Muse – MEN Arena

I last saw Muse about four years ago, when they supported Skunk Anansie. At that time they were just starting out, and frankly, they were shit. It put me off them for a long time, but then I got persuaded by friends that they had improved a thousand-fold since then, so I should give them another go. And in a rare fit of tolerance, I did.

What a surprise – they’ve changed themselves utterly from the dweeby little bunch of goits I’d seen before. The music is similar, and Matt Bellamy’s voice is still the same, but the attitude of the band has changed utterly. They’re far more confident now, and the stage show is light-years ahead of just about anything else in the genre. In fact the only person I can think of this year with a better stage set was (of course) Peter Gabriel.

Bearing in mind that I’d managed to avoice purchasing anything by Muse before, I’m now beginning to think I should get at least one of their albums, and give it a try. Yes, I’ve changed my mind that much about them. Really, the only thing that could have improved the gig for me was to know the songs better – and even without that, it was still a stunning concert, culminating with a storm of ticker-tape being blasted over the audience. I’ll let the pictures say the rest…

Massive Attack, Queens Square, Bristol

Back in April, I saw Massive Attack live in Manchester as part of the tour for the 100th Window album. As concerts go, it was an absolutely stunning one, particularly having waited for rumty-tumty years to see them live. Soon after that, they released information that they would be doing an open-air concert in Bristol (their hometown) on August Bank Holiday Monday. Suffice it to say, yours truly got tickets for it, and has been looking forward to it ever since.

As more information became available, it turned out it wasn’t just going to be Massive Attack, but was instead going to be an all-dayer (well, about 10 hours all told) with a variety of bands. The final line up was : Lupine Howl, Martina Topley-Bird, The Bees, Goldfrapp, The Streets, and (of course) Massive Attack. Definitely worth the £22.50 per ticket.

First things first, the organisation in Queens Square was – in general – superb. Really the only minor detraction was the bizarre insistence at the gates that any bottled drinks had to have the caps taken off, and thrown away. I have NO idea why this was relevant (some people were saying it was so they couldn’t be used as missiles, but if that’s the case then why provide bottles and cans inside the venue?) but it was insisted upon, and was a complete pain in the arse. Once that minor hurdle had been covered and entrance had been managed, it just got better and better. The entire area had been covered in a kind of plastic tile, (I assume) to protect the surface underneath. While not perfect (I think my arse is still embossed with the manufacturer’s name) it was probably a smart move on the part of the organisers – and I’d imagine will make it very easy to clear up afterwards too. The entire site was well organised, more than enough facilities etc. – the only complaint I heard was that the bars were rigidly busy, but with 20-odd thousand people who weren’t allowed to bring alcohol into the area, I suppose that’s hardly a surprise either.

There’s a lack of photos purely because the new digi-cam’s zoom really wasn’t up to it.
• Lupine Howl
  I’d never heard of Lupine Howl before today, and on the face of things I doubt I’ll hear much of them again. I’ve been wrong before, but if I am, it’ll take a while to happen.They came on and performed a couple of reasonable covers, then made the mistake of performing some of their own stuff. Bad move. Very derivative, and with very little to allow them to stand out from the crowd. Yeah they were completely competent, and being sixth on the line-up sucks, but no, not at all impressed. And the cover of Led Zep’s “Misty Mountain Hop” towards the end of the gig was deepy ill-advised, as well as utterly shonky
• Martina Topley-Bird
  Martina used to provide the counterpoint vocals for Tricky, particularly on the Maxinquaye album, before he disappeared up his own arse at a rate of knots. She’s just released her first solo album, Quixotic, so (I assume) most of the material was from that. And on the face of the thirty-odd minutes she performed, I’m getting the album. Lupine Howl should have watched and learned – the sheer range of musical types was impressive, going from an Alabama-3-esque intro into swamp rock, blues, pop, and a couple of others. Impossible to pigeonhole, except perhaps as “Bristol trippy” – on the strength of the performance and music, she’ll continue upwards at a rapid pace.
• The Bees
  Again, Bristol-based, the Bees were – well, better than Lupine Howl. That’s about as fair as I can be.
• Goldfrapp
  I’d seen Goldfrapp on Jools Holland before, but really didn’t know any of their stuff all that well. In that context, they were bloody good. There were a couple of ear-drum shattering high-notes and distortion-bound pieces, but on the face of the sound-system’s performance for the rest of the event, I can only assume that the distortion was intentional. About 80% of the set was exceptional, but the other 20% was enough to make me slightly less sure about getting more stuff by Goldfrapp. All things considered though, it was a bloody good set (even with Ms Goldfrapp doing some very rude (simulated) things with the Theremin (apparently “every girl should have one” *grin*) and really started getting the crowd going.
• The Streets
  As with Goldfrapp, I’d heard a lot about The Streets, but to my knowledge I hadn’t heard any of their stuff. (Turns out I had, but only one track) Their reputation preceded them, so it was definitely a matter of interest to see them – and I have to say they were good. Not my favourite kind of thing, as I never did get into the rap style of music all that much – but I can see the strength they have, and why people like them they’re different to a lot of thestuff that’s out at the moment, which is always a good thing in my book. Very impressive.
• Massive Attack
  The main act – and right from the start, we’re in a totally different sphere. These people know how to do a show. I’d wondered how they’d improve on the Manchester gig, and even whether they could improve – but believe me, they could. This was a home-town audience, and they pulled out all the stops. It was a stunning concert even if you’d seen others in the tour – there were enough differences to keep it interesting. One of the best new parts was the wall-screen displaying a globe, tracing their route through the tour, totting up the mileage (kilometerage, to be accurate) and displaying how they’ve travelled, right up to the gig in Bristol. The mileage this year is a stunning 35,000Km – makes my weekend look positively sane. The entire 90 minutes they were on stage were fantastic – truly atmospheric, storming sound system, excellent lighting, the entire gig was fantastic.

All in all, an absolutely stunning day, and well worth the money.