GIG REVIEW - Muse at Royal Albert Hall

Before we start talking about Muse, it might be worth mentioning a few words about The Futureheads. They were very, very solid and the new stuff sounds very good, with highlights being The Beginning Of The Twist and Radio Heart. They also played some good choice cuts from their first album, including Carnival Kids and Man Ray, both amazing album tracks that never saw the light of day as singles, and the obligatory Hounds Of Love cover.

Right, onto Muse.

I didn't really know what Muse would do for this show, but if anything I thought the setlist might be a bit underwhelming. In truth, it was the same setlist template that they had for their shows in Australia and New Zealand last Autumn...but it's amazing how three songs can change a gig from being merely a good one to a great one.

Fury - A b-side from the days of Absolution that I think should have been on the album instead of The Small Print, this was an excellent surprise. I knew they played it down under last year but I didn't know how much longetivity there was for that song live. It was an immense, dramatic and powerful performance.

Bliss - This song never fails to be disappointing live. The place went nuts when it came on and the sight from where I was seeing balloons falling all around the Royal Albert Hall was amusing. The fact that Matt played the last night whilst at the same time popping a balloon onstage in a highly theatrical manner made it even more glorious.

But nothing compared to the genius of...

Megalomania - This is the end result of mixing Muse and a big bloody organ. A song that hasn't been played since 2002 and in the past has sounded very underwhelming, because of the lack of a proper organ to play it with. Last night, it sounded biblical (and what a blatantly obvious similie that was!). Absolutely huge sounding and there are no words that could justify how I felt when they played it.

Except for maybe a YouTube video which I shot, which you can find at the bottom of this post.

The setlist in full:

Take A Bow
Map Of The Problematique
Supermassive Black Hole
New Born
Butterflies & Hurricanes
Fury
Feeling Good
Invincible
Hysteria
Starlight
Time Is Running Out
Stockholm Syndrome

Encore:
Megalomania
Plug In Baby
Knights Of Cydonia

Not to forget a whole load of riffs all over the place that made the setlist seem longer. The lack of any piano songs other than Feeling Good is also disappointing, but I can live.

The photo at the top of his post was taken by someone who wants to be known as Crazy Bob and you can view his set of amazing photos here.

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