Concert Review: Muse

by Kenneth Smith of 2K7 Photography

Every now and then you are so blown away by a show that afterward you just have to stand there and say to yourself, "WOW."

The Nokia Theater in Grand Prairie played host to Muse (and a nearly packed house) on Sunday night. This is the 2nd time I have seen the Devonian trio and I'm still reeling from the experience. I last saw Muse in April at Edgefest and was blown away then. It had been a while since I had seen a live band that was so spot-on that you couldn't help but to be mesmerized. Sunday night was just as phenomenal. The only difference was that because it was actually Muse's show and not a festival, I got to experience their stage setup and lighting as well, which basically just sends the whole thing over the top.

Following Juliette and The Licks (who, I must add, were extremely good) Muse took the stage at around 10:10 p.m. to an eruption of cheers and screams from the packed crowd. The stage setup had me in awe. The clear drums were on a massive riser that seemed to be surrounded in LED lights. Above them were three huge LED screens that, together, spanned nearly the full length of the stage. To the left of the drums was a grand piano (electric, I assume) whose lifted top also had lighted features. To the right was a small keyboard/sampler setup for one of the tour-only band members. At the front of the stage to the right was a microphone and pedal setup for Bassist Chris Wolstenholme. Opposite Wolstenholme's setup and in front of the piano, was the mic setup for Guitarist/singer Matthew Bellamy. Behind all of this , rising from the ground to just under the 3 massive screens, were 5 equally spaced concave light setups that were about 3-4 feet wide and looked to be 7 or 8 feet tall. They were comprised of horizontal strips that were about 1 inch apart and the 5 units were spaced about 3 feet from each other. They looked like massive light skeletons protruding from behind the band members.

As Muse took the stage, all of these lights activated at once and I found myself hypnotized. It was quite an amazing display and I had to remind myself that I needed to quit standing there staring and actually take some pictures. Opening with the flawlessly performed "Knights of Cydonia" the fans went nuts as the giant screens projected the lyrics to the song as it was sang; No-one's going to take me alive, The time has come to make things right, You and I must fight for our rights, You and I must fight to survive. Between the lights, the stage-setup, the seemingly un-ending energy that the band projected, Bellamys intriguing guitars (he switched them multiple times), and the occasional smoke pillars that bellowed from the front of the stage to the ceiling, it was an all-out visual assault that simply would not allow you to look away.

Adding to phenomenal-ness of it all was the fact that this band sounded better live than almost any other band I have seen (of which I've seen many). Rarely do you find a group that are able to play such intense and sometimes complicated songs in front of an audience to that level. If there were mistakes, I didn't hear them. The energy and sound were amazing. As I mentioned earlier, I am still reeling and in awe of this performance. Every now and then you are so blown away by a show that afterward you just have to stand there and say to yourself, "WOW." This was one of those shows.

This review was submitted by a member of the Pegasus News community.

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