Muse just don’t play badly anymore, it’s a fact. For over half a decade they have been enjoying the universally acknowledged status of “big fat headline act” by tearing up festivals and stadiums around the world. But this set wasn’t just like any of the other hundreds of major headline acts. This set that closed Reading on the 28th of August went down to dedicate the tenth year anniversary of one of their founding albums Origin of Symmetry. To celebrate, Melvin Benn (Reading organizer) offered them a two hour slot, and from what we can see, a lorry full of cash with which to afford the most out of this world stage set of pyro and props that this prestigious festival has ever seen before.
Quite predictably, Sunday day tickets were the first to sell out and as well all know, festivals are commonly rife with fans proudly wearing their favorite band t shirts, and guess what, there is possibly one Muse t shirt being worn for every 10 square meters of space at the festival today. Muse fan boy-ism is at boiling point at the moment.
The set itself begins with the giant white orange curtain (about the size of a block of flats) falling and signaling the beginning of Origin of Symmetry being played from start to finish. New Born, Plug in Baby and Feeling Good are by far the most well-known of these tracks and they are received with pure hysterics and adoration from the 60 thousand or so before the main stage tonight. That’s not to say that the rest of the album is not met with substantial enthusiasm too though. Due to the occasion, these tracks go down as well as any hit single from a lesser band’s set list and it’s clear that everyone within the crowd barrier, where the energy is fullest, must own Origin of Symmetry and know the album pretty much inside out.
It’s not just the music that’s doing the talking for Muse tonight though. Lasers, flame throwers, a track by track effects screen showing animations of global events, space ships, galaxies and sample album art work are but a few of the focal points that make up this titanic spectacle of anything Muse themed a fan could think of. Futuristic simply isn’t a strong enough word for what we are witnessing. The main diorama comes in the form of an embodiment of the Origin of Symmetry cover art work brought to life. Four huge white lighting pylons are the scenery tonight with the graphics screen making them seem all the more imposing.
About one hour into the set and Origin of Symmetry has come to a close and from here on in, even though the main attraction has finished, it was at this stage that the party really got started. A short and suspenseful intro that seemed to touch on the London riots with its video backdrop leads in to Uprising, their latest and biggest hit of recent years. It is clear now that the rest of the set is destined to consist of nothing but hits. Muse offer tune after tune missing out not one of their most treasured from their back catalogue, drawing on all their albums. Hysteria, Stockholm Syndrome, Starlight, and Time is Running Out have the Reading throng beside themselves and between every few tracks, a short and unexpected taster of a jam or cover is thrown in to the mix. Amongst these jams, the riffs of Chop Suey and Back in Black are made out and the crowd can’t help but sing House of the Rising Sun word for word when Bellamy plays out its opening chords. With ten minutes to until the half past eleven sound curfew it was Knights of Cydonia that was sent forward to finish us off and its galloping intro is lapped up by the thousands of still pogoing fans, both adults and kids can’t help but get loose and let go for this one.
It was a set that flew by and gob smacked us before we could really comprehend what we had just experienced, Two hours that were infinitely more satisfying than the hour of supposedly all killer no filler that the Strokes offered the night before. When a band have reached such supremacy in size and success as Muse have, it’s hard to say where they could go, or what they could do next. Will they dabble in other genres like Radiohead? Will the fame get to them and lead to intoxication (Metallica)? Will there be inner strife (Oasis)? The future seems infinite for Muse right now, every new generation of teenage music fans seems to earn them another flock of fans and as their albums age, maybe the world will see more unique anniversary one offs such as this. You can bet that Bellamy is conspiring away already and whatever they choose to do, like with tonight, it feels like their movements will raise the bar a touch higher every time.
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Quite predictably, Sunday day tickets were the first to sell out and as well all know, festivals are commonly rife with fans proudly wearing their favorite band t shirts, and guess what, there is possibly one Muse t shirt being worn for every 10 square meters of space at the festival today. Muse fan boy-ism is at boiling point at the moment.
