Muse @ Wembley Stadium, September 11th 2010

Location: Wembley Stadium, London.
Supports: I Am Arrows, White Lies, Biffy Clyro.


As promised, I am a wealth of gig-based experiences and fancy using that to talk endearingly about some gigs I have attended. And as this was quite a recent one, I feel I should get to work soon!

Now Muse are a band with a reputation to uphold - they own the crown for being one of the most stunning and visually mind-bending bands to watch live and, as such, have it all to lose. Riding high in 2008 off the tidal wave of success that came with Black Holes and Revelations, they sold out arena after arena in just hours. This supersonic rise to the top ended with a double-date residency of Wembley Stadium and the band were pipped to the post of being the first to play the new venue by the devilishly sneaky George Michael. Many would argue that Muse, nonetheless, flattened poor George's success by staging a show featuring everything from 50 foot high satellite dishes to a backdrop-screen big enough to fill the stadium car park...

Such a landmark show was worthy of being captured on DVD and hence H.A.A.R.P was released. So what comes next?

If you've already soared to the pinnacle of success and are bigger than all bar maybe Oasis and U2, what can follow a 160,000 person sell-out weekend? The answer was simple - do it again. So two years on, fans are once again greeted into the endless cavern of Wembley. But long gone are the normal parameters of what a stage should look like. Before the fans stands one giant, geometrical mindfuck.

Best described as a "wedge with a dent in the middle", fans could only speculate as to what the thing would look like later that night.

But kicking off proceedings were Brit indie-rockers I Am Arrows (6/10). Trying to warm up the crowd after the long 90 minute wait since doors opening, and playing to a stadium barely one-third full, this relatively unknown band faced a difficult challenge. Featuring former Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows, the band play a set of easy-going and soothing rock music, with the air of a band who are more likely to cradle you to sleep on a sunny day that cause a lasting impression. This is by no-means a bad thing, but while their stage-banter is somewhat lacking and the music easily forgettable, they are pleasant to listen to. A cover of Tears For Fears "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" doesn't hurt either.

Following on are London-based White Lies (5/10). A band with a handful of radio-famous tracks and a noticeable fan-base present who sing along to singles "To Lose My Life" and "Farewell To The Fairground", they leave a greater impression than their predecessors. However this is not necessarily a great thing - their sound is a more downbeat and depressing affair. While they get the crowd singing, they leave a slightly displeasing after taste in the air.

Scottish heroes Biffy Clyro (8/10) blast all such feelings out of the water though. Greeted as if they were the headliners themselves, and holding a stage presence to match, they erupt onto the stage to "That Golden Rule" and the crowd are instantly sucked into an 11-song set, focussing heavily on the new platinum-selling album Only Revolutions. Fierce energy from "Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies" is matched by majestic sing-alongs for "Many of Horror". Old-favourite "Glitter and Trauma" is unfortunately lost on newer fans, who may yet not be up to speed with the Biffy's full catalogue. Looking like Norse God Thor after stumbling into trousers too tight and too bright to understand, Simon Neil cuts an interesting figure as he sways his hips and leads the crowd through uniting closer "The Captain". Stadiums will surely await this band as well before long.

By now, the lights are all that keep the stadium bright. The sun has set and clouds close in. To the sound of a siren and a parade of flags and political banners, Muse (10/10) kick-off the evening with a gob-smacking opening of "Uprising" and "Supermassive Black Hole"; the crowd can been seen jumping like the floor is made of hot coals. Fan favourites follow in "MK Ultra", "Map of the Problematique" and the very rarely heard "Bliss", leaving the air positively crackling with excitement and happiness. Aside from excellently delivered music, the band have once again upped the quality of their show - the wedge features enough lights to sink Belgium into the sea, with the sides acting as screens and a screen-come-disco ball adorning the top.

There are no sparks and there is no pyro, but a token use of the confetti cannon adds to the jubilant atmosphere. Further fan favourite "Citizen Erased" helps things reach fever pitch before the band later take to a scissor lift platform and ascend to the heavens and to the middle of the crowd. Here, they play the R'n'B influenced "Undisclosed Desires", with Dom swapping his kit for a set of bongos that look like the bastard child of a Christmas tree and a Pendulum lighting rig. "Starlight" and "Time Is Running Out" end the first part of the gig with sing alongs strong enough to shatter the stadium's walls.

Returning for an encore of "Exogenesis: Symphony, Part 1: Overture", things slow down while Bernie The UFO (complete with alien ballet-dancer) floats around to the highest stands in the stadium. "Stolkholme Syndrome" ends the encore with a burst of energy and a breakdown worth appreciating. However, no one can anticipate Matt's return for the 2nd encore. Adorned in a suit and glasses covered entirely in LED lights, the human Christmas decoration once again ascends on the scissor lift for "Take A Bow", before returning to the stage and ending the night with "Plug In Baby" and "Knights of Cydonia". Nothing is left afterwards except an air of triumph, 80,000 of the happiest punters you will meet all year and the world's most overcrowded tube station.

Where else can this Supermassive act go, other than upwards?


Average Ken x