Muse
Ten years have passed since Muse released Origin of Symmetry, the album that pretty much catapulted them onto stadium sell-out stardom. Friday night on the Main Stage saw the album given a dust off and a glorious run through but until then there was the pomposity of their entrance to enjoy. That of a white sheet and Tom Waits' chilling 'What's He Building?' whose malevolently delivered words echoed across the site. Then the spotlight fell on Bellamy for those nerve-jangling keys, the sheet lifted to reveal the band and those hurtling riffs brought in 'New Born'. Quite the entrance.
That the enveloping 'Bliss' and the haunting, operatic beauty of 'Space Dementia' still grappled attention should not be much of a surprise. Yet it is bizarre to think that 'Hyper Music' should still sound this powerful despite barely being played for eight years. Their stage show has developed since then with giant antennae dotted around the stage to ape the album's cover and inflatable eyeballs let loose into the crowd during 'Plug In Baby'. To see them bouncing around during 'Citizen Erased' gifted the track a frightening inanity. Their somewhat restrained cover of 'Feeling Good' brought the first real singalong from an otherwise submerged crowd. Though the rain kept teeming down, the flames during a doom-laden 'Megalomania' could be felt as far out as the sound desk.
With the album played in its entirety, what followed felt like a second performance ushered in with air sirens and distressing red lights for the stirring 'Uprising'. The crowd tried to keep up but only the female members of the crowd could be heard trying to sing along to Bellamy's brilliant falsetto during 'Supermassive Black Hole'. 'Hysteria' proved how far the band has progressed in terms of crowd interaction as few could resist joining in with the demanding chorus, Bellamy knew he could even allow 'Time Is Running Out' to be taken over.
As the lead singer dashed offstage, he left drummer Dominic Howard and bassist Chris Wolstenholme alone for their seemingly impromptu 'Helsinki Jam'. All the theatrics aside, few would look as cool as Bellamy performing the engaging 'Undisclosed Desires' with a keytar. From there it was the home straight of a triumphant 'Resistance' and 'Starlight' then 'Stockholm Syndrome' closed the set with its cataclysmic breakdown of guitar riffs.
Their encore of 'Knights of Cydonia' deserved its own standing of Wolstenholme's stirring, inviting harmonica then even more perturbing keys while Bellamy revved up his guitar. As the cowboy riffs and drumming echoed to fist pumps from a charged up crowd the track careered along. Their set complete, fireworks were duly warranted for an explosive band.