Supermassive Black Hole

It's been a while. Busy with work and things. Managed to make time to do other stuff, not much of which involves free time in front of the computer. Saw a few friends, went to an Oxfam "Open House" event hosted by a colleague, went to see Muse at the NEC (which is why I have given this post this title - it shows that I haven't blogged for ages, but is also the title of a recent hit single for the band).

Muse are brilliant. Like them or loathe them, you have to admit two things:

1. They are very good at what they do

2. They are loud

I would have added that it is amazing that they play such complex songs as a three-piece, but they have now drafted in Morgan Nicholls (who plays as a session muso with The Streets, and was known in the mid 1990s for his sort-of-solo project "Morgan"), who plays a few additional keyboards, and does backing vocals and controls the sampler and soundbank. Still, it doesn't stop the band being brilliant.

I am glad that I took my earplugs - as a musician, I have realised the value of these in stopping your ears ringing the next morning - and I have already lost a tiny part of the hearing spectrum in my left ear (as a result, I find it hard to talk to individuals in a crowd, as it is difficult to make out their voice from the background noise). Muse use a lot of distortion, and Matt Bellamy uses a pitchshifter and a lot of treble on his guitar, so the earplugs worked their magic.

Highlights were probably the aforementioned "Supermassive Black Hole", "Map of the Problematique" and "Time is Running Out" for being great songs, and "Plug in Baby" for showing off Bellamy's amazing ability to sing while playing really difficult guitar parts.

Anyway, I am afraid I cannot be totally gushing in praise. While Muse are obviously an arena band, there was the problem that they were so far away, I felt a little detached from the whole experience. Oh yes, I have to mention the drunken (and probably E'd up) bloke who was attempting to pick a fight with the stewards when they asked him not to dance in the stairwells. He was also notable for having a fairly normal looking (and probably slightly embarrassed) girlfriend, despite being the ugliest man I have seen in many months... It is a well-known fact that you cannot go to a gig without some drunken fool causing problems.