Muse – MEN Arena

I last saw Muse about four years ago, when they supported Skunk Anansie. At that time they were just starting out, and frankly, they were shit. It put me off them for a long time, but then I got persuaded by friends that they had improved a thousand-fold since then, so I should give them another go. And in a rare fit of tolerance, I did.

What a surprise – they’ve changed themselves utterly from the dweeby little bunch of goits I’d seen before. The music is similar, and Matt Bellamy’s voice is still the same, but the attitude of the band has changed utterly. They’re far more confident now, and the stage show is light-years ahead of just about anything else in the genre. In fact the only person I can think of this year with a better stage set was (of course) Peter Gabriel.

Bearing in mind that I’d managed to avoice purchasing anything by Muse before, I’m now beginning to think I should get at least one of their albums, and give it a try. Yes, I’ve changed my mind that much about them. Really, the only thing that could have improved the gig for me was to know the songs better – and even without that, it was still a stunning concert, culminating with a storm of ticker-tape being blasted over the audience. I’ll let the pictures say the rest…