. S.E.C.C (2012) The 2nd Law Tour

Another gig that, fundamentally, did not have a lot wrong with it - the Glasgow stop on the 2nd Law Tour was filled with a lot of highs, but enough lows to bring it down the list. Starting with why it is so low; the sound quality at the gig waivered in and out of being good and poor enough to leave the sound lacking in departments throughout the gig. On the flip side of this, I got Map of the Problematique for the first time in place of Hysteria, and a very rare playing of Ruled by Secrecy as well. The set was long, and the set list itself was very good. The light show was a very good spectacle, and being the 2nd time I'd seen the band, i was in awe of the lasers and pyramid that was used. 

High Points: Map, Ruled by Secrecy, Host snippet, Scottish Crowd

Low Points: Sound quality, Monty Jam


6. Etihad Stadium (2013) Unsustainable Tour

The end of my birthday week that was bookended with two massive Muse stadium gigs, the Etihad gig was one that i will remember for a long time. I got Bliss (again!) and the two songs I wanted more from this gig more than anything - United States of Eurasia and Dead Star. This gig completed a lot of hopes as a Muse fan for me, and the area of the crowd I was in was insanely bonkers. The decision to do two stadium gigs (this was the original one) was proved right given the set I had got earlier in the week (still to come on this list), and this completed that. The stage itself was incredible, and the band were on top form.

High Points: Dead Star, Eurasia, Stage, Crowd

Low Points: Resistance, B-Stage song choices























5. Barrowlands (2015) Psycho Tour

A great night, seeing Muse in such a small venue and being right down the front for Psycho was incredbile. This gig was also behind the etihad gig, but remembering it more and more forced me to put it into the top 5. A gig that had a lot of pontetial, that upon closer inspection was underwhelming as other dates on the Psycho Tour got setlists that had more fan favourites than Glasgow did, but at the time of the gig I simply did not care - Uno, Bliss, Hyper Music, Agitated. This made for a very fun gig and really thats all we can ask, it was possible the most personal and crowd invovling Muse gig I've been ivolved in. I had always wanted to hear Hyper Music again after Leeds, and I had been reisgned to the fact that the chances are I wouldn't. Uno and Bliss were the icing on the already diabetic-inducing cake, with Bliss always being a real coup to get and Uno sounding like Matt Bellamy himself had pulled it from the jaws of obscurity to play it. The Glasgow crowd was also electric; as you expect from the legendary Barrowlands venue. Bellamys pro-independece speech was also very rousing, even for a No-voter.

High Points: Uno, Bliss, Hyper Music, Crowd, Small venue was incredible. 

Low Points: Reflection on set list, occasional sound cut, Starlight



4. SSE Hydro (2016, Night 1) Drones World Tour

The Drones World Tour rolled into Scotland off the back of a good residency in London and expectations were high. Would we get some combination of the roations used in London, or as on the Psycho Tour would the Glasgow set be lacking? We were not dissaponted. Muse pulled out probably the best set of the tour so far - and it will probably stay that way. Map of the Problematique, Bliss, Citizen Erased, Stockholm Syndrome AND Take a Bow all in the same set. The only let down was, I was on by far the weaker side of the crowd - however this let me get even nearer the stage, and see it better than before. it is an incredible stage and a real sight to behold. The Hydro splitting the crowd into pre-determined sections was not good, as I wanted to be on the other side and even though we were allowed to record security kept stopping me - I was not pleased and it kinda soured the night a little. 

High Points: THAT SET, great view of the stage

Low Points: Bad crowd, wrong side of the stage, poor security guards.



3. Download Festival (2015)

The culmination of a days worth of travelling to Donington Park, for a festival where Muse initially faced a backlash at their credentials of being headliners. Muse knocked it out the park, rewinding the years and pulling out a plethora of rare and deep-cut tracks. The sheer abundance of fan favourites one after another in a run that included Psycho, The Handler, New Born, Hysteria, Micro Cuts, Dead Star, Agitated and Citizen Erased, made the already Muse fanatic heavy crowd lose their minds. The performance was great, and there was no sound issues. Bellamy even slipped duirng Psycho, and recovered well. All in all, a memeorable day, with an incredible set - one that I'm fairly sure I'll never better. 

High Points: Setlist

Low Points: Where was Assassin? 



2. Manchester Arena (2016, Night 1) Drones World Tour

A simply incredible gig. The 360 stage is an absolute marvel. The sound was incredible. Criticisms were aimed at the perhaps shortness of these sets, but when there you do not notice. I was overcome by an absolute thrill-ride of a set. I got Bliss (yet again!) and Map. Hysteria was at its tremor-inducing best, and i finally got a huge moment in my Muse-fan life. I got to cross Take a Bow off of my list. It's from my favouirte album, and I had always wanted to hear it. The fact I got Map, Bliss and Take a Bow, three songs I'd have been happy to get from all 3 of my Drones gigs attended meant I'd already achieved my aims for the tour and I was overwhelmed. The crowd was also on great form, despite rumours pre-gig to the contrary the Manchester crowd was one of the best and wildest I have ever been in. It took me a very long time to decide between this and my number one... and there wasn't much in it.

High Points: Map, Bliss, Take a Bow, Crowd, stage, Visuals

Low Points: Perhaps short, too much "down time"







1. Emirates Stadium (2013, Night 2) Unsustainable Tour

The single best Muse gig I have attended. Everything fell into place for this gig. A baking, scorching hot day in London, with my favourite band playing at my football teams stadium. It was a near last minute decision to attend this gig in the hope I got something special. Approaching the stadium hearing Hysteria and Map of the Problematique soundcheck was an insanely cool exerience. The weather lent itself to a very cheery and happy crowd who just wanted to have fun. Similarly to the Etihad, the stage was of course incredible, Seeing as this was the first gig of those two, this one had my heart rate cranked way higher from the moment Supremacy blasted it's James Bond-esque self into the London air, until Starlight closed the night for a very drained crowd. What tips this gig above the rest is the set. Map and Hysteria were huge, I also got to see Sunburn for the first (and so far only) time, great additions - however my decision to go was backed up by the playing of Butterflies & Hurricanes - the only U.K stadium to get it. Butteflies is HUGE, and to date this is the only gig I have heard it. I cannot under-sell just how incredible it is. 

High Points: Butterflies, Weather, Fun atmosphere

Low Points: None

Credit: Muse




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