When Muse played their first ever show in Melbourne at the 400 capacity The Evelyn in 2000 they didn’t go anywhere near filling the room. 17 years on there wasn’t a spare seat to be found at the 14,000 capacity Rod Laver Arena.
It is truly quite remarkable how this one time pub band has risen to become one of the greatest live rock acts on the planet. Muse live is powerful. This is a great rock show and the audience knew it.
PHOTO GALLERY : Muse in Melbourne by Ros O’Gorman
Muse are in Australia for just two shows. They played Sydney on the weekend and this Melbourne show wrapped up their shortest ever Australian tour.
The show bypasses the first album ‘Showbiz’ from 1999 but then spreads the love across the next six albums from 2001’s ‘Origin of Symmetry’ to 2015’s ‘Drones’ plus this year’s only single release ‘Dig Down’.
Visually the lazers, lights and screens head towards a Pink Floyd experience. Musically, the anthem-based songs give the audience something to sing along with.
Matt Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme and Dom Howard (plus added keyboards from Morgan Nicholls) create a nuclear sound. Live, Muse is much more powerful than on record.
There are very few great rock bands from the 21st century and technically Muse started in the 90s but the momentum grew particularly after 2006’s ‘Black Holes and Revelations’. At that point Muse became an Arena band. Those four albums since 2006 have all been number one albums. They truly are one of rock music’s great finds.
For the Rod Laver Arena show seats were removed for the floor and it became one giant moshpit.
Dig Down (single, 2017)
(Drill Sergeant) (from Drones, 2015)
Psycho (from Drones, 2015)
Interlude (from Absolution, 2003)
Hysteria (from Absolution, 2003)
Plug In Baby (from Origin of Symmetry, 2001)
The 2nd Law: Isolated System (from The 2nd Law, 2012)
The Handler (from Drones, 2015)
Supermassive Black Hole (from Black Holes and Revelations, 2006)
Take a Bow (from Black Holes and Revelations, 2006)
New Kind of Kick (The Cramps cover)
Madness (from The 2nd Law, 2012)
Stockholm Syndrome (from Absolution, 2003)
Munich Jam (unreleased)
Starlight (from Black Holes and Revelations, 2006)
Time Is Running Out (from Absolution, 2003)
Mercy (from Drones, 2015)
The Globalist (from Drones, 2015)
Drones (from Drones, 2015)
Encore:
Uprising (from The Resistance, 2009)
Knights of Cydonia (from Black Holes and Revelations, 2006)
