The English alternative rock band Muse delivered an energetic mind-blowing performance to thousands of devoted fans at the Staples Center on Sept. 25.
Ticket orders were so overwhelming that the band added a second performance on Sept. 26.
To see Muse live is to watch three musically creative men enjoying the work they have built on since they formed in Devon, England in 1994.
When the lights dimmed, three cloth towers stood in the middle of the stage. The audience looked perplexed and excited by what seemed to be the silhouettes of men going up the stairs inside the towers and falling off the top. After watching the white silhouettes move through the black background towers, the cloths dropped onto the stage, revealing three smaller stages within the main stage.
As soon as the first notes of “Uprising” were heard, the crowd rose to its feet and the people in the pit began to jump and sing the chorus, “They will not force us.They will stop degrading us.They will not control us.We will be victorious. So come on.” The powerful chorus set the tone for the night. It was almost as if the audience members wanted to make its presence known, and that they too, would not back down.
Undoubtedly, Muse is one of the best sounding live performance bands, even though its recordings sound remarkable as well. The lyrics to Muse’s songs combine power, politics, love, and even a feeling of being in space.
With Matthew Bellamy’s talent at vocals, lead guitar, and piano; Christopher Wolstenholme at bass and backup vocals; and, Dominic Howard at drums and percussion, Muse captivates and amuses the crowd with its unique sense of music style, combining alternative rock with space rock, electronic rock, and even classical music.
Throughout the concert, the great sound of the band’s set list, together with the green, red and purple lasers and strobe lighting, helped to get the crowd pumped up. Most of the attendees were on their feet for the entire 19 songs that Muse performed, while a few even crowd-surfed through the pit. From the top of the center, crew members threw gigantic eye balloons, which dropped confetti when the audience threw them around and popped them.
Muse performed well-known songs such as “Resistance,” “Starlight,” “Time Is Running Out,” “Supermassive Black Hole,” “Undisclosed Desires,” as well as “Plug In Baby,” “Stockholm Syndrome,” and “New Born.” The band also pleased the crowd with a few riff jams.
It was rewarding to see that Muse is a band that wants to connect with every one of their fans. Howard’s drum platform rotates hypnotically at various times throughout the concert in order to be able to face the fans sitting behind the stage. Wolstenholme paraded around the stage as he showed off his bass playing skills, and while banging his head, pumped up the crowd even more.
But it was Bellamy who really owned the show from the beginning, especially with his silver, shiny, and extremely eclectic outfit, which blindingly reflected the lights of the stage back onto the audience. Bellamy paraded around the stage as he connected with the fans, thus bringing enthusiasm to the rest of the band and to the entire audience. At times, he even stuck his head into the light reflectors, as if to get a high off the power of the music. The ultimate part of the show was watching Bellamy sliding on his knees across the stage. All three members of Muse complement each other, which enabled the band to perform at its best.
Having originally ended the concert after the 16th song, “Unnatural Selection,” Muse fans were left thirsty and wanting more. They let the band know as soon as Bellamy, Howard, and Wolstenholme left the stage. The audience kept clapping as they lingered in the darkness of the Staples Center, even as Bellamy’s red guitar kept whining after he had thrown it onto the stage floor. A sea of small lights overtook the darkness as the fans started waving their lit cell phones to let their presence be known. Audience members stayed in their spots, cheering for the band a few more minutes.
The audience seemed a bit confused when they saw people walking around on the stage. The lights slowly went back on and out came Muse onto the stage once again.
The crowd went wild, cheering and clapping even louder, and the band went onto perform three more songs, with the last one being their well-known hit “Knights of Cydonia.” Once they started to play the last song Muse fans began to sing along, knowing that they had just seen a great rock band and a tremendous performance.
The concert ended on an impressive note as pyrotechnic effects went off during the last few seconds of the song.
Passion Pit, an electric pop band from Cambridge, MA, and formed in 2007, opened up the concert with a few of their own songs, which included “Moth’s Wings” and “Little Secrets.” Vocalist Michael Angelakos’ voice brought soul to the music which was danceable, fun, fresh, and memorable. Both the mellow and upbeat rhythms of Passion Pit’s music were a good way to start the night.
Muse fans left the concert in high spirits, having just seen an astonishing live show that will be surely be remembered.
