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Friday, March 19, 2010

Muse at Houston's Toyota Center



I saw Muse Thursday night at Houston's Toyota Center and the English dudes brought their A game. It wasn't that long ago I just saw them open for U2 at Reliant Stadium in October. They were great then, but last night's show went to a whole new level.

Muse in my opinion could be the next Pink Floyd (I called them the next U2 last time - I can change my mind - maybe next time they will be the new Beatles). The band's show had "a wall" theme that kept the band member's images distorted on the monitors until the end when "the wall" came down and the band was displayed in full color. And speaking of the monitors and stage...wow. I've never seen a stage like this one in an arena setting. Granted U2 goes nuts in the stadium setting, but Muse really brought something unique to a basketball arena setting.

The 80s appear to be coming back all over the place, and Muse's stage was no exception. There were lasers, wailing guitars, even a glimpse of the ship from the video game Galaga. Plus Muse just knows how to pull some 80s (and even before) rock stage presence to an alternative genre. I swear I caught them jamming some Zeppelin and Aerosmith at the end of songs. Oh and the stage platforms were totally KISS with a modern twist. And who still does a rocking bass/drum solo these days?

Overall it was a great show musically and visually.  But after seeing them in 2009, Muse does not need an over the top stage show to still bring down the house.

Photos on Flickr from the Houston Toyota Center show (not my photos by the way)
The video is from plugincharmed. CONTACT: Leave me a Houston or Texas media news tip | COMMENT: Click to leave your thoughts on this post here