Muse Comes to Nashville

A few years ago my son, Andrew, started listening to and enjoying the rock band Muse. He had me listen to some of their music, but I couldn't get into it. So, when he asked me to attend a Muse concert with him in Atlanta back in 2010, I was hesitant. But I decided to go anyway. Well, lo and behold, just a few songs into the concert, I converted to a fan. Now I love the group. So, when I heard that Muse was coming to Nashville on September 6, 2013, I immediately asked Andrew if he wanted to attend. Unsurprisingly, he did. Well, that concert took place last night and it was a dilly-whopper.

The concert was opened by a group named Cage the Elephant. They are a somewhat local band since they are originally from Bowling Green, KY, a mere 65 miles away. The musicians and the lead singer were quite good. However, I did not care for their style of music or the lead singer's spastic movements on stage. But most of the audience seemed to love them. I even heard one girl say they were awesome.

For unknown reasons, there was almost an hour intermission before Muse began, but when they did, they didn't disappoint. Raw power emanated from the stage from the beginning and never let up. The crowd stood up when the music began and never sat down until they got to their cars after leaving the arena. With lead singer Matthew Bellamy on lead guitar and piano, Christopher Wolstenholme on bass and harmonica, Dominic Howard on percussion, and unofficial fourth member, Morgan Nicholls, on various instruments, the band brought showmanship and excitement to an arena full of eager fans.

This concert was a part of The 2nd Law tour. The 2nd Law is the band's sixth studio album in their almost 20 years of existence. The music on this album is tremendous. Muse's music is like a bottle of wine that only gets better with time. Of course, they also played a few songs from earlier albums. Luckily, they were some of my favorites.

I have been to a lot of concerts where the band simply performs their songs without actually putting on a show. For softer music or more intimate settings, this can work, as it did at a Dan Fogelberg concert I attended many years ago. However, for a power band like Muse, I don't think it would. Muse apparently understands this, so spares no expense with the lights, lasers, projected live and recorded video, and all the props needed to implement them. Hey, they even had people manning some of the equipment from seats hanging from the ceiling. Not only do all these things add visual excitement to an already exciting show, it helps make the audience at a distance feel more included in the event. When you are far enough away that the band members look like Munchkins, it is sometimes hard to feel a part of the show. Muse makes it easier by filling the stage and the area above it with visuals; synchronized to the music, of course.

Muse has some interesting song lyrics. Being a libertarian-minded person, I particularly like the lyrics about standing strong against the oppression of others. One example comes from one of my favorite songs, Uprising, which in on The Resistance album.

Paranoia is in bloom,

The PR transmissions will resume.

They'll try to push drugs that keep us all dumbed down

And hope that we will never see the truth around.

(So come on)

 

Another promise, another seed.

Another packaged lie to keep us trapped in greed.

And all the green belts wrapped around our minds,

And endless red tape to keep the truth confined

(So come on)

 

They will not force us.

They will stop degrading us.

They will not control us.

We will be victorious.

So come on.

 

Interchanging mind control,

Come let the revolution take its toll.

If you could flick the switch and open your third eye,

You'd see that we should never be afraid to die.

(So come on)

 

Rise up and take the power back.

It's time the fat cats had a heart attack.

You know that their time's coming to an end.

We have to unify and watch our flag ascend.

(So come on)

Check out some of their other lyrics at http://www.azlyrics.com/m/muse.html .

Andrew and I had seats about two-thirds of the way back from the stage. This was a bit too far to get good photos with the camera I had with me. However, I did get a few decent shots of the overall show. You can see them here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcfinch/sets/72157635429762828/

If you have never listened to Muse or have only heard them occasionally, I would highly recommend you check them out. I would personally recommend The Resistance, their fifth studio album, released in 2009. I fell in love with all the music on this record and still consider it a favorite. Andrew recommends his favorite song, Follow Me, from The 2^nd Law album. Also, don't miss them in concert if you have a chance. Matt Bellamy has a wide vocal range and does a pretty intense falsetto. Hopefully he will be able to maintain his vocals for many more years, but many people with that kind of range start losing it in their later years. You need to hear him while he's at the top of his game. If you’d like to hear some radical falsetto singing, check out Micro Cuts on the album Origin of Symmetry. The entire song is sung in falsetto.

In closing, I wanted to mention that, at the concert, Matt Bellamy performed a version of our national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, on his guitar. It was very reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix’s version at Woodstock in 1969. I wasn’t at Woodstock since I was only 14 at the time, but I did see the movie. Concerning Matt Bellamy’s version, I’m sure he would make John Stafford Smith and Francis Scott Key very proud. Well, once they got used to electronic music.