“How’s it going, Seoul?” Matt Bellamy, lead singer and guitarist of Muse, proclaimed to a packed stadium in… Incheon. It’s alright, Mr. Bellamy. You’ve been gone 10 years and have just flown in from Japan. You might be a little groggy.
Muse is an English three-piece “Progressive hard-rock opera piano symphonic” band. Anyone familiar with the band would tell you it’s hard to pigeonhole them into a genre. Those familiar with the band will also tell you that they are one of the best live bands on the planet. Many an astonished punter at the smorgasbord of Europe’s summer rock festivals has turned instant convert to Muse after seeing them in a muddy field on a Sunday night. And here they are, back in Korea after a lengthy hiatus.
Having had their last show in Korea be Sept. 30, 2015, at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena, at which I was present, means that their Sept. 27 show in Incheon was, for all intents and purposes, a decade gap. This was my 12th Muse concert over 21 years, which basically means I had seen them once a year for the first half and only one time in the second. It’s been too long and the band even acknowledged this a few times during their 100-minute set. After closing out their set with “Starlight,” drummer Dominic Howard addressed the sold-out crowd, “It’s been too long, Korea. We’ll be back again soon,” to which the crowd roared in approval.
But I’m getting ahead of myself, so let’s rewind.
The first highlight for me was “Stockholm Syndrome.” One of their standout, harder songs, this used to be a set closer back when I used to see them in the clubs of Canada. The song sees Matt do something his much younger self would do often, abuse his guitar. He didn’t break it (Matt has the world record for most guitars broken on a single tour — yes, really), but he did throw it up in the air only to smash onto the stage and release squeals and squawks from the pickups to the amps. Funnily enough, they would actually have an outro, non-album riff that they would play after “Stockholm Syndrome” back in the 2000s. The band would flail around on stage and go absolutely ape. This riff that used to close out their shows evolved into what is “Psycho” from 2015’s “Drones,” which played next.
Muse performs at Incheon Munhak Stadium, Sept. 27. Courtesy of Kevin Grabb
This was the first song of the night that the crowd went mental for and it’s easy to see why. The riff is insanely catchy, heavy and interesting at the same time. Introduced by the castigations of an angry drill sergeant, the song sees an unnamed protagonist answer his insulting questions with “Aye, Sir” and the 30,000-strong crowd in Incheon knew exactly what to do.
Backing track: If you do not do what I say, when I say to do it, you will be punished. Do you understand?
Incheon: Aye, Sir!
Backing Track: Your ass belongs to me, now!
Incheon: Aye, Sir!
Matt even gave us an Elvis-esque hip wiggle during the intro riff. It must have driven the women in the crowd wild because the concert camera panned to a young woman with a Psycho-inspired sign, “My Ass Belongs to Muse.”
This being my 12th Muse concert and being a fan for more than half my life at this point, I can genuinely say that Matt looked like he was actually enjoying himself. Their younger selves were much more serious and bombastic. They were in their 20s and they absolutely kicked the snot out of their instruments, the stage and the crowd. We’re all 20 years older and Matt smiles a lot more. It was great to simply see someone on stage just enjoying themselves, rather than frowning at their guitar while trying to master the hardest arpeggio on record.
All this fun, all this piano, drums, guitar and bass, all of it has been leading up to the highlight of the night: “Knights of Cydonia.” This is the quintessential Muse song. Six minutes long, politically charged lyrics, a riff to make most guitarists around the world doubt their own creativity and skills, and it’s cinematic.
But it’s not just this song. This is the opening set closer. For me, along with “Stockholm Syndrome,” this was the highlight of the evening.
However, no concert is perfect and there are two bones I have to pick, one being Muse’s fault and one not. Muse performed “Kill or be Killed.” This is a standout guitar track from their newest album, but the song performed on Saturday was reworked. Matt simply left the stage and the vocals were performed on a backing track. Dom and Chris remained, but the absolute scorcher of a track was completely neutered.
The other problem I have was with the standing sections, which were labeled A/B 1 through 5. Instead of distinct sections, these were treated as one large A section on the left and B on the right. This meant that if you had A1 tickets (right in front of Matt) and arrived four minutes after doors opened, then all five sections would have been let in before you. I had imagined getting there when I pleased and being in the first 20 percent of the standing zone. Instead, I arrived 15 minutes after door-opening only to be let into the sea of 10,000 punters in one free-for-all A section.
Fireworks explode during Muse’s concert at Incheon Munhak Stadium, Sept. 27. Courtesy of Kevin Grabb
To those in the crowd who were bummed about missing the Seoul International Fireworks Festival, Muse wrapped up the night with their biggest, poppiest hit, “Starlight.” The amount of fireworks on display was pretty impressive and by far the most I’ve ever seen at a concert.
And to Muse, I hope you make good on your promise not to let a decade go by before you grace the peninsula again. Cheers.
Kevin Grabb is a Canadian homebrewer and YouTuber. His channel Korea Brewing Adventure covers Korean alcohol from production to consumption.