As usual, MUSE never fails to slay. I attended the Will of the People Tour at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. Supporting the show were One Ok Rock and Evanescence.
ONE OK ROCK was first to take the stage. I found them to be more than okay! Consisting of Taka Moriuchi (vocals), Toru Yamashita (guitar), Ryota Kohama (bass), and Tomoya Kanki (drums), the Tokyo-based band had a high energy performance.
Moriuchi’s voice was clean and melodic, fitting in well with the tight instrumental performance given by the rest of the band members. I loved that the lyrics were a hybrid of English and Japanese. The setlist, though short, was enough to satisfy their sign-holding fans that were gracing the front rows, screaming and singing along.
Evanescence was onstage next. Vocalist Amy Lee sounded as good as it ever, if not better. Her voice gave me chills as she performed some of the most loved songs from the band’s five studio albums. Evanescence’s setlist can be found here.
Draped in a glittering cape, Lee threw her head back and belted out the songs, giving them her all. Accompanied by Tim McCord (guitar), Troy McLawhorn (guitar), Emma Anzai (bass), and Will Hunt (drums), the band worked together to bring a dazzling, heavy-hitting show to their fans. Fan favorites like “Call Me When You’re Sober” and “Going Under” were also featured within the set. The band ended their performance with Lee on a baby grand piano, performing “My Immortal” and “Bring Me to Life.” The fans showed their support by lighting up the arena with their cell phones, swaying in time to the music.
Having seen MUSE on two of their past tours still didn’t prepare me for the spectacle I was about to see.
Their set opened with a vignette on the wide screens capping the ends of the stage, showing a desert setting where mask-wearing freedom fighters ensured the destruction of enormous head statues in with the band members’ likenesses. Then an emblem of WOTP ignited above the drummer as the chanting lyrics began for “Will of the People.”
The lights raised to reveal the three members in same metallic masks from the video, reflecting the fire and stage lighting. Matt Bellamy (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards) has such a unique voice and had a somewhat lilting cadence as he sang, dancing around with his guitar. Chris Wolstenholme (bass guitar, backing vocals) literally lit up the stage with his bass guitar as he kept the rhythm set by Dominic Howard (drums).
The band smoothly transitioned into “Interlude” + “Hysteria,” with the arena loudly singing along. Matt skipped down the long pathway jutting from the stage out into the middle audience to play some face-melting guitar solos as Chris cooly backed him on the bass. Dom always seem to keep cool and unbothered as he’s keeping rhythm on the drums…one of the calmest, but hard-hitting drummers I’ve seen.
The band blazed through their songs, with occasional vignettes peppering the show via the stage screens. A vignette called “Drill Sergeant” gave a sneak preview of a character that would later show up onstage—a monstrous bull—moving them right into “Psycho” and “Stockholm Syndrome.” But, before the bull, a giant mask-wearing being appeared onstage with lights emitting from its upraised hand as Bellamy led the band into “Compliance.”
I find Bellamy’s vocal range and guitar prowess totally enthralling. He’s definitely one of the greatest among band frontmen.
MUSE shows are always rife with gadgetry and futuristic themes. One of my favorite parts was later in the show—accompanied by instrumental “Behold, the Glove,” a Matt made his way to the smaller stage at the center of the arena floor wearing a lighted LED jacket and revealed a Nintendo Power Glove-like instrument where he played the keyboard before launching into to “Uprising.”
MUSE’s extensive setlist contained six total vignettes as well more than 20 songs consisting of fan favorites spanning their previous discography and singles from the still new Will of the People album.
MUSE had it all—large-scale stage visuals; furistic, albeit dystopian vignettes; pyrotechnics; lasers; light-edged mirrors; and confetti—I don’t think they missed anything in their laundry list of must-haves for touring. If they come to your city, make it a must-do on your list of concerts for the year!
Words and Photos by Deanna Escobar