Muse w/ Cage the Elephant
Time Warner Cable Arena
Sept. 3, 2013
I think there’s a rule, sometimes, that opening acts don’t get full use of the headliner’s setup. They rarely get the same lighting and are often relegated to a small section of the stage instead of the full use of any ramps or extras. Sure, on Tuesday night at Time Warner Cable Arena, Cage the Elephant had sparse lighting, but singer Matt Shultz gave a proverbial middle finger to anyone who may have suggested that he couldn’t use the full expanse of the stage (and arena floor).
Shultz bounced around the stage like Tigger – leaping from higher sections to the stage, from the stage to the floor – screamed, danced, sang and gave a stunning clinic on “This is how you warm up a crowd.” The band rifled through songs from its first two albums and upcoming third release as it rocked, rolled and woke concert-goers up from any stupor they may have been in.
Shultz’s brother, Brad, is off the tour for a couple weeks while his wife gives birth, but his replacement did a fine job filling in where needed. Early on, there were a few sound difficulties, and Shultz wasn’t able to wander as his microphone cord got tangled, but the band simply didn’t care and soldiered on until the glitches were fixed.
The singer found a couple of opportunities to leap into the crowd – surfing along and being held in a standing position to sing a few verses. Not one moment of it felt forced – it looked like the Kentucky indie rockers were simply having a blast on the opening night of the tour. While the arena was roughly half-full – the upper deck was curtained off and there were plenty of empty seats – many sang along to “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” “Shake Me Down” and “In One Ear.” By the time the sextet’s 45-minute set was up, the crowd was good and primed for English prog-rockers Muse to take the stage.
Performing a nearly two-hour set, Muse offered a stunning light show, driving bass rhythms, heavy-handed drumming, soaring guitar solos and plenty of crowd favorites. But, song after song, I just couldn’t ignore the growing feeling that I was simply bored.
Muse singer Matt Bellamy is a classically trained musician; his guitar work shows speed and versatility and the band as a whole can create massive soundscapes not often heard by a trio. The problem is that it didn’t quite add up to incredible songs that I want to sing along with or really even hear more than once.
Compared to the studio versions of Muse’s songs, the energy within the live performance was greater. I watched Bellamy belt out notes with incredible range, but it felt like he was over-acting when he dropped to his knees. At times, bassist Christopher Wolstenholme appeared nearly as bored as I felt. Drummer Dominic Howard looked like he was at a completely different gig, hammering away like he was trying out for a Nirvana cover band. But the sum of the parts never seemed to add up. Perhaps the members of Muse are the British answer to Rush – people either love them or don’t understand what the big deal is. I fall into the latter category.
Songs like “Madness” surged in the live setting, but there were too many times I wanted Bellamy to just stop whining and get to the point with his lyrics. As I looked around at the crowd, I noticed one out of every five people taking photos and videos with their cell phone, two out of five were singing along to every word and the other two remained seated looking bored, likely dragged there by a significant other.
When a semi-circle of LED screens surrounded the band and a pyramid of screens above the stage flashed images of the crowd and the live performance at a blistering, ADD pace, I wondered, “What’s the hurry?” Why aim so many cameras on the band and crowd, but not offer a clear way to see the images for more than a split second?
I know, I know – Muse has sold more than 18 million albums worldwide and plenty of people love them, but I can also see why the arena was only half full. A good number of the band’s songs – falsetto vocals, electronic soundscapes, drawn-out choruses – are an acquired taste. For two hours, I missed the energetic honesty of Cage the Elephant’s performance and wished it was the band giving an encore.
Muse setlist
The 2nd Law: Unsustainable
Supremacy
Panic Station
Supermassive Black Hole
Plug In Baby (Guns N’ Roses’ Sweet Child O’ Mine outro)
Resistance
Hysteria (Star Spangled Banner intro)
Knights of Cydonia (Ennio Morricone’s Man with a Harmonica intro)
Monty Jam
United States of Eurasia
Follow Me
Liquid State
Madness
Time Is Running Out
Undisclosed Desires
Stockholm Syndrome
Agitated (Rage Against the Machine’s Freedom outro)
The 2nd Law: Isolated System
Uprising (Extended outro)
Encore
Starlight
Survival
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This article appears in Sep 4-10, 2013.
it’s a shame really that you’re saying these things about the show. i’ve seen muse a couple of times, the first time in 2004 and even in 2010 Matt was still very, very stiff on stage, playing song after song with minimal interaction with the fans. THAT was boring. now matt is all free running around and going with the flow and feeling crazy and you criticise that. a real shame, but then i guess you don’t have any good point of reference to compare how far he’s come along from being an excellent but shy musician to just an excellent musician who is now not just ok to be playing to thousands of people but actually reveling in it!
Totally agree with Maria H! Couldn’t agree more! Loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove them!
Poorly written review, having seen hundreds of live bands i can unbiasedly say Muse are arguably the most exciting live act on the planet. The only thing boring here is your writing, it’s as if you set off to put down Muse before you even entered the building *yawn*
I agree with Mickey’s and Maria’s comments.
I find this review almost comically hilarious. Of all the critical things to say about a band that has been voted the most exciting live band in the world many many times is ‘boring’. A band who put on a spectacle of visuals and sound like no other with crazy energy is ‘boring’. Makes me wonder if you even went and are not just covering this because it was your job to. Perhaps you found it boring because Muse are not a modern lip syncing untalented pop band that constantly shoved down our throats? Either way i find this review baffling! As for the ‘people sat down looking bored’ Maybe they were oh i don’t know enjoying show they paid for. You don’t have to scream in your seat like at a Justin Beiber concert, the people making the noise and dancing are the one who bought standing tickets, there’s a reason you get a choice. Honestly seems as if you have a strong disliking Muse and just wanted trash them rather than honestly see the show that was right in front of you.
Did you really watch the same show? Boring? I’m a seriously curious what live act you find exciting if you fine Muse boring?? Did you really watch it?? Really badly written review you criticism really contradicts everything you’re even saying. “rummer Dominic Howard looked like he was at a completely different gig, hammering away like he was trying out for a Nirvana cover band” How can a drummer look like he was a different gig? That doesn’t even make sense, blatant hatred for Muse for the sake of it, poor reivew.
Muse rocks! Jeff Hahne blows!
Most exciting live act in the world? Lol mmk.
Man, Muse fans sure are sensitive. I feel like most of these posters probably haven’t been to that many shows. Muse may be the only band they’ve seen who conveys an emotional, epic atmosphere in a show of that size, but it does not make them beyond criticism. They’re quite good, I wouldn’t normally call them overrated even, except for by these fans who act like evangelists who have to “save” anyone who’s isn’t as in love with it as they are.
They also clearly haven’t read many of Jeff’s reviews if they think he was hoping more for more of a lip-syncing pop band, THAT’S “comically hilarious”.
The concert was good and this review was not. Every band performs in their own way, even if a local music critic doesn’t like it. They don’t perform for critics. They have fans that pay to go see them b/c they like what they do. It’s not a local band that you need to hype up in one of your articles. The crowd didn’t seem bored during Madness…Knights Of Cydonia…Starlight…etc. so maybe it’s just you. I do wish people would put their phones down during a show and actually live it as it’s happening in front of them and not on a 2″x4″ screen…but, I don’t see that changing anytime soon…
First of all, I love Muse. I flew from MD to catch this show (VIP). Earlier this year, I attended a couple of shows on their first leg with concerts in Fort Lauderdale (Feb. 22) (floor tickets), VIP ticket at Mohegan Sun Arena, CT (drove 6 1/2 hours). I really enjoyed those first two shows. I had seen them first in 2009 as the opening act for U2 and again in 2010 Resistance Tour show in Baltimore. Now, pay attention, I could compare these first two shows I attended earlier this year and decide which one felt more special. I agree a little bit with the writer, even though the show was great, I felt the band was not as connected to the audience as those previous shows. They have toured hard on their first leg. It’s been a long tour. I can understand how some people, including the writer didn’t get their favorite songs on the setlist songs, but well, enjoy the best band in the planet!!
How did you get this job? You consistently write terrible reviews. Did you go there for Cage or Muse? You should stick to 140 characters or less.
you american critics are assholes in writing reviews …you are paid shit.)))) i mean muse are the best live act in the world write now….u critical assholes don’t give proper review to their albums on the studio..but live no one cares about yur review…yu are a pathetic cunt licking yur homies in yur home..bitch please stop talking about muse yu give them negative review just because they are british.)))))assholes
I saw Muse last night in Nashville. I loved every minute. It is everything I hoped it would be. They give a live show like no one else. It is evident that the review dude is not a fan. I have seen many bands since I am 70 years old and Muse is for me right up there with Pink Floyd.
I attended this show and absolutely loved it.
Fuck this guy… fuck you
I just had to respond to this even though I’m 2000 miles away in Utah, and I went to the Muse show in Salt Lake City two nights ago. I read this column and couldn’t believe what I was reading. This review is really confusing and bipolar. First he gives high praise for the energy, high-range solos, stunning light shows, soaring guitar solos and many more.
That’s why it’s so strange that the guy is, “bored”, and claims that everyone else is bored too. Thank you, Professor Xavier, for reading the minds of the crowd. Now let go, and let us enjoy the show.
It sounds like Muse pulls out all the stops to put on a fantastic show, and that’s exactly what I saw! So what did you want them to do better again? “Hey Dom, can you ease up on the drums just a slight bit? This is a rock show. We need some subtlety to match the rip-roaring guitars.”
So was the energy high like you said, or not high? What’s that, you need Chris to do a back-flip, to show how excited he is to sing one of the tracks? Come on now.
“Alright! We’re improving as a band! But wait. You want the images up longer? So we need to redo everything our Art Director put together? Oh and YOU want Matt to, ‘get to the point with his lyrics’, as you said? So basically, to rewrite our lyrics for you.”
How about it’s Muse’s art and you don’t get to change it. You want the icon in cornflower blue? Too freakin’ bad.
Not every artist has to stand up while crowd-surfing to prove he’s an Artist. Matt Shultz almost got dropped onto the concrete here in Utah, after he did just that. That would’ve been him in the hospital with his head smashed in. DOn’t get me wrong, I love Cage the Elephant and give kudos for his awesome energy. My point is, Muse are plenty ambitious and willing to change and improve, and they often do. Bellamy wants to do a show in space! That’s plenty ambitious, energetic and creative for me; the opposite of boredom. He puts in all of his energy into that guitar and mike, and they spew out that energy times one hundred!
I think the boredom problem has to do with this kid living in a society of over-stimulation, with constant coffee-shop conversations about how nothing is ever good enough. No movie is ever good enough. No song or album is ever good enough. Ridiculously good vocals have no effect. Raging guitars, tensive keyboards, pulse-pounding drums, vibrant light shows, and introspective lyrics have no effect. That’s more a testament to the life this person leads than to what Muse fires into the atmosphere for us to consume.