Lively lasers lapped the faces of the fortunate attendees on Thursday night. Muse owned the Pacific Coliseum, mesmerizing everyone in attendance with an amazing stage show. Silversun Pickups opened the night was a stellar start, waking the crowd up from the first note. It would end up being one of the single best shows to grace Vancouver in sometime. Those who were able to make it out were bombarded with a visual masterpiece and taken on a beautiful auditory journey. It was a magical evening.
To start the night the humble mass stood silently waiting on signs of movement on the stage. Soon the foursome from Los Angeles known as the Silversun Pickups crawled to the stage. At first the mass at their feet was standoffish and hesitant to join in to the rhythm and beat. Brian Aubert, the lead singer, made short work of this and had them begging for more. Soon enough the floor was thumping in time with the angry animalistic strikes laid down by Chris Guanlao, the maniacal drummer. Overall the intensity and passion of this band is genuinely felt from these two members. Joe Lester and Nikki Monninger are the silent assassins on stage, playing with a shyness but with a whimsical depth.
After the openers had retired from the night the wait began. Filtering to the floor were the eager. The usual pushing and prying started as late comers fought their way as close to the front as they could. Soon enough the lights faded black and filtered in the darkness. Three giant columns on the stage lit up to appear as buildings, standing near 200 feet tall. The columns were comprised of giant screens, which illuminated with detailed video feeds and accompanied the entire show.
As the entrance music rang through the arena, all eyes were on the columns. Suddenly the sheets around them dropped to reveal a space at the center of each. In these three spaces like piece of art were the members of the band. The entire venue last its mind with screaming and chanting. From the first note, they had the entire show wrapped up in a neat little bow. Everything was perfectly orchestrated.
Over the course of the night some songs were highlighted with intense laser and light shows. Green beams shot around the arena in perfect time to the accompanying song. Frantic lights scurried in every direction. It was an assault on your eyes, but the chaos worked and had the fans energized and extremely excited.
Their were a plethora of tiny details that added to the perfect performance. During the entire set cameras recorded live feeds of the band and crowd and overlayed them on top of the prerecorded cgi display. It added a perfect personal touch and tied the show together visually. Matthew Bellamy then was raised up on one of the pedestals and played his full size piano. The lid was opened and reflected a digital light display to the crowd. As each note was played it lit up an individual light, the subtle detail was perfect.
On top of the small detail was the completely stunning over the top pieces. At one point the stadium was filled with giant white balloons, painted to look like eye balls. As each one popped it released buckets of confetti on the spectators below. The balloons that popped closed to the stage were met with an upward gust of air from a wind machine; blowing the confetti skyward.
Everything about this show was perfect, including the sound and musicianship. The vocals were pure and more raw than any album the have put out. It had more of a rock edge rather than the polished Radiohead’esque feel they go for on their albums. The drums and bass played in perfect synchronicity of each other. Feeding one another in a beautifully intense back and forth. It was an amazing night to be apart of, and for the lucky thousands it will be remembered forever.
Their is a reason Muse was voted the best live act for 2009, the earn that award with pure hard work. Any chance you get to see this band live, you need to jump at it. They are the single best live act I have ever seen in terms of performance. The simple fact is this band takes the reigns from U2, Coldplay, or any other over the top rockers and takes it to the next level. Muse is the best live act today, and they never disappoint. So next time they are in town, get off your couch and buy a ticket, it will be the best money you have ever spent.
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