Muse Live at Sheffield Arena – 04.11.09
When Muse first announced their first tour of newest album, The Resistance, there were one or two grumblings about its shortness in length. Once inside Sheffield Arena, however, it was fairly obvious to see at least three rather large reasons as to why this could have been. At face value the three plinths that towered above the standing crowd didn’t really send imaginations into frantic tailspins, but once the lights dimmed it was an entirely different story.
Video projections of silhouettes climbing a series of steps were beamed onto the front of the plinths, accompanied by a female voice repeating the lines ‘We are the universe. Observing itself. Observing itself. Destroying itself”. This continued for upwards of two minutes before the figures suddenly stopped on their steps and began falling down the front of the towers. Out of nowhere, the screens then dropped to reveal all three band members on top of each tower as they instantaneously launched straight into Uprising to complete one of the most elaborate gig openings I had ever seen. Spinal Tap it certainly could have been…
The majority of the set from then on was primarily tipped toward the heavier end of the scale, with the likes of new tracks Resistance and Unnatural Selection mixed with old favourites such as Plug In Baby, Hysteria and Stockholm Syndrome, all of which getting excitable and somewhat raucous reactions from the Sheffield crowd.
Not forgetting their softer sides either, The Devonshire three-piece also played their cover of the classic Nina Simone song Feeling Good (accompanied by stunning visuals) and the old-school tearjerker Unintended, which saw the crowd hold lighters, cameras and phones aloft for the duration after instruction from Dom Howard.
After closing the set with Unnatural Selection, the band returned with an encore that consisted of an excellent rendition of Exogenesis: Part 1 (both musically and again, visually), Stockholm Syndrome, complete with Rage Against The Machine’s War Within A Breath riff and crowd favourite Knights Of Cydonia, very much ending the gig in the manner it started.
Out of four previous times I’ve seen Muse, including their famous Wembley residence, this up there with one of the the best. The over the top, grandiose stage set up, combined with flowing, vibrant visuals that including flowers, butterflies, meadows, space age cobalt blues, pinks and reds, shooting stars and laser greens created a great spectacle.They are always over the top, but this probably reached new heights for the band. Without shame, it is camp stadium rock and its best. The only thing we need for next summer’s tour is a full orchestra.
Setlist
1. We Are the Universe (intro music)
2. Uprising
3. Resistance
4. New Born + Headup riff
5. Map of the Problematique
6. Supermassive Black Hole
7. Guiding Light
8. Interlude + Hysteria
9. Nishe + United States of Eurasia
10. Feeling Good
11. Études Simples #6 + Unintended
12. Helsinki Jam + Undisclosed Desires
13. Starlight
14. Plug In Baby
15. Jimmy Jam + Time Is Running Out
16. Unnatural Selection
Encore
17. Exogenesis: Symphony Part I (Overture)
18. Stockholm Syndrome + War Within a Breath riff + riff
19. Man with a Harmonica intro + Knights of Cydonia
Videos To Follow.
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