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MUSE LIVE | Qudos Arena, Sydney 16/12/17 - A hot summer's night w/ the boys from Teignmouth


Photo sourced from setlist.com

December in the United Kingdom means average temperatures of 6°C, so one can only imagine how the band members of Muse were feeling on an exceptionally hot and sweaty 30+ degree December summer's day in Australia.


Touring to promote their latest album release 'Drones', the bands performance ensured the air conditioning of Qudos Bank Arena was given a work out, because as soon as they took to the stage, the mercury was on the rise with the crowd getting a workout for just under two hours.


Muse has been touring Australia on a regular basis for seventeen years, and their evolution from a small alternative rock band to a stadium filling international act was reflected in the venue shift from Newtown RSL (with a 320 seat auditorium) in 2000, to Qudos Arena at Olympic Park (holding over 21,000 people) - the venue for their latest tour. Few bands have experienced such an evolution from a small beginning to massive international super-tours, but with a show built around a totally immersive multimedia experience rather than just having a few songs played at the audience, their appeal is clear.


From the distinctive sound of bassist Chris Wolstenholme on his Misa Kitara, it was obvious that the audience was in for a joyride as the opening song and their latest single, 'Dig Down', filled the arena. Lead singer Mathew Bellamy appeared in his renowned LED glasses and the synchronised light and laser show began.


With a set list that offered something for well-established fans through to those who discovered the band when 'Supermassive Black Hole' (used on the soundtrack of the film 'Twilight') was released, once the music started, MUSE were straight to business with barely a pause between songs.


Show highlights included a nod to AC/DC with the song 'Hysteria' rounded off with a 'Back in Black' outro; drummer Dominic Howard’s mini solo leading into 'Stockholm Syndrome', Bellamy’s wildly screeching guitar rendition of the 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' theme leading into 'Supermassive Black Hole' and a Cramps cover of 'A New Kind of Kink'.


The concert also showcased the wide variety of musical styles that the band has encompassed with their work, ranging from the hard rock guitar of songs like 'Plug In Baby', to the much more dance-oriented 'Starlight', and the 10-minute extravaganza of new song 'The Globalist' - all three of which were big crowd pleasers.


Visually spectacular, the show was laden with lighting, film clips, streamers, big bouncing balloons and laser effects that were carefully and skilfully synchronised to each and every part of their musical performance.


After performing for more than an hour and a half, fans experienced a few seconds of darkness before the band performed their final two ‘encore songs’: 'Uprising', and finishing with a crowd pleasing Triple J Hottest 100 winner, 'Knights of Cydonia'.


For a band that receives little radio airplay in Australia, the concert demonstrates the power and brilliance of Muse's live performance to be able to bring in such large and dedicated audiences.


Longtime fans have seen Muse develop from strength to strength as performers. The band delivered their sonic and visual musical extravaganza in their own unique way leaving us all in a strange emotional state of being satisfied yet still wanting more.


MUSE set list @ Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney (Saturday 16th December 2017)

SFX Intro

Dig Down

[Drill Sergeant]

Psycho

Interlude

Hysteria (With AC/DC’s ‘Back in Black’ outro)

Plug In Baby

(Extended outro)

The 2nd Law: Isolated System (Shortened)

Stockholm Syndrome ('Reapers' riff intro; RATM's ' Township Rebellion' riff outro; 'Reapers' outro)

Supermassive Black Hole

Take a Bow

New Kind of Kick (The Cramps cover)

Madness

Dead Inside ('Who Knows Who' riff intro)

Munich Jam (Fast ending)

Starlight

Time Is Running Out

Mercy

The Globalist

Drones (Loop ending)

Encore:

Uprising (Extended outro)

Knights of Cydonia (Ennio Morricone's 'Man with a Harmonica' intro)


Set list sourced here.

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