Tuesday 10th November, 2009 and the Muse Resistance tour rolled into Birmingham in the heart of England. Having secured tickets to see Muse on this tour some three months ago and having seen Muse twice previously (at the NEC in Birmingham) the levels of expectation and anticipation were to say the least, elevated!
Muse on stage, Birmingham NIA
|
 |
Muse didn’t disappoint! The stage show was very impressive, the set comprised a good mix of old and new songs and the guys themselves gave their all and played their hearts out in a hot & steamy NIA.
Highlights for me were New Born, MK Ultra, Unnatural Selection, Hysteria, Knights of Cydonia and Part 1 (Overture) of the Exogenesis Symphony.
All too soon (about 1hr 50mins) the show was over and the house lights came up on yet another Muse gig that will live long in the memory!
|
Dean Music, Pictures Muse, The Resistance
September the 14th, 2009* - Muse release their fifth studio album, ‘The Resistance’.
It doesn’t seem like three years have passed since the release of their ‘Black Holes and Revelations’ album back in 2006 but it’s certainly been time well spent by the band because the latest offering is a very impressive collection of music, songs and lyrics.
|
Not for nothing do I list music, songs and lyrics separately because each of those elements really deserves a mention in its own right.
The progression from their early works (’Showbiz’ and ‘Origin of Symmetry’) through ‘Absolution’ and ‘Black Holes and Revelations’ is now complete with ‘The Resistance’.
Musically this is an incredible album full of multi-layered guitars, synth, piano, orchestral and vocal elements combining to create a sonic soundscape of immense proportions.
The lyrics cover such diverse topics as politics, conspiracy theory and love, all contributing to some epic songs.
|
|
Muse - ‘The Resistance’
|
Ah, the songs! This is for me where this album really shines. Sure the music and lyrics are important but if they don’t gel to produce some really great songs then what’s the point? Matt, Dom & Chris don’t miss the point though and on ‘The Resistance’ they have delivered some wonderful new songs. Highlights for me are ‘Uprising’, ‘Resistance’, ‘Unnatural Selection’ and ‘MK Ultra’ - you may lean toward the Queen-esque pomp rock of ‘United States of Eurasia’ or the haunting piano of ‘I Belong to You’.
Saving the best until last? The album closes with a 15 minute epic entitled ‘Exogenesis: Symphony Pts. 1-3′ - the end result of something that Matt is quoted as saying that he has been “…working on sporadically for many years.” I have listened to this several times now and I think it is a masterpiece. It’s not rock by any stretch of the imagination - in fact it is more classical in nature, but just listen to the textures and multi-layered instruments, particularly the guitar in ‘Part 1 (Overture)’ - it is a magnificent piece of work.
Muse dare to be different and they succeed where others would only look silly. In ‘The Resistance’, in all it’s variety and grandeur, they have demonstrated to the world what we fans already knew - that they are a GREAT band. Buy it, play it loud and enjoy it!
* Release dates - 11/9 Australia, Benelux, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland. 14/9 Europe and New Zealand. 15/9 USA and Canada. 16/9 Japan. 17/9 Brazil.
Dean Music, Pictures Muse, The Resistance
|
A somewhat belated mention of the fact we have tickets to go and see Muse in November at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. We’re both very excited!
This will be the third time we’ll have seen Muse live in concert and of all the bands I’ve seen live (in almost 30 years of going to gigs) Muse are one of the best - their live shows really are a bit special.
All credit to Dulcie for getting us the tickets when the pre-sale (registered fans only) website came online at 9am on Thursday last week. I wasn’t able to do much myself (at work) but her efforts paid off, eventually securing us the two tickets we needed.
It seems to be as popular as ever because many people we know weren’t able to get tickets and by Friday when they were due for general release they were sold out.
|
|
Matt Bellamy, Muse
|
I’m not entirely happy with the way in which the website worked - even though we have confirmation of our tickets, and having paid for them, we still don’t know where we’ll be located in the arena because there were no seating plans presented during the booking process - simply a confirmation screen when you did eventually get beyond the first few screens and were fortunate enough to get to a purchase screen.
The main thing is though that we have tickets when many who tried weren’t so fortunate. We’ll be looking forward to the show anyway - being there is what matters and the word on the net is that these concerts will be ‘in the round’, so you’re less likely to be stuck ‘at the back’. Roll on the 10th of November!
Dean Music, Pictures Muse