Live Review: Muse - AO Arena 29/09/2023
An extravagant lesson in the art of performing: mega stars Muse delivered a ‘Supermassive’ set at Manchester’s AO Arena.
The arena filled quickly, with rock fans making their excitement known. Being a Friday evening, there was an extra buzz present, with many of the audience making their way from the Manchester bars to the gig.
Kicking things off for the night were the incredibly talented Nova Twins. The rock duo truly made the stage their own, despite being the support act.
They wasted no time and plunged the audience into a huge track in the form of ‘Fire & Ice’. The emphatic bass sent shockwaves through the Manchester air.
Amy Love did an outstanding job with the lead vocals. The crowd were gripped from the get-go. The duo worked their way through an impressive set-list. They perfectly showed off their ability, demonstrating a variety of sounds which they executed with ease. The track ‘Puzzles’ was one of the most impressive, with the verses being almost rapped, and the choruses exploding in a frenzy of heavy goodness.
All too soon it was time for them to exit. They did so in such triumphant style, leaving fans with the excellent track ‘Choose Your Fighter’, which wowed all in attendance. I’m sure we will see Nova Twins at these huge arenas soon.
It was then time for the main event.
The band treated the audience to a real performance. They don’t simply deliver their music, they truly perform. Being a show on their ‘Will of the People’ world tour, the group emerged from backstage with their signature masks on, as the logo of the latest record burned above them.
They kicked off with the title track of the recent album. The driving drums of Dominic Howard had the crowd moving immediately. The audience were immediately at the mercy of Muse. From this moment, their performance was simply unmissable. All in attendance were fixated on the epic track.
As the opener concluded, and the masks came off, Muse were just beginning…
Muse wasted no time and performed some huge songs early on. The instantly recognisable guitar and bass lines of ‘hysteria’ echoed around the arena and fans went wild. It was executed perfectly, and it served as a reminder of just how good Muse are live.
The set list was, as you’d expect, full of incredible tracks. All were performed with effortless professionalism and a real coolness. There was plenty of room for some of the group’s newer tracks, including the brilliant ‘We Are Fucking Fucked’, which seemed to go down a treat with the audience.
Lead vocalist and guitarist Matt Bellamy took centre stage on many tracks with his innovative instrument playing and stunning vocals.
Most notable of Bellamy’s performance was ‘Behold, the Glove’ where the frontman showed off the synth driven track, using a gauntlet. For this, he took to the centre of the runway and all eyes were on him. It was quite simply epic.
On the theme of epic, it must be noted just how impressive the set design was as the show progressed. Moving from the burning logo to a huge masked figure with a hand at either side of the stage was incredible. The head of the figure rotated from side to side during tracks like ‘Plug In Baby’. In short, the set (both musically and visually) was completely surreal.
The latter end of the set was home to some of the group’s biggest tracks. ‘Starlight’ was one of the most poignant, as Bellamy’s voice could scarcely be heard over the thousands that belted the song out. After this, the group retreated, before returning with an encore.
‘Stockholm Syndrome’ and ‘Knights of Cydonia’ would be Manchester’s farewell tracks. Both were nothing short of spectacular.
All too soon, it was the end of the set. Muse left Manchester wanting more, with the vocalist Bellamy extending his gratitude to the thousands in attendance, exclaiming that the band would return soon.
Muse remain one of the best live acts in the world, and we can only hope that they return to the UK as soon as possible.
Words by Matthew Caslin
Photography by Maryleen Guevara
