popy: Muse Live at Stadium Negara, KL, 25 Feb

Pure mayhem!!!!!!!!!!!!! Musical bliss... (Although, ironically, "Bliss" didn't come out. I was expecting the song, and wanted to record the whole song, my favouritest Muse song, but it was not to be)

OK, a bit of background on the band first (taken from Wikipedia) :
Muse are a popular Brit Award winning English rock band formed while at Teignmouth Community College in Teignmouth, Devon in 1992. Their idiosyncratic style is a blend of indie rock, heavy metal and progressive rock . The band is famed for its energetic live performances (winning numerous Best Live Act awards) and frontman Matthew Bellamy's eccentric interests in global conspiracy, extraterrestrial life, theology and the apocalypse. Muse consists of Matthew Bellamy (lead vocals, electric guitar, piano, synthesizer); Chris Wolstenholme (backing vocals, bass guitar, synthesizer) and Dominic Howard (drums, percussion).

Discography:
Albums
1. Showbiz, Sept 1999 (notable tracks: Sunburn & Muscle Museum)
2. Origin of Symmetry, June 2001 (notable tracks: Bliss, Newborn, Plug In Baby, Citizin Erased)
3. Absolution, Sept 2003 (notable tracks: Apocalypse, Stockholm Syndrome, Butterflies & Hurricanes, Sing For Absolution)
4. Black Holes & Revelations, July 2006 (notable tracks: Starlight, Super Massive Blackhole, Knights of Cydonia, Map of the Problematique)

So as you can see, the KL stopover is part of their ongoing World Tour 2006/07.

The tix

I came quite early, before 6pm (scheduled for 8pm actually), but the gates were only opened at 7pm, so I had to queue for 1 hour, but it was worth it because my ticket was free seating (RM 83), so early birds get to sit right in front. I didn't wanna buy the free standing tix (aka Mosh Pit) based on past experience, (Suede's gig in S'pore, 1999) . I could hardly see the band as I'm short, and I was being pushed, until I ended up at the back of the standing area, at the railings, so I eventually stood on the railings.

The stage (front & side view)

So that's what I'm doing now, get a free seating ticket, come early, get the front most seat, then when the show starts, right away stand on the railings right in front of my seat and get a good view! Ah, I'm pleased with this, except for one grouse. I should have brought a spare memory card for my camera. It was already full by the middle of the setlist.

I'm just a casual fan of Muse. Not as hardcore as Suede (all the complete lyrics were in my head at that time, but that's because I've already been a hardcore fan for 2 years already before that gig).

I still couldn't remember a few song titles, and most of the lyrics. I just delved into Muse late last year, so I'm still in the "getting to know" stage. I printed the lyrics for the possible setlist to be played today, but ended up just hanging them on the railings becos it's really weird to sing along holding a paper in a rock gig!!!!!!!! So I just opened my mouth as if I knew the lyrics, but accentuated the part which I know the lyrics to, and the choruses. You have to at least remember the chorus!

We waited for another 1.5 hours.. The show eventually started at 8.45 pm...45 minutes late. They were still doing sound checks and guitar tuning after 8pm. There was no opening act, so they had the band's personal non-Muse fave tracklist on the sound system (which I am pleased with as well, as most of Muse's fave songs are also in my playlist)

Anyway, now to their performance. Superb!!!!!! As I said, pure mayhem!!! Excellent showmanship!!! No wonder they were awarded Best Live Act. They're really great live!!!

The videos

I love Matt playing the piano, so I'm putting here an excerpt of him on his finest moments with the piano for the song "Butterflies & Hurricanes". In one of his piano performances, he made a gimmick and threw confetti around his piano. Sweet!!!!

I'm also putting Matt again, showing his prowess on the guitar on "Assassin" He's such a great performer, musician & yeap, all the songs & lyrics are written by him...Woah..RESPECT !!! However, I thought their gig was a short one, about just 1.5 hours, maybe because of exhaustion. They haven't stopped touring since July last year, and just a day ago, they flew in from Jakarta for a similar gig. After all, this is not a Siti Nurhaliza concert. They had no change of clothes. Matt did take off his red top, wearing just a t-shirt.

Jamming part towards ending of assassin, an improvisation of the album version. Love Matt's silver guitar (is it a Gibson?) and Dom's transparent drums!! Totally cool!!
Video to be added soon!!

I love melancholic melody, so here it is, Matt on piano at his melancholic best - ending of Citizen Erased
Video to be added soon!!

Another vid showing Matt on piano for Hoodoo. I totally love versatile rockers who can play seamlessly well piano!! Red top already taken off. Matt acts as if he's going to collapse at the end of the song. Hahaha..sweet!!
Video to be added soon!!

Matt on megaphone for Feeling Good, then throwing confetti over his piano. Hey..I did record this!!!!!!! Kewl!!
Video to be added soon!!

Matt very small & big (on screen, top pic, on the right, see red pants)

And, how could I forget. Malaysian words utterred! Matt opened the show greeting us "Selamat Petang KL" (maybe it was a direct translation of "Good Evening", ah, but of course, they're forgiven for that). Dominic asked us "Apa Khabar?" and Matt also said "Terima Kasih Kuala Lumpur" in impeccable Malay. Respect !!!!!!!! Hmmm...Chris was quiet though, although he seems he's enjoying himself on the stage. He ldoes seem a bit like Grissom (CSI), maybe because of the unshaven look.

Chris very big on screen

Hmmm..no wonder he said it correctly. They had it written down phonetically. "Terrima Kasay" and "Selamat Petang Kuala Loomper" (Apa Khabar was hidden behind the tix, so I couldn't see what they actually wrote). Luckily they struck off "Comme Chinta Malaysia!" (Kami Cinta Malaysia)- direct translation for We Love You Malaysia! hahaha... Apparently, they stayed at Mandarin Oriental, based on the towel logo. Eh, I thought you can't take back hotel towels?

They also had a gimmick towards the end of the show (during Stockholm Syndrome) when they threw in giant balloons with confetti inside for the audience to burst them and spread red confetti on the mosh pit. I later read from Muse's messageboard that it's their tradition to release the giant white balloons during "Bliss" (but they didn't play Bliss this time around )

I managed to get a pic of the gig's setlist from a girl who got Dom's setlist! Lucky gal!
So the setlist was:
Knights of Cydonia
Hysteria
Super Massive Blackhole
Butterflies & Hurricanes
Assassin
Citizen Erased
Hoodoo
Apocalypse
Feeling Good
Sunburn
Starlight
Plug In Baby
Map of the Problematique
Time Is Running Out
New Born

Encore:
Soldier's Poem
Invincible
Stockholm Syndrome
Take A Bow