Muse

Exhilarating.

With Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (and U2, of course), they are now among my favorite bands. I wasn't expecting anything remotely close to what I experienced. First of all, I thought Matthew Bellamy (lead singer) wouldn't sound as good as he does on the records, kind of like (I hate to say this, because I love him) Chris Cornell. But man, this guy has pipes. Not one note off key, and he can wail like a motherfucker. The guitarist must be some sort of god. I don't know who had a bigger impression on him: Led Zeppelin, Queen or Prince. His licks were amazing. And the drummer - I don't even know what to say. These guys are TIGHT. Their music is absolutely mesmorizing live.

I wasn't exactly sober, if you know what I mean, so here's what the Reuters had to say about the specifics:

"Progressive rock lives again, and Muse is carrying the torch for a new generation.

"The trio is certainly more beat-centered than old-school polyrhythmic, anchored by drummer Dominic Howard and ansty bassist Chris Wolstenholme, who kept hopping about. This allowed singer-guitarist-keyboardist Matthew Bellamy to freely play the flashy frontman, with guitar-hero moves and poses and classical flourishes at the piano.

"The group took the stage to the sequenced electro-loop of "Take a Bow," a slow-build burn that led into the surging "Hysteria," with its demand of "I want it now." In his pinched tenor, Bellamy cried out against a crushing world, seeking hope, change and -- most of all -- purpose and meaning.

"Numbers from the band's new top 10 album "Black Holes and Revelations" (Warner Bros.) included the glam-rock-goes-funk of "Supermassive Black Hole," carried by a Prince-styled falsetto and Gipsy King strumming on acoustic guitar, and "City of Delusion," which exploded into Led Zeppelin hammer-of-the-gods thunder.

"A trio of midset songs was riveting: The pulsing romanticism of "Starlight" gave way to the snake-dance guitar lines and near-chaotic dynamics of "Plug in Baby," followed by the grandly romantic orchestral ballad "Invincible," set to a rising martial beat and swathed in church organ.

"Beyond a few thank-yous, the band was hardly a chatty bunch, but there's something to be said for letting the music do all the talking. Some shtick was just that: Bellamy playing guitar slung around at the back of his neck, dropping to his knees or taking Pete Townshend-style windmill swipes.

"However, when everything worked -- and it did more often than not -- it truly was sweeping and powerful. This was especially so during an encore featuring the tension-wrought modern rock hit "Time Is Running Out," followed by the closing "Knights of Cydonia," where waves of crackling surf guitar crashed against the bluster of Queen-styled melodrama and ensemble vocals. In those moments, Muse achieved escape velocity from that black hole gravity to explore a galaxy of sonic revelation."

This is D again...

I have to say, Supermassive Black Hole was played much more as a rock song with an added guitar solo in there, and it brought new respect to that song - which many longtime Muse fans didn't like (at least until they hear it live!).

Invincible was another rocker. This is one hell of an anthem and really got the crowd pumping. This is probably what people thought of Bono during Live Aid in 1986.

But the song that blew me completely away was their last: Knights of Cydonia. Guys, Queen lives on. It was so overdramatic, had so much flair, I almost pissed myself. This is the new Bohemian Rhapsody.

Finally, I have said this about Bloc Party before, but I took it back after seeing their Coachella performance this year. MUSE IS GOING TO BE THE NEXT U2. Think about... they are a few albums into their careers. Nothing but quality, but they also keep getting better with time. The reason Radiohead will never be U2 is because they aren't as interested in entertaining. Coldplay won't be either, simply because they aren't as deep. Muse is... they write quality shit, but most importantly, they entertained the shit out of the crowd. They know how to make people almost piss their pants with excitement.

Side note, when we were leaving, we decided to go out. But it was funny because we were so drained from the show! That is the sign of a good band, if you ask me.