Muse in Calgary

It was all anyone could really talk about yesterday… Muse Calgary!

I haven’t been a huge fan of the band for a long time, but I know that they’re renowned for their performances and stage shows. Now, I know why. So, let’s get right to the review:

Muse Calgary

Last night was phenomenal. This is probably one of my favourite concerts of all time, and considering I’ve been to my fair share, that’s saying a lot.

First things first. I have to say, that despite the Saddledome being a less-than-ideal concert venue acoustically speaking, at least it’s easy to access. Rexall Place (Edmonton) has so much industry and roadway around it that it’s damn near impossible to get anywhere near the show without paying through the nose to park. I left my car at my office (though parking was available all up and down 17th Ave) and it was warm enough for Thomas, Tim, and me to walk from there to the show. Tim has seen Muse before, and was going more to experience Band of Skulls, but Thomas and I were both excited to see the headliner.

The stage set-up was intense. At one end of the arena, there was a horseshoe-shaped stage set up, with two platforms on either end. The panels that made up the horseshoe wall were screens, and there were five more sets of screens hanging from the roof. The hanging screens were set up as a pyramid shape, in squares of descending sizes. The screens moved up and down independent of one another throughout the show.

photo courtesy of the Calgary Sun

Because it was The 2nd Law tour, the band focused largely on that album. During the performance, the three of us figured out that they’re referencing the 2nd law of thermodynamics: “It is an expression of the fact that over time, differences in temperature, pressure, and chemical potential decrease in an isolated physical system, leading eventually to a state of thermodynamic equilibrium.” For those who think tl;dr, basically it states that everything will eventually decline over time.

The screens showed tons of stock tickers and brokers, and it became clear that Muse is basically implying that our current economic system will also eventually decline and atrophy, which makes sense as they wrote the album around the time of the recession.

The visual effects were stunning. It was a treat for the eyes and the ears! And speaking of ears, here’s the set list:

1. The 2nd Law: Unsustainable
2. Supremacy
3. Time Is Running Out
4. Panic Station
5. Resistance
6. Interlude
7. Hysteria
8. Animals
9. Knights of Cydonia(Man with a Harmonica intro)
10. Monty Jam
11. Explorers
12. Follow Me
13. Liquid State
14. Madness
15. Undisclosed Desires
16. Supermassive Black Hole
17. New Born(Deftones’ Headup outro)

Encore:

17. The 2nd Law: Isolated System
18. Uprising(Extended outro)

Encore 2:

19. Starlight
20. Survival

One of my favourite moments from the show is when they were getting ready to perform Starlight, everyone brought out their phones and turned on the flashlight function. The Saddledome really did look studded with starlight!

I would see Muse again in a heartbeat, and if you’re ever able, I’d wholeheartedly recommend you see them as well!