Muse, Wembley Stadium 10/09/10

Support from White Rabbits, The Big Pink & Lily Allen

After blowing the minds of everyone that attended Glastonbury this summer; the prodigies of live music return with a tour of colossal proportions to do exactly that all over again. They’ve been playing huge spots for a while now but each time they do, they bring a brand new spectacle and tonight 85,000 fans have packed out Wembley Stadium in order to witness it. But first things first, those lucky support acts. Starting things off are up and coming New Yorkers White Rabbits, who may not be familiar with playing huge shows but they surprisingly manage to fill the space with their indie-pop melodies. The band’s set up is far from conventional with two drummers and a lead-singer pianist (equipped with a great live voice) but it seems to work. They treat the early birds to a snippet of their second record ‘It’s Frightening’ and save the best ‘til last as they play out with critically acclaimed single ‘Percussion Gun’. The Big Pink turn up the heat (and bass) as they take to the stage with ‘Too Young To Love’ followed by the incredible ‘Velvet’. Their distorted, piercing electo-rock anthems effortlessly fill the stadium, proving that they could easily play venues of this magnitude on their own in the near future. Slightly drifting away from tonight’s conventions is Lily Allen who definitely puts on a better show than the last big gig she did at Wireless, but even she admits that this is probably her only chance of playing this venue. A quick cameo from Professor Green and a few dubstep remixes thrown in makes her set passable.

With the crowd satisfactory hyped, the band everyone came to see appear amongst a crowd of acting political protestors holding signs with lyrics taken from ‘Uprising’. Thankfully they disappear within a few minutes and we get to see the band play free of theatrics as they burst into the song followed by ‘Supermassive Black Hole’. But of course this doesn’t last very long; it’s just not Muse’s style. The show is certainly out of this world, and I mean that in a literal sense. At the introduction of ‘Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1: Overture’, a huge inflatable UFO floats through the air until an actual real person pops out of it and acrobatically dances their way around the stadium, simultaneously sprinkling glitter over the crowd. The stage itself looks like something E.T would live in and even their attire fits the theme. Drummer Dom Howard rocks skin-tight silver spandex whilst vocalist Matt Bellamy dons a sparkling silver suit and later steps out head-to-toe in glowing lights and flashing sunglasses to match. Style is something this band are not shy of and tonight they’re not afraid to show it.

They perform newest songs ‘Resistance’, ‘Uprising’ and ‘Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)’ which obviously weren’t heard the last time they were here. They go down well; ‘Resistance’ in particular, but it’s the classics that send everyone into Hysteria (excuse the pun). ‘New Born’, ‘Plug In Baby’ and ‘Time Is Running Out’ notably stand out but it’s not until an explosive performance of ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ that I am convinced they are possibly the best live act I’ve ever seen. As one of the heaviest, anthemic songs they have produced to date, it proves to be a highlight. After a second encore, they conclude with an atmospheric ‘Knights Of Cydonia’ which predictably provokes the loudest crowd sing-along of the night. There’s no doubt that Muse are firmly holding on to their commended credentials as a world-class live band, but what is admirable is how confidently and effortlessly they are doing it. The only question is, now that Earth has been conquered where can they go from here? If this band are anything to go by, Mars is not far off the radar...

See this review on Clink Magazine: http://clinkmusicmagazine.com/2010/09/10/muse-at-wembley-stadium

Lostprophets, Shepherd's Bush Empire 25/8/10

With a massive main stage show at the Reading and Leeds Festivals only days away, Lostprophets choose London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire to limber up and try out their set list. Joining them on the bill are fellow Welshmen Attack Attack who get the crowd hyped with their catchy pop-punk; something which should have been done initially by US rockers Foxy Shazam. To say an acquired taste is needed to appreciate this band would be quite accurate. Having been compared to Queen and The Darkness in the past, it is soon clear that this is apparent not only within their music but their persona too. There is no doubting their energy as frontman Eric Nally spends most of the set flamboyantly dancing about the stage and taunting the crowd. This proves to be a slight shock to the system for many people in attendance as they are received with occasional booing and heckling. Theatrics aside, the band’s live sound is strong and engaging as they perform songs largely from second record Introducing. They go all out for the last one, amid acrobatics as they furiously belt their instruments into a conclusive frantic frenzy. This gains a bit of respect from the crowd as they applaud the effort (then again this could’ve also been because they were leaving the stage). It was all so promising in the beginning, but unfortunately the dramatics were too much for the generic Lostprophet fan.

These fans finally get what they came for when Lostprophets take to the stage with Can’t Catch Tomorrow. They immediately commence with Burn Burn which sees most of the room engulfed within a massive mosh pit that goes on to last the entirety of the show. It’s Not The End Of The World and For He’s A Jolly Good Felon follow, but the focus doesn’t stay on the new songs for long. Killer record Start Something is the main star tonight as To Hell We Ride, Make A Move and We Are Godzilla, You Are Japan are dusted off for our hearing pleasure. It’s so refreshing to hear songs that they don’t play very often and this notably has a positive effect on the crowd. We Are Godzilla particularly boasts as it sends everyone into complete hysteria. Even with an amusing Backstreet Boys chorus thrown in before the drop, it was an improvement on what they played at the O2 Academy Brixton back in February. Apparently you can’t go wrong with a good old cheesy cover as the theme is continued when they pay tribute to Reading and Leeds headliners Guns N Roses by playing the introduction of Sweet Child Of Mine.

Vocalist Ian Watkins reveals that the last few songs involve us going “back in time”. After telling fans that they should be ashamed of themselves if they didn’t know the lyrics, they launch into Fake Sound Of Progress and Shinobi Vs. Dragon Ninja. He needn’t have been worried as they attract the largest crowd reactions, predictably along with Last Train Home and Rooftops. Even with this being the case, Where We Belong stands out for me on the night. Its uplifting lyrics and melody consistently make it a great live song and tonight it was the best I’ve heard it yet. Unlike their tour earlier in the year, it becomes clear that this gig is not about being serious and impressing anybody, it’s about having a good time and playing some old tunes. Because of this, the atmosphere is much more relaxed and feels like a typical laid-back Lostprophets show. Ian Watkins and Jamie Oliver even take it as far as rapping between songs. (Not badly I might add). In their usual style, they return for an encore and surprise the crowd with a gripping performance of Sway, another gem from 2004’s Start Something. As the only song on the set list I had never heard live before, it was a personal highlight. A one off show full of classic oldies was promised and that’s exactly what we got. If you weren’t there, you only have yourself to blame.

To see my review on Clink with pictures click here

Check out more of Marcus Maschwitz's amazing photos here