Muse and Silversun Pickups: Live in Las Vegas, 4/10/10

What do you get when you throw together the emotion behind classical music and the crazy energy and bombastic sounds of rock? The answer is incredible symphony rock and the who is Muse. My first live show experience with Muse a couple years ago completely blew my mind and I wrote a review that would have compelled you to not only immediately buy the album and a ticket to a show, but also become a Matthew Bellamy Superfan. Fast forward a couple years to the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas and not only did Muse exceed expectations but blown a mind or two. Performing to a sold out crowd of 11,000 loving fans, they put on a mega concert not to be forgotten.

Opening for Muse were Los Angeles’s Silversun Pickups, who gained recognition for their debut album Carnavas and had everyone singing along to “Lazy Eye”. With the release of their second album Swoon last year, their following has grown tremendously and when they closed with the aforementioned “Lazy Eye” and “Panic Switch,” they did so to a large standing ovation.

Muse came on at nine and played a two-hour show. Three skyscraper towers lit up with LED screens and illuminating lights. Muse kicked off with “Uprising” and the curtains dropped to reveal each member of the band in each tower. The British trio, now touring for their fifth album The Resistance, not only brought extreme energy to their arena rock extravaganza, but also lazers, smoke, visual effects that created a complete sensory assault. This show was truly epic.

Muse closed with a three song encore of “Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture)”, “Stockholm Syndrome” and “Knights of Cydonia” and by this time, everyone was rocking out and singing along. If you have not had a chance to see them yet, find a way (book a ticket to Europe!). They are closing out the US leg of their tour this weekend in Coachella and will be heading to Europe and Asia. For those lucky enough to see them at Coachella this weekend, get ready for the time of your life. Welcome to the resistance.

Photography by Pamela Lin