Sunday, December 10, 2006

Black Holes & Revelations

Wanted to make a note of my most favorite band in the world as of today: M U S E.

I have been listeninig to their music since university times but never really appreciated them as a band but after seeing them live in concert 2 weeks ago, I have made up my mind. The concert was mind-blowing. They have an amazing stage presence; Matt Bellamy is very charismatic as a frontman and the showy side of the concert was very impressive without being cheesy. But most importantly the crowd was incredible. From the first song, everybody in the standing area became a single organism and started jumping around. But it wasn't aggressive. In fact, I just let myself go and drifted within the crowd. I have never felt like this before in a concert; the amount of energy was staggering. I realised that MUSE's songs inflate in a concert arena. They envelop the place. They are such good songs to sing-a-long and jump-a-long to. I must have lost 2 kgs in sweat in that concert; my t-shirt was soaking wet when I came out in the end. They are going to give a concert in Wembley Stadium next summer and I plan to be there.

And let's come to the second reason for this post. I have decided to put one of my favorite bands to rest: P L A C E B O. I have watched them live tonight at the same venue Muse played and the difference between two experiences was staggering. I haven't been a huge fan of Placebo's last 2 albums but I listen to them all the same. However, I always end up thinking how much better the songs in their first 2 album are. Anyways they come up to the stage and started playing. I looked around myself for a sign of the same energy that was present in the Muse concert. But it was nowhere to be seen. The crowd was so different this time; it was full of dorks, dopeheads, prepubescent or teenage girls shrieking in the highest possible pitch of their voices, posers, emos, goths etc. No rockers. Most of the people around me spent their times taking pictures, recording the concert on their mobile phones or texting. It was horrible. Nobody moved. I think the main problem with the new songs is that they are very formulaic. Write 3-4 lines and repeat all through the song. When they thankfully played Without You I'm nothing, the song rose majestically above the crap that came before. Another problem is Brian Molko still thinks he is in his early twenties; writing songs about teenager problems, which is embarrassing. He also acts like a diva. When a technical fault brought about a forced break in the concert, they all gone to the backstage, leaving the crowd standing there like we don't matter. I would expect him to take up a microphone and speak to the crowd, see the funny side of it. These things make a live performance special.

Anyways, to wrap up; I didn't want the MUSE concert to end and the band gave the impression that they didn't either; doing a 'bis' twice, playing 3-4 songs each. However, I was glad when the Placebo concert was over, which ended rather abrutly without any bis and the band just walking off the stage.

So long Placebo, thanks for the memories, thanks for the songs I enjoyed listening to from bootleg bands in tiny, smoky bars. And hail Muse; the band that rocks my world and makes me feel alive.