“A Rock Version of Cirque du Soleil”: Muse brings Sunday night madness to Wells Fargo Center

Muse | Photo by Joe del Tufo for WXPN | deltufophotography.com

It is to their credit that Muse have been able to build such a massive following in the US. The are a catchier, edgier, cousin of Radiohead, and not the kind of band you typically see filling arenas here. But their live shows are a spectacle, and last night the Wells Fargo Center was no exception.

Playing in the round, their show opened with a note about the the number of people killed by drones. A dozen or so stormtroopers with laser eyes surrounded the stage while the band rose from three stands at separate ends of the arena. Clear spherical drones hovered and pointed spotlights around the crowd as the band launched into “Psycho,” one of their stronger tracks from 2015’s Drones. Vocalist/ guitarist Matt Bellamy was all over the massive stage – a stage the effectively crossed the entire width of the Wells Fargo with projections rising into the rafters.

A spirited version of “Dead Inside” followed, with spotlights chasing the three member and spiraling laser patterns filling the hall. The band were more playful than I’ve seen them, interspersing samples and shifting into other songs throughout their set. “Hysteria” was interesting that way, with a nice guitar section from Led Zeppelin’s “Heartbreaker” and AC/DC “Back In Black” closing out the track. They revisited AC/DC later in “Map of the Problematique,” a throbbing version that faded with the guitar from “Who Knows Who” looping around the arena.

Taking it all in it was like a rock version of Cirque du Soleil – an energized band racing around while the best lightship you’ve ever seen continually stole your attention.

Opener X Ambassadors were out of their element. They are a fantastic band, in many ways more interesting that Muse as a pure live act. But they are also a band that play off each others’ energy, and 360 is not a format that works for that. Their set, which musically was fine, lacked the cohesion and immediacy that I’ve really liked from their live shows.

Below, check out a gallery of photos, the setlist and a YouTube playlist of fan videos from the concert.

Setlist
Psycho
Dead Inside
Hysteria
Map of the Problematique
The 2nd Law: Isolated System
The Handler
Supermassive Black Hole
Starlight
Apocalypse Please
Munich Jam
Madness
Resistance
Reapers
Time Is Running Out
Uprising
The Globalist

Encore:
Mercy
Knights of Cydonia