Review: Muse Fight The Future At Wells Fargo Center
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- There has always been an undercurrent of impending doom in the music of Muse, but the UK trio managed to tap into a darker dread on last year's Drones album.
That cold and futuristic world was unleashed in a great Spielbergian fashion Sunday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. As massive orb drones hovered ominously overhead, Matt Bellamy led the crowd through a show heavy on songs and imagery from last year's Drones.
Muse began their set with Universal Soldier-like guards lining the stage before the room collapsed into a flurry of lights and distressed vocals. After a pair of songs from Drones, transparent curtains dropped from the rafters, projected with robotic images as the band dug into their back catalog – grinding out riffs from "Hysteria" and then "Map Of The Problematique".
Bellamy charged around the round stage, and marched from one end of the arena to the other along extended catwalks. The solo in "Hysteria" would take him achingly to his knees. However despite painting a dystopian future, the band managed to feel fun – even peppering in riffs from Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" and AC/DC's "Back In Black" along the way. It's quite a balance, to dredge up every "the future freaks me out" motif you can find from TRON to Minority Report, and still find enjoyment or warmth along the way. All credit goes to the three members of Muse, who rattle arena back rows with power, yet the vulnerability in the voice of Matt Bellamy makes it inviting and incredible.
For example, during another selection from last year's Drones, video of marionette strings are projected to show hands controlling the every motion of Bellamy and bassist Chris Wolstenholme while all-seeing eyes float above the stage. It's their most on-the-nose of all their "we're under their control" imagery. But moments later the room got warmer with the tender "Madness" as cool blue light flooded the stage. It makes Bellamy and bandmates the best leaders since John Connor to fight the future – fully aware of the danger yet firmly in grasp of the emotion.
This is what makes Muse a giant band. The music is custom-built for spectacle shows like this. Incredible video production and cinematic delivery don't make Muse, but it's what magnifies the band's best parts. To see them any other way would be half a show.
