Hysteria

If it wasn’t for a workmate (thanks Nick!) extolling the virtues of Muse’s “Origin of Symmetry” album, I might never have been exposed to these guys from Devon, England, who for a three-piece, make an incredible racket. Six years later, after a couple of thwarted attempts at seeing them live, I can happily say that the drought has well and truly broken. I have to admit that this show was one of those where in the lead-up to it, I’d been crossing off the days on my Gary Larson wall calendar, and counting the number of sleeps left.


Melbourne’s Festival Hall is an unusual venue. It’s notoriously hot and stuffy, and with its enormous wood-floored general admission area, together with its steep, elevated seated sections, has the feel of a high school auditorium. To me (and I think Ms Gegenbaueren III would agree?), I felt this all the more while songs like Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In The Name Of” and Nirvana’s “Stay Away” were pumping out of the sound system in between the support and the main act. Way back in September when we purchased our tickets, having decided we wanted to avoid the general admission crush, we opted for seating. Fortunately, our view was only slightly obscured by the high guard-rails, which together with the testy door bitches and highly visible security staff, give the venue a rather hostile air, as though some sort of unrest is being anticipated. Even though I probably would have been really irritated by the jostling in the crowd, there were some times during the show when I stared out into the huge sea of outstretched arms, and almost wished I was amongst it. Honestly though, it didn’t matter, since the pounding and throbbing of Muse’s brand of power-/electro-pop, or whatever category it’s supposed to fit into, could have reached even the most resistant individual, regardless of whether you were in the crush, right in front of Matt Bellamy (if only!), or sitting high up in the rafters.

The band started off with the epic “Knights of Cydonia”, with some of the lyrics being flashed up on the enormous screens behind them. This was followed by the similarly grandiose and anthemic “Butterflies and Hurricanes”. My night was made by a scorching version of “Assassin”, this grinding bass- and drum-heavy favourite from their most recent record. “Map of the Problematique”, which could be right at home in any nightclub, showed off the strength of Matt’s voice and that falsetto – although I find it hard to believe that he’d ever find himself wondering when his loneliness would be over. Watching and listening to him (and shamelessly singing along), Matt’s skill is somehow making the listener think that they can reach those notes too. And you know you’re having a good time when you keep going regardless of how bad you know you sound.


Older songs like “Plug In Baby”, the ominous “Our Time Is Running Out”, “Hysteria” and the urgent “Newborn” got the best reception from the adoring crowd. About halfway through the main set, Matt sat down at the piano and slowed the pace right down with “Feeling Good” (whoever thought that a crowd anywhere could raise the roof with an old cabaret number like this??) and the newer, more desperate “Hoodoo”.


The two encores were all too brief, but a treat nevertheless, including the gorgeous “Starlight”, with a space-like backdrop flashing up on the big screens in the background. This song is probably about as overtly romantic as Muse are likely to get (maybe apart from “Endlessly” on Absolution?), but it’s still beautiful and again, shows off Matt’s voice and wide range. The majestic “Bliss” and the violent “Stockholm Syndrome” – which to my mind, both typify Muse’s sound, were stunning. Lastly, the sinister and threatening “Take A Bow” had the entire crowd singing along, building up to a fitting climax for an exhausting, exhilarating show.

The above photos (the two of Matt Bellamy are from the aforementioned show) can be found at Micro Cuts, a site dedicated to all known photographs of Muse.