I’ve had this album since mid September but I’ve held out on reviewing it because frankly, I hated it at first. I guess I was really expecting Black Holes and Revelations part 2, and was quite surprised by the bombastic sound present in almost all songs on The Resistance.
That being said, deep down I knew that there was no way Matthew Bellamy and Co had messed up so badly. The greatness had to be there somewhere, so I kept listening and searching for clues. Gradually, the album grew on me, and the final push was when I saw Muse live three weeks ago. Finally I understood the brilliance that is The Resistance!
The strongest song on the album is probably the first single, Uprising. This uptempo anthem is sure to be a Muse live favorite, along with the title track. But what really defines the album for me is the three part symphony that closes The Resistance, Exogenesis. Here we get fantastic string arrangements mixed with Matt’s charismatic voice, as well as classical themes mixed with the heavy rock Muse is known for. It’s a bold move by a rock band to write a symphony, but Muse pulls it off. When I saw Muse live they opened with the first part of Exogenesis, and it was one of my favorite parts of the concert. I wish they would perform the entire symphony live!
So for the people that didn’t get The Resistance yet – go get it, you won’t be disappointed!
Note: Click on the links in the setlist to see videos of almost all songs from the concert!
It’s hard to believe how many good concerts there’s been this year, and The Dead Weather was yet another one. It was originally scheduled to take place at Cirkus at midnight, but was moved to Kägelbanan, due to a “scheduling conflict”. I’d say due to lack of ticket sales. But that was all fine with me, because Kägelbanan is a really intimate venue that takes no more than 500 guests.
I stood in the second row, on Jack Lawrence’s side, and had a great view of the stage. The band took the stage to Sure ‘Nuff ‘N Yes, I Do by Captain Beefheart. First song was Horehound opening track 60 Feet Tall. Nice touch to open with a slow blues that gradually builds to a frenzy. This was followed by Hang You From The Heavens, and now the crowd went nuts! From this moment on I was crushed against the people in the front row for the rest of the concert. But I didn’t care, it was just so great to see this band live for the first time, and particularly to see one of my absolute favorite musicians, Jack White. Speaking of Mr. White, for the third song, it was time for Jack to take center stage. Backed by a drum machine they did You Just Can’t Win, a b-side from the Treat Me Like Your Mother single. The drum machine was used a lot when it was time for Jack to sing, and I thought it was a really great solution. Judging from the sound it must have been a vintage type of drum machine, fitting for Jack’s appreciation of old style recording methods and vintage instruments. Every time they were going to use it Jack would turn away from the drums and fiddle with the drum machine for a while before it would start up! Much credit to The Dead Weather for not using any pre-recorded tracks which could have easily been done instead.
Alison Mosshart, rail-thin and wailing away, was a great lead singer. She was very intense, and you could tell that she got completely lost in the music. For the fourth song, which was the Mosshart penned So Far From Your Weapon, she donned her square white Gretsch guitar. …Weapon, which is one of my favorite songs off of Horehound sounded great in the slowed down version that they do live.
For A Child of a Few Hours Is Burning To Death one of the band’s roadies took over the skins for a while as Jack joined Alison on vocals. When done singing, Jack went back to the drums and continued the song. It is worth mentioning that just as when Jack White plays with The White Stripes, the roadies all wear suits and hats!
For main set closer, Will There Be Enough Water?, Jack White took center stage once again and shared lead vocals with Alison. Jack Lawrence took over the skins, and Dean Fertita played a mellow Fender Rhodes-esque piano. White did a great guitar solo and got so into it that he knocked over one of Dean’s guitars! The stage hands rushed out quickly to pick it up. Towards the end of the song, Jack and Alison kept singing “Just because you caught me, does that make it a sin?” far away from the microphone, their powerful voices carrying over the venue without amplification, at least for us in the front. It was a magical moment! Dean kept rocking the keyboard stand back and forth in beat with the music.
The encore featured what may have been the coolest guitar solo I’ve ever heard live. Accompanied by the drum machine once again, they played the new song I Can’t Hear You with Jack on guitar. The solo was just amazing. Jack was using his Whammy pedal to alternately raise and lower the pitch of the notes during the solo. He is truly the master and inventor of this technique, but I’ve never heard him go back and forth in pitch so much before. With The White Stripes he usually just raises the pitch an octave and leaves it there, but this was something completely different.
The last song of the night was Treat Me Like Your Mother, and the entire audience was jumping up and down. It was just so much fun, and I couldn’t stop smiling. As the band was thanking the audience I locked eyes with Jack and gave him a thumbs up. After the concert I had to go buy a Dead Weather shirt, mainly to have something to change in to, since my t-shirt got completely soaked during the concert!
We hung out in the bar having some beers after the show, and then we actually went outside and met the band as they were leaving. Jack and Alison both signed CD covers that I had brought, and they were both very nice. Jack said “I see we have a lot of Americans here”, commenting on the fact that three out of the six fans there were from the States. I told Alison that I really enjoyed the show and she said thank you and seemed genuinely happy to hear it. The only bummer was that neither one wanted to pose for a quick picture. But that’s alright, it was still one of the best concerts of the year, and I finally got to meet Jack White, briefly.
Setlist: (I’m not sure about the songs in parenthesis)
As many of you have probably already heard, Steven Tyler appears to be leaving Aerosmith. If not permanently then at least for an extended period of time, to focus on his own brand – “Brand Tyler”. Joe Perry was apparently not in the loop, tweeting “Read on line st left band to do “brand Tyler”? That’s all I know but like I’ve said hasn’t called me in months.a bit cold forget us 4 guys” (AdmiralPerry).
Rumour has it Joe, Brad, Tom, and Joey have scheduled a meeting to discuss a possible replacement for Steven. Brad Whitford was quoted in Classic Rock saying “Nobody could replace Steven or imitate him – he’s one of a kind. But if somebody was willing to do it and the chemistry was right, why not?”
I think replacing Steven Tyler and still calling the band Aerosmith has failure written all over it. However, I have a better suggestion: How about approaching Kid Rock about fronting a new band, in the same way that the remaining Rage Against The Machine members joined forces with Chris Cornell to form Audioslave? Now, I know Kid Rock has a very prosperous career of his own, and the Twisted Brown Trucker Band is one of the best backing bands around, but let’s just imagine the awesomeness. Kid Rock is a huge Aerosmith fan, and he has opened for them and played with them on numerous occasions. I think it would be a really great collaboration. Imagine a live show composed of classic Aerosmith songs, and Kid Rock’s southern rock, plus an album of all new songs! I also think Kid Rock has the voice needed to pull off all the classic Aerosmith songs from the seventies. So here is my plea to Joe Perry: Give Bob Ritchie a call – who knows what could happen?
Note: If you want to see videos of almost all songs from the concert, click on the links in the setlist!
Last night I saw Muse for the first time, and it was all that I had hoped for! The concert started with Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1, from new album, The Resistance. Guitarist/vocalist Matthew Bellamy, drummer Dominic Howard, and bassist Christopher Wolstenholme, each stood on platforms that rose out of the stage floor, and proceeded to play the first three songs 30 feet above the audience. The sides of the platforms were covered in video screens, which displayed images of the band interspersed with various animations. The second song, Uprising sounded great in a live setting. Whenever I go see a band, their latest album ALWAYS becomes much better after hearing it live, and the same thing happened last night. Even the Timbaland flavored Undisclosed Desires, with Matt on keytar, was fun to hear live.
I kept hoping they would use lasers in their show, just like on the last tour, and I was certainly not disappointed. During New Born, green lasers were projecting all over the arena – very cool! Matt even had a laser on top of his platform for the first song, that he could control the direction of himself.
Map of the Problematique was one of the highlights for me, and I really liked the little Who Knows Who/Heartbreaker jam at the end. Supermassive Black Hole and Starlight were also really great – Black Holes and Revelations is probably my second favorite Muse album, after Origin of Symmetry. Speaking of the latter, I was so happy when they played Plug In Baby!!! Man, that song is fantastic, and Matt’s siren-like guitar intro is so cool! He is a true musical genious. They definitely could have done a few more songs from Origin of Symmetry. Before Hysteria Matt got a short break while Chris and Dominic played a really cool interlude up on Dominic’s platform, while the entire drumkit rotated.
I really enjoyed that they played two songs from their first album, Showbiz: Cave and Unintended. For Cave, Matt played a grand piano that had lights in the open lid, that responded to his playing. Before they started Cave, Matt did mention that they played their first show in Sweden in the city of Malmö when they were touring with Showbiz. They did have some issues at the start of Cave, supposedly with Chris’ bass. But besides that the entire concert was flawless, which is amazing considering it was only the second show of the tour.
What makes this concert one of the best shows of the year for me is that I got to hear every song I wanted to hear. When it was time for the encore, I kept hoping that they would do Stockholm Syndrome and Knights of Cydonia – and they did! It couldn’t have been more perfect. During Stockholm Syndrome their crew threw out these huge balloons filled with confetti. It was fun to watch them bounce around and burst over the crowd. Knights of Cydonia started with an awesome harmonica intro by Chris, and everyone sang along to the guitar intro, just like on the HAARP live album – classic!
Although we had seats we stood for the entire show, as did most people around us. By the end of the show my voice was almost gone from singing along to every song! As Muse left the stage, Dominic said “We’ll see you soon”. Let’s hope they keep that promise.
Now listening to:
