Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Muse’ Category

Muse (PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, July 23, 2026)

Posted in Bloc Party, Ennio Morricone, Holmdel, NJ, Muse, PNC Bank Center, The Temper Trap on July 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 23, 2026] Muse

I can’t believe that it has been seven years since I’ve seen Muse.  Mostly because I remember their two shows (the earlier one was ten years ago) so vividly because they were fantastic.

I blew off their last tour to the States in 2023 because the tickets were so expensive.  Then I read a review and realized that the price was worth it for the show.  This time around the tickets were once again WAY too expensive, but they were at the PNC Bank Arts Center.  Where you can get lawn seats for around $40.  And, if the pavilion seats aren’t sold out, you can upgrade for $25.  And that’s what my son and I did.  We got Row Q which was the best location I’ve had for a Muse show.  And holy cow was it amazing to see them so close.

I realize that I haven’t enjoyed Muse’s newer stuff as much as their older stuff (I know everyone says that) but it doesn’t mean I think the new stuff is bad.  I just need to listen more, I think.  But new music mostly means a new tour and new technology for them to play around with.  And that’s pretty awesome.

When I saw them last time, it involved gigantic creatures all around the stage.  This show was slightly more subdued, but no less technologically marvelous.  Although at the start, the stage was remarkably minimalist.  One amp behind Matt Bellamy–I assume it was not plugged in and was just a prop).  Dominic Howard on drums on a riser in the middle (later, the amp was replaced with a small standing kit that he used for a song or two while they were no doubt doing something interesting to his main kit.  In the back right was touring musician Dan Lancaster who plays keys and guitar and other things.  And then there was bassist Chris Wolstenholme with his red-light-on-frets bass guitar.  He and Bellamy walk all over the stage, untethered to anything.

I assumed that they would be playing most of the new album and would certainly start with a new song.  But, instead, after a Chvrches song played over the speakers, they came out (to thunderous applause) and launched into Interlude.  Which is an amusing title to star a show with but it segued into the outstanding Hysteria which go the crowd totally rowdy. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Bloc Party (PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, July 22, 2026) [MUSE]

Posted in Bloc Party, Holmdel, NJ, Muse, PNC Bank Center, The Temper Trap on July 23, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 22, 2026] Bloc Party

For ages now I’ve felt like I should get into Bloc Party.  I mean, right from the start, I associated them with Art Brut and there’s no good reason why I didn’t jump on the Bloc Party party.  While not as “talkie” as Art Brut there is a similar vibe, with singer Kele Okereke kind of yell-speaking the lyrics.

Last year, Bloc Party played a show at the Met Philly.  I was going to go because Metric was opening.  Then they dropped out and I wound up not getting tickets–as I said, I didn’t know them all that well.  But I was really excited that they were opening for Muse on this tour, because it would finally give me a chance to check them out.

And they were fantastic.  The sound wasn’t perfect for them (too much bass drum, good heavens).  But what really impressed me about them was how great they sounded musically.  I’d always thought that the focus was on the lyrics/vocals.  And, yes, the lyrics are compelling, like on Coming on Strong

I was happy as a pig in
Happy as a pig in
Happy as a pig in spite of myself

But once I got past the words, I was blown away by guitarist Russell Lissack–he generated some weird and cool sounds effortlessly.  And there’s so much going on with the guitar work in Bloc Party songs.  I only wish I’d watched him from the start.  But, understandably, all eyes are on Kele–especially since he is a big muscular dude (I didn’t really know what he looked like back in the day, but he is big now!

I found myself liking their newer songs even more than their older ones.  The guitar progression of Rough Justice is great–cinematic and slightly scary at the same time.  Of course, the riff from 2012’s So He Begins to Lie is also great–heavy and lurching but really catchy as well.  And it was during this song that I really blown away by drummer Louise Bartle.  She played fast and heavy and played some really interesting drums patterns.  I realize that she didn’t play on the early albums (she joined ten years ago), but she was a force of nature live. (more…)

Read Full Post »

The Temper Trap (PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, July 22, 2026) [MUSE]

Posted in Muse, Bloc Party, PNC Bank Center, Holmdel, NJ, The Temper Trap on July 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 22, 2026] The Temper Trap

I was really excited for this show. Muse is always a good show and I brought my son with me–he’s become a big fan.  I had purchased lawn seats and was hoping to upgrade them to pavilion seats when we arrived.  So I wanted to get there earlier enough to upgrade without having to hang out with nothing to do.  I knew that heading down to Holmdel around 6PM can really suck. but I was totally unprepared for how bad the traffic would be.  Holy cow, we were on 287 for half an hour easily (ten miles).  We pulled up to the venue just before 7. We still managed to upgrade our tickets and walked into the pvailion just as The Temper Trap came on.

I hadn’t heard of The Temper Trap, but when I looked them up I found out that they had a new album that being quite well received.

I also found out that they were from Melboure and I’ve been having a great deal of luck with Australian bands lately.  Well, I’ve found that they actually moved to London a while ago (and singer Dougy Mandagi doesn’t have much of Australian accent).

I enjoyed their set but I wasn’t really blown away by anything.  Indeed, when they were done I couldn’t even really remember what the sounded like (except that the bass was way too loud, which I know is not the band’s fault).

Listening to the songs now, Lucky Dimes is pretty cool with the sound effects getting generated–but which I didn’t really notice during the show.

Into the Wild slowed things down and Mandagi ‘s falsetto really came to the fore. (more…)

Read Full Post »

The Cure / The Twilight Sad (Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA, June 24, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Evanescence, Muse, One OK Rock, Philadelphia, PA, Wells Fargo Center on June 24, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 24, 2023] The Cure / The Twilight Sad

I saw The Cure in 1989 and it was a great show.  For one reason or another I never saw them again live over the next thirty years.  Mostly because I didn’t love them as much as I did in 1989.

For some reason this tour was massively hyped.  (Probably because I see they haven’t played Philly since 2008 and hadn’t played NYC since 2016 and before that 2011, so I guess a Cure tour is an Event).

So I managed to get a pre-sale code, but I had so much trouble with the code and with logging in that by the time I finally got to the ticket page, the only thing left was nosebleeds and that wouldn’t have been very satisfying for me.

I also probably could have looked into one of the Madison Square Garden shows, but realistically I’m not going to MSG for another show again.

Now, it happens that every single review of these shows has been an unparalleled rave.  The setlists have been incredible and I feel like I’ve missed out on a massive cultural event (not as big as Taylor Swift, mind you, but, about the same level but for adults).   So that’s kind of a bummer.  Not the biggest bummer, because Wells Fargo Center kind of sucks as a venue.  But kind of sucky nonetheless.  I also can’t believe that they have been playing for nearly three hours every show.

Since I wasn’t going to this show I wound up getting tickets to see Mondo Cozmo at Underground Arts, which was 1,000 times easier to get to, significantly cheaper and lasted 80 minutes.  Mu show started at 9 and was over before The Cure’s show that technically started at 7:30.

Word has it that Robert Smith has promised he’d be back. so if it’s not too too long before the next tour, I may try to get to it.

I feel a little bad for The Twilight Sad who have opened every show and I haven’t heard a single thing about them from any review.   However, they have been getting a 45 minute show each night, so that’s some very good exposure.

They are a Scottish band with a distinctive keyboard/gothy 80s sound and the singer’s very heavy Scottish accent in his delivery.  Robert Smith loves this band as does Mogwai.  I’m going to have to given them a proper listen as my cursory listen thought they sounded just okay.

Read Full Post »

Muse / Evanescence / One OK Rock (Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA, March 19, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Evanescence, Muse, One OK Rock, Philadelphia, PA, Wells Fargo Center on March 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 19, 2023] Muse / Evanescence / One OK Rock

I’ve seen Muse twice at Wells Fargo and I promised myself I’d never miss a show.

But this year when tickets were announced  they were SO EXPENSIVE that I balked at getting one.  I realize that Muse puts on a stellar show that is better than anything I’ve ever seen, but I couldn’t see spending so much on a ticket for the floor. And I didn’t want to be back in the cheap seats.  So I blew it off.

I also don’t really like their new album as much as their older music, so it didn’t seem like I’d be missing that much.  The album is stripped down, I assumed the show would be too.  But I guess I was wrong.

And yet, reviews tell me this was their biggest show yet.  The Brooklyn Vegan review (from Madison Square Garden) says

a number of elaborate, expensive-looking cut scenes (one with parkour!) that allow for major set changes, it all makes sense in the context of Muse’s current, totally bananas live show. Songs like “Hysteria,” “Madness,” “Bliss” and “Uprising” were custom made for arenas, as streamers and confetti rain down over the audience who are singing along the whole time.  A runway connected the main stage and smaller stage in the middle of the floor, allowing for a lot of running around and kooky spotlight moments like when frontman Matt Bellamy played a glowing keyboard that was stitched into the sleeve of his jacket.  There were also six massive mirrors, rimmed with LEDs that floated and moved above the stage that helped reflect all those lasers into the crowd, and were really effective, visually. Less effective, but still fun, were the giant (inflatable) figures that loomed behind them for most of the show, first a hooded figure with a mirrored mask (the band opened the show wearing these masks, too) and then later a demonic centaur. Bellamy played a guitar solo on the shoulder of the former at one point. Streamers shot out over the whole room early in the show, and then confetti a few songs later. There was never a lack of things to look at.

Sometimes being cheap isn’t worth it. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Muse / Thick (Beacon Theatre, New York, NY, October 16, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Beacon Theatre, Muse, New York City, Thick on October 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 16, 2022] Muse / Thick

I’ve seen Muse twice and each show was amazing.  I told myself I would make a point of seeing them every time they toured here.

In June of this year they announced a short tour of American theaters, rather than arenas.  It sounded pretty great, but the closest one was The Beacon Theater in New York City and that is just too much of a pain in the ass to get to.  Even for Muse.

I also didn’t like the new album as much as previous ones so I wasn’t that excited to see it without the bombast.

A review of the show makes me happy I didn’t go (the show was only 80 minutes).  Brooklyn Vegan says

At Sunday night’s (10/16) show at Beacon Theatre, the band played six songs off their new album Will of the People, including the seasonally appropriate “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween.”

Their 80-minute set also included “Uprising,” “Psycho,” “Supermassive Black Hole,” “Hysteria,” “Minimum” and more, and they finished with spaghetti western epic “Knights of Cydonia.”

I had no idea that Thick was opening.  I didn’t even learn it until writing this. I might have gone just for the double bill as Thick are pretty awesome.

Read Full Post »

Muse (Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA, April 7, 2019)

Posted in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Deftones, Ennio Morricone, Game of Thrones, Muse, Philadelphia, PA, The Troggs, Wells Fargo Center on April 7, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 7, 2019] Muse

Three years ago (I can’t believe it was that long), I saw Muse at this very arena.

It was an incredible spectacle.  And I knew that I would see them again if they came back.

And here they were.

The last tour was in support of their Drones album and it was a marvel of technological excess–drones floating all over the place and marvels of wirelessness.

They had said that this album and tour was meant to more humanizing.  But that did not mean less spectacle! (more…)

Read Full Post »

SWMRS (Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA, April 7, 2019) [MUSE]

Posted in Beach Goons, Destroy Boys, Muse, Philadelphia, PA, SWMRS, The Clash, Wells Fargo Center, WKDU 91.7FM--Philadelphia, PA on April 7, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 7, 2019] SWMRS

I was unfamiliar with SWMRS when I heard they were announced as Muse’s support act.

They formed in 2011 as Emily’s Army.  They recorded two albums under that name, then changed it  to SWMRS.  The band features brothers Cole and Max Becker (They are both singers and guitarists, with Cole taking more lead vocals (and hypeman) and Max playing more lead guitar).  The drummer is Joey Armstorng (obligatory mention that he is Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong’s son).  They also have had Joey’s brother Jakob on rhythm guitar.  Brother-to-no-one Seb Mueller is the bassist.

But it was their politics that made me excited to see them.  From a bit in Rolling Stone:

the subversion of patriarchy is part of what drives the band. They are a product of their respectively progressive upbringings in Oakland, where the young band members grew up loving riot grrrl and entrenched in feminist teachings. “I became aware at a pretty young age that I was benefiting too much from the patriarchy,” Becker, a current Berkeley student, explains. “It’s one of those things where you don’t think about it until you play a hundred shows and only see aggressive, hyper-masculine dudes crowd surfing on top of 14-year-old girls. We feel like it’s our duty to uplift the voices that aren’t as easily heard as ours.”

That’s pretty awesome.  And an encouraging sign for the youth of tomorrow. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Muse: Drones World Tour Film (Frank Banko Alehouse Cinema, Bethlehem, PA, July 12, 2018)

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, C., Frank Banko Alehouse Cinema, Muse on July 12, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 12, 2018] Muse: Drones World Tour

I really enjoyed the Muse concert that I went to.  I imagined that C. would have enjoyed it too.  He has been getting into some heavy melodic music and I thought Muse would fit into his tastes pretty well.

So when Muse announced the one-night only screening of this tour film, I decided to take him to Bethlehem to watch it.

I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Was it going to be concert footage and interviews?  Would there be interstitial pieces?  Would it be weird and stilted or would it just rock?  How long would it be?

Well, the last questions was answered first–it would be around 90 minutes.  Perfect.  The usher also told us that Muse would be giving us a special thank you for coming out.  But he also very kindly told us that it wasn’t that exciting–only about 90 seconds long.

The other questions were answered soon enough.  It was going to be all music.  They pieced together the best songs from several European shows and edited down the “dead air.”  There also was very little banter.  It was 90 minutes of intense Muse music. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Alex de Campi, Carla Speed McNeil, Jean Manley Lee–No Mercy Volume One (2015)

Posted in Alex de Campi, Alix Spiegel, Ari Shapiro, Audie Cornish, Carl Kasell, Carla Speed McNeil, College, David Greene, Death, Decadence, Drugs, Fears, Graphic Novel, Guy Raz, Horror, Jealousy, Madoka, Morality, Muse, Nature, OK Go, Poverty, Revenge, Romance, Scott Simon, Series, Susan Stamberg, Tiny Desk Concert, Travel, Violence, YA Books, Yuck! on April 20, 2017| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: OK GO-Tiny Desk Concert #278 (June 3, 2013).

I love OK Go’s music videos.  They are stupendous. I have watched all of them several times.  And yet I can’t remember a single song.  But that doesn’t diminish my appreciation for them.

When NPR was moving offices, they made a “Tiny Desk Concert” of the band proceeding from their old location to the new one.  And in OK Go fashion, they made a great video to go with it.  The music is live (I believe), even though they must have shot the footage hundreds of times.  It’s sort of a stop motion video, except that it’s not single frames but short 2 second clips spliced together.

You can watch as the old office is dismantled, as they walk through the halls to the moving truck.   As they play on the truck in the streets of D.C. and then as they enter the new building.  There are cameos from NPR colleagues: Ari Shapiro, Audie Cornish, David Greene, Guy Raz, Scott Simon, Alix Spiegel, Susan Stamberg and more.  There’s a hilarious moment with Karl Kassel who gives them a dirty look.  And then they march through the offices, the news room and into the new Tiny Desk location where they finish the song.

The song is fun and catchy and even has new lyrics that reference the NPR move.  It has to be seen to be appreciated.

And if you like figures here are some details from the shoot:

  • Number of video takes: 223
  • Number of seconds Carl Kasell spent in the elevator with OK Go: 98
  • Number of times Ari Shapiro played the tubular bells: 15
  • Number of days it took to shoot: 2
  • Number of cameras: 1

Incidentally, NPR and I are out of sync with our counting of Tiny Desk Concerts.  I can’t figure out what happened.  The reason mine is correct is because I have written down every concert and numbered them.  So I feel that for them one doesn’t count?  They say this was number 277.  Someday they’ll read this and we’ll get to the  bottom of everything.

[READ: April 1, 2016] No Mercy Vol. 1

Because of the way books are being handled at my work now, I don’t get to see as many books as I used to. So i was pretty delighted to get this graphic novel on my desk.  Even if I didn’t quite know what it was about, I wanted to read it.  And boy did I enjoy it.

I had no idea that the cast was a group of aspiring Princeton University students on a per-freshman trip to an underprivileged county (I like the t-shirts that say Building Bridges Helping Hands with a kinda Princeton P on the front.

We meet the cast in a cool way–each one steeping forward a bit in the crowd and giving a bit of information about themselves…mostly through text messages. Oh and I loved the way the opening colophon pages looked just like Facebook (or whatever) with a timeline photo and then on the right side–sponsored images with drawings of the author and the illustrators and an ad for an other Image comic by Alex de Campi called Valentine–genius layout idea.

There’s also a comment under the photo which says “OMG how sad, they were also young.”  So you know something bad is going to happen these poor kids. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »