My Muse Weekend [Manchester Etihad & World War Z Premier]

11 July 2013


June went off with a bang for me as the first of the month entailed an enormous Muse stadium gig at the Manchester Etihad Stadium, home of Manchester City FC. While much smaller than the Lancashire Country Cricket Club gig back in 2010, the performance was much greater. I was lucky enough to get the barrier at this gig which meant I didn't strain any muscles trying to get a decent view.


While most people thought the support acts weren't appropriately chosen (Bastille and Dizzee Rascal), I was actually one of the few people excited to see their performances. I had previously wanted to see Bastille but narrowly missed out on tickets and have been a fan of Dizzee Rascal for quite some time. Out of the two though, I was surprised at just how electric the atmosphere was when Dizzee performed. The contrasting urban act in a stadium predominantly filled with alternative rock fans was a breath of fresh air and it sent the crowd wild, making Bastille's performance seem pretty tame.


When I say "June went off with a bang", I literally mean just that. The gig began with an enormous fireball explosion, right at the end of the runway - where I was. I of course collapsed, screamed and accidentally cancelled my video recording but if anyone has any footage of the end of the runway at the time of the explosion, please do share it with me as I feel that watching myself fall to the floor in terror would be quite humorous to watch. 


Some things to note include Charles the Robot, the Musos which is the currency used to collect rare band footage and of course, the lightbulb performance during Blackout which saw a huge lightbulb float around the stadium which then released a woman in white or an 'angel' as it were. I believe this to be the same woman who drank petrol from a fuel tank on the runway.


The next day, I swiftly hopped onto a National Express coach down to London for another Muse performance. This time, it was an exclusive performance for the World War Z premier in which only a set amount of free tickets were released and consequently sold out within minutes. I was lucky enough to bag myself a pair within three minutes and was also lucky enough to be lent a DSLR for the weekend. The 2nd Law's Isolated System features in the soundtrack for World War Z; a zombie-apocalyptic film starring Brad Pitt, Matthew Fox and the devilishly handsome, Gregory Fitoussi whom you may recognise as Henri Leclair from Mr Selfridge.


After blagging our way into the golden/inner circle, a DJ set from Edith Bowman and briefly talking to Kelly Wolstenholme (Chris' wife), came Mr Pitt's celebrity appearance. Sadly, I was too short and too far to get a decent photo of  him as he appeared in the tent towards the back of the grounds but to know I was yards from his lusciously long locks is sound enough knowledge for me. The performance lasted around 45 minutes which was really good as we were told the show would be 30 minutes.

Brad Pitt (NO CALENDAR, NO BIOGRAPHIES, NO PUBLICATIONS DEVOTED SOLEY TO MUSE) Brad Pitt attends the Muse performance at the 'World War Z' World Premiere at Horse Guards Parade on June 2, 2013 in London, England.



While I did spend some money on travel and food, and I did miss my last coach which meant I had to take the overnight coach - it was most definitely worth it. I have heard that Matt Bellamy stated that he wants to concentrate on bringing up Bingham so I doubt there will be any live shows for a while after this tour has been completed which is unfortunate but completely understandable.

I think it's important to embrace music, especially in live shows. Music provides us with a form of escapism and can be much more profound than you think. Music has the powerful ability to evoke dance and dancing releases endorphins that boosts your mood. Music therapy is often suggested as a practise to tackle depression and anxiety and has shown positive results in the past.

What's the best music performance you've ever experienced?

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