Express & Star

Review: Muse go full-throttle at LG Arena, Birmingham

[gallery] Never a group to do things by halves, Muse left Britain's second city gasping for air after a full-throttle, anthem-packed show.

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Thousands of adoring fans young and old filled Birmingham's LG Arena, screaming, stamping and hanging on frontman Matt Bellamy's every word.

The show was nothing short of spectacular, as a stunning light show and extraordinarily elaborate stage set-up moved, flashed and changed to every riff and soaring chord blasted by the band.

From the instrumental opening piece to the explosive finale, Muse treated the crowds to hits from all six studio albums.

Showbiz favourite Sunburn, modern classic Stockholm Syndrome, and recent single Madness – during which Bellamy sported sunglasses bearing LED lyrics – were all greeted with heady screams, while the frantic dancing and jumping spread all the way back to the rafters for radio staple Plug in Baby and the brilliant Time is Running Out.

Even during slower numbers, including Explorers – played on an electric grand piano – the audience were held in rapture as Bellamy crooned and howled his way through the band's powerful back catalogue.

Marking the first of two encores, an inverted pyramid of TV screens gradually lowered to cover the band.

Then, tinkling piano music accompanying footage of young children running across a desert built into a crescendo, gradually turning into Uprising and then on to Knights of Cydonia, with 2006 single Starlight kicking off the second encore.

The night ended in an explosion of smoke rockets as Bellamy and co bid farewell with the official Olympics song, Survival, to the delight of the crowd.

It's easy to see why they have been named Best Live Band at numerous music awards ceremonies, year-on-year – they are one of the few acts around today to deliver consistently spectacular performances. Radio can barely do them justice.

By Mark Mudie

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