Teignmouth titans Muse are no stranger to Irish shores and last week saw their first show here since 2012 – when they toured their sixth album, The 2nd Law.
The trio are showing off their latest release at the minute, the dystopian themed Drones and an audience crammed into the 3Arena on April 5th for a much anticipated show.
Drones as an album is, in a word, bizarre. Matt Bellamy is known to have strange opinions on the world and its workings, and his latest theory that we live in an Orwellian world is brought to life on the stage. Bellamy and bassist Chris Wolstenholme at one point are controlled by a giant puppeteer on either screen flanking the stage, portraying the control that this bigger entity has on every individual. Thankfully, the band are so musically on form that the crazy theories can be ignored, for now, anyway.
The set contains less songs from Drones than would have been expected, but of the ones that are played, the mammoth “Psycho” adapts best for the live setting. “The Globalist” musically pales in comparison, but it does feature a giant drone doing a lap of the arena above the heads of those in the standing area, which is all kinds of cool.
In true Muse style, the visual and lighting effects are insanely intricate while the band performs on a 360-degree style stage. Confetti cannons and giant orbs feature throughout the performance, turning what should be a concert into more of a stage show.
The powerhouse trio of “Map of the Problematique”, “Hysteria” and “Time is Running Out” go down incredibly well, with the latter receiving the biggest singalong of the night. Bellamy stops singing at parts and allows the crowd to carry on, all with a smirk on his face. The rarely played “Bliss” and “Citizen Erased” keep fans of the back catalogue satisfied, while newer fans look on in bewilderment between songs they know.
“Knights of Cydonia” brings the night to a close, with the refrain of “You and I must fight for our rights/ you and I must fight to survive” carrying on well into the night.
Regardless of whatever strange theories Bellamy has decided to follow, Muse are certainly one of the best live bands around. The smiles shared between the trio during the performance are a clear reminder that they are amongst the best at what they do.
However, it will not be a big surprise if Bellamy decides to take to the West End with a self-penned musical at some point in the near future.
Ailbhe Daly
Image Credit: Danny Clinch
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