Music
Review
Review: Muse warm up for Reading and Leeds
The stadium band played the comparably tiny Shepherd's Bush Empire last weekend.
There’s plenty of ways Muse could have warmed up for their third Reading and Leeds headline set but a sold-out gig with funds going to The Passage, a homelessness charity, is a pretty fun way to go about it.
The show’s ‘By Request’ set list, which allowed ticket-holders to vote for what songs they heard on the night, created plenty of gems including the live debut of Easily (a B-Side from their Starlight single), hearing Glorious live for the first time since 2005 and the first outing of Showbiz since 2006. Matt Belamy points out “some of these in the top ten surprised me.”
After a few false starts, the crowd rush forward in the packed venue recognising Assassin after just a few chords. The hardcore fans are treated to Muse’s incredible range from fast-paced riffs to unique echoing vocals on New Born and even some retro vibes in Muscle Museum, as well as having the chance to singalong to a handful of the band’s hits including Hysteria and Plug In Baby.
How do you end such a one-of-a-kind gig? The band finish with not one but two encores and throw in a harmonica solo. It’s an incredible sign of things to come this weekend, when they play to a much bigger crowd at Reading and Leeds. We’ll see you down the front.
Watch Muse headline Reading and Leeds festival on 25 – 27 August. Tickets are available now at Ticketmaster.co.uk.
