Muse @ LG Arena, Birmingham – Tuesday 30th October 2012
Following the release of The 2nd Law, Muse bring their tour to Birmingham. I have to say the album on first play is one of their worst, and this could be the reason why they are only playing one night here (the Black Holes tour saw two sell out nights) but live, the new songs are immense and make listening to the album a new experience. Muse are renowned for a busy light show and stage, and this tour is no exception; with visuals all around the stage and descending from the rafters, not to mention a few lasers for good measure.
Opening with the instrumental, The 2nd Law: Unsustainable this is full on dance and a bass to rival the Prodigy. Matt Bellamy is a true talent and an excellent frontman, and was, dare I say it, quite chatty – which is something new as it’s usually head down and get on with it.
Rather than offer a set-spoiler I’ll just say that a good smattering of new songs were aired, all brilliant and much more powerful than the vinyl sound (yes, I still believe in music being on vinyl), but the highlight was the end of the set, before the first encore when we were treated to Plug In Baby and Stockholm Syndrome, and I have to say in full on rock mode Muse are stunning. There are some very beautiful tender moments, and Madness was also a stand-out song but full on it’s often hard to believe such a force of noise is being made by three lads from Devon.
Merchandise was the usual T-shirts (£20) and a decent programme (£12) but my biggest gripe was the ticket price, which with added booking fee of £5.50 came in at just over £60! With the standard rip-off parking price of £7.50 (in advance) this was a very pricey night out for the pair of us. The seat was close to the stage, Block 16, but high up in the rafters, if I’d stood on my chair I’d have been able to touch the roof, and this was disappointing given the cost. However, I love Muse, and they never fail to entertain and have certainly injected life into the new songs, which I suppose is the whole purpose of the tour, to support the new album and get people to part with more hard-earned cash.
Review by Glenn Raybone
Photographs by Katja Ogrin