THE question of "What's next?" will presumably have been on the minds of Muse after their last worldwide adventure.
Muse's last UK run of shows was a stadium extravaganza, which at once seemed to celebrate vast stadium shows by condemning them as gas-guzzling expensive follies. The fire-breathing chimnies, industrial-shaped video screen, enormous robot, "quantitative easing", floating ballerinas and surreal aftershows documented in the press were a crazy shroud of presentation, and left a few wondering if Muse had hit the glass ceiling.
Its too early to know if that is the case, with this quickfire promo tour acting as a warm-up before a heavy run of festival headline slots this summer. But the band's talk of this perhaps being more frequent in future is an interesting talk, and is certainly something fans have been somewhat hoping for in the last year or so.
The other excitement in wish fulfillment Muse fans were aspiring towards was a rolling off of the hardcore older tracks. This again has been reciprocated, and is in evidence in the final night of the Psycho Tour at the Brighton Dome. Midway through, the band dispatch a runthrough of the hefty rock thump of Absolution-era B-side The Groove, and later on, there's an airing for the flamenco-flecked angst-rocker Uno - Muse's first full single. Both of these earn widespread singalongs and enthusiastic bouncing, which even seems to eclipse those offered for the much more notable Supermassive Black Hole.
Aside from these, the focus is on two planes. One of them is early promotion for Muse's upcoming album Drones, which is expected in just over two months. First off the bat is opening song Psycho, which has a riff that needs little introduction to the hardcore fans given it's been jammed out live on-off by the band for the best part of 16 years.
The song forms the cue for a magnificent moshpit that begins almost the moment Matt Bellamy pings out the chords, while chants of "You fucking psycho!" reverberate as loud and clear as possible.
Until the day of the show, the other new track to rear its head is the song that ends the main set. Reapers is a myriad of layers, combining finger-tapping solo intro, massive classic rock-aping chorus, an almost duel-like bridge where Bellamy and Chris Wolstenholme seem to be divulging in competing solos, and a massive outro riff that recalls Rage Against the Machine's Freedom. Somehow, it all seems to work.
The show itself is on the day of release for the first official single from Drones. Album opener Dead Inside was debut to the fans in a live simulcast with the Radio 1 premiere, and is dispatched here as the third song. Filled with double-bass drum pedal from drummer Dominic Howard, spindly yet full-on bass rhythms, an abrasive guitar part, and synths not a million miles removed from sci-fi soundtracks, the song seems to make more sense live than it does on record.
Contrary to the earlier billing of a rock-centric record, the song recalls songs like Madness and Follow Me from The 2nd Law, albeit with a heftier finish to them.
Elsewhere, the setlist is simply a reminder of Muse times gone by. No sooner had opener Psycho stopped do the band dig into the hefty crunch of Map of the Problematique, which seems to have been beefed up on previous tours. There's also an early run-through for Bliss, which also feels punchier than in previous incarnations, and comes replete with the balloons that used to accompany performances when venues like the Brighton Dome were the band's biggest solo shows.
There's very little space for anything from the band's last output, with only Uprising appearing from the band's most recent two albums, and previous record The 2nd Law being ignored entirely. Instead, there's more space for oldercuts. A one-two-three of Absolution hits Time is Running Out, Hysteria and Stockholm Syndrome is an excellent reminder of the power of what arguably remains Muse's best album.
In the end, it's all over too soon, with the familiar closing duo of Plug in Baby and a harmonica-preceded Knights of Cydonia bringing down the curtain in sumptuous fashion.
With this being a warm-up show, a 90 minute running time is perhaps understandable, but with the band in the excellent form they were in, its conceivable to think the show could've gone on much longer without a dip in quality. Certainly, recent airings for obscure cuts like Fury, Futurism, and Assassin, plus further goes for early hits Muscle Museum and Dead Star prove the depth exists in the band's live catalogue. And that's even before factoring in the likes of New Born, Butterflies and Hurricanes, and a handful of tunes on the most recent albums that could be aired.
With the last Muse tour ending somewhat on a downer after Bellamy contracted laryngitis, the band are back looking composed and comfortable in a live setting. The next step is presumably taking this around the world, starting with a busy summer on the European festival circuit, including launching a new metal & hard rock festival trio in Germany and Austria, and a debut at Download Festival.
On this evidence, they look more than ready for the task at hand, big stage show or no big stage show.
4/5
Supporting Muse were highly rated heavy rock five-piece Marmozets. The Yorkshire band had reportedly cut a few planned US dates to do the shows, included appearances at South by South West, and had given a few glowing pieces on the slots. The crowd here would certainly have endeared themselves, with the likes of Captivate You and Born Young & Free sparking moshpits. This however was not one of the best performances, which is not helped by some appalling sound problems. There are a handful of occasions when it seems as though singer Becca MacIntyre's microphone isn't even turned on, which is perhaps leading to some vocal exertions to make up for the sonic gap. Predictably, the problems seem to have been rectified just in time for final song Why Do You Hate Me?, which at least sends the band off with a rouser and presumably some new fans.
