Muse w/ Phantogram
KeyArena, Seattle, WA
12.12.15
Why isn’t the stage spinning? Is it broken? No, it’s just spinning so imperceptibly slow you can’t tell unless you spend minutes staring at it, forgetting that there is quite possibly the production of the year happening on that very stage. I go back and forth on Muse, pickily liking some songs, completely dismissing others. But there’s no doubt that these UK rockers put on one of the best live arena shows around, rivaling Katy Perry and U2 for production value.
For this tour – in support of their seventh studio album Drones – Muse has taken the audio-visual experience to a whole new level of modern. Playing in-the-round from a literally spinning stage (yes, it speeds up later in the show, I checked) with a raised light and video grid hanging above. Atop that grid are a gaggle of spherical drones that light up and float eerily around during multiple points of the show.
Their set was perfectly choreographed, each track perfectly sequenced with some kind of high-tech stage antics. There were billowing video-projection curtains, giant balloons, confetti and streamers. There’s also a rocket ship, but you’ll just have to go see that in person. The huge crowd jumped around, pumping their fists and singing along like an army of, well, very excited drones. And Muse pretty much killed it on their performance. The on stage chemistry of the band members is well-documented, and it didn’t fall short for this show, the electronic-driven beats and massive bass riffs were everything you could ask for. And Matt Bellamy certainly puts on a swaggering show, managing guitar, a mysteriously-appearing grand piano, and at one point a megaphone.
Openers Phantogram, meanwhile, felt a bit underwhelming. While the up-and-coming electro-pop band is making serious headway in the industry – including a fresh EP collaboration with Outkast’s Big Boi – opening for this massive arena-rock band seemed an odd match. They were definitely pulling out their own brand of stops to make this show larger than life, and their sound was on point. Perhaps they’ll work out the kinks as they move further into the tour.
Catch the big show here.
Muse Set List
Psycho
Reapers
Dead Inside
Hysteria
Citizen Erased
The 2nd Law: Isolated System
The Handler
Supermassive Black Hole
Starlight
Feeling Good
Munich Jam
Madness
Undisclosed Desires
JFK (on tape)
Revolt
Time Is Running Out
Uprising
The Globalist
Drones (reprise on tape)
Mercy
Knights of Cydonia
Review by Stephanie Dore
Photos by Sunny Martini
Muse
Phantogram
