So despite being laid low with one of the two-week colds that keep coming back for more, I went to see Muse last night at Webster Hall, a tacky nightclub that has been putting on gigs for the past few years, returning its former role to supplement their income from ‘Girls Nights Out’ and the like.
Muse arent like any other band that I like, in that they have what can only be called prog-prock tendencies. But they manage to keep their songs short (note to support band The Zutons: long Cream-esque jams for your last song have a tendency to make you forget the highlights earlier in the gig) and have more of a presence on stage than three blokes from Devon should be really able to muster. It struck me last night that they’re sort of a cross between Radiohead and Rage Against The Machine, though less political than either. The songs are more abstract, you know, apocalypse, death, that sort of thing.
Once you have played a guitar a few times yourself, you are forever saddled with the inability to never stop wondering, ‘hmm’ how did he do that?’ when seeing bands. This is heightened with Muse, who can all play a bit, to say the least. What sounded like sequencers on record turn out to be things they play on the guitar and bass, though in a couple of songs an arpeggiator of some sort was going in the background, but that’s OK.
One of the benefits of being a Brit in Manhattan is that you get to see these British bands that are huge in the UK and normally play arena shows playing in small venues like Webster Hall. Plus, it’s pretty sweet being able to walk back from the gig and be back inside my apartment in less than 10 minutes.