Muse @ The Emirates Stadium – 26th May 2013

Support Acts: The 1975 and Dizzee Rascal

When you get tickets to see Muse, it’s pretty much safe to say that you can expect a concert experience that you have never had before. For me, this gig included many firsts. It was my first time at the Emirates Stadium, home to the arch rivals of my beloved Spurs Football club, and it was my first time at a rock concert. It’s fair to say that I was rather uneasy with so much red surrounding me.

The 26th of May was the second of three dates Muse were playing in London. The bands discography is a force to be reckoned with, and is simply quite impressive. It totals 6 albums, 14 Top 20 UK Hits and 29 single releases. A three-piece band coming from Devon, they have done massively well. Their international following is huge. Amongst the crowd I heard a spread of languages. The stage was set up at the clock end of the stadium. Not only did the Muse fill out the pitch, but it also filled out the approximately 60,000 capacity of the Emirates Stadium.

The 1975 opened the concert rather unexpectedly 30 mins before scheduled. The 1975 exudes a carefree sound. In a solid half hour set, they included their recently released singles ‘The City’ and ‘Chocolate’ as well as a number of new tracks. I am a fan of The 1975 with their addictive melodies. Their lead singer Matthew Healy did however come across as slightly uncomfortable as he admitted he did not know ‘ how to talk to so many people’. He repeatedly told us they were from Manchester. There was also a slight crisis when the drummers drum kit fell apart. The emergency was over soon enough, but it’s hardly a surprise their instruments fall apart when you see the way they rock on.

The second opener was East London’s legendary Dizzee Rascal. Dizzee did not fail us, pumping up the crowd playing some his most notable hits including, ‘Bonkers’, ‘Holiday’, ‘Fix Up Look Sharp’, and ‘Dance With Me’. I do love Dizzee Rascal, especially because he makes me so proud to be Londoner. But I couldn’t help in my East London heart to want to hear some of his rougher, older material which was less commercial and less ‘dancey’. Nevertheless, this was not a Dizzee Rascal concert.

Without too much delay, as the seats around packed in and the floor became extra crowded, the screens flickered onto a news screen with a news reporter, as puffs of fire bursted out of the roof. Don’t worry, the roof was not of fire. Muse opened with ‘The 2nd Law: Unsustainable’ as people went wild. Swiftly, they moved onto Supremacy, where animations of Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin, and David Cameron dancing along appeared on screen. The tour production was the best I have seen yet. It was inventive, unpredictable, and wackingly original. At one point, they had a small role play alongside a track, firstly featured on the screen where a businessman had lost out on big bucks on his shares and was crazily angry. The actor then walked out onto stage portraying his frustration of losing out on big money, ripping up bank notes and throwing them into the crowd. Before I knew it, money flew out from nowhere. Sadly not real money! But…it was Muse money!!! How cool is that?!!

As the sun went down, the spectacles of role play and giant robots continued as Muse played some of their greatest songs including their cover of ‘Feeling Good’, ‘Hysteria’ and their recent single ‘Madness’. With their amazing music, it is true to say that Muse does not need gimmicks on stage as their music simply speaks for itself. But the theatrical nature of the production was simply amazing. Tracks such as ‘Butterflies and Hurricane’ and ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ allowed for the crowd to jump in a non-simultaneous manner and simply push people around as the alcohol and (probably) drugs kicked in for many fans. It might be my ageing  or my lack of experience at rock concerts, but being pushed about by youths was not quite so enjoyable for me. With my ‘un-testable’ strength, I kneed a slightly annoying Muse fan in an Arsenal shirt that came into my path. I can proudly say my brother had to stop me, as we nearly did a number of him.

Moving on, I continued to enjoy Muse. I revelled in the amazing sounds and Matthew Bellamy’s flawless vocals. We later gasped at a giant light bulb that inflated and moved around the stadium. If that was not shocking enough, a trapeze/ballet dancer came out of the bottom of it, and danced in height underneath the giant light bulb.

All in all, a Muse concert is much like going to the see a musical theatre production but better. Amazing art, political messages and amazing music. I guess the only thing is if you are standing on the floor, you will feel like you have just come out of 4-5 hour boxing match!

Muse Concert Set List- 26th May 2013

Craig David @IndigoO2, London

With a group of friends, including one who is rather fanatical about this artist since her childhood, this week I went to see the British singer, MC, DJ who rose to fame in the late nineties/early noughties that is Southampton’s finest – Craig David. It’s likely that our younger, newer generation will not be so familiar with this guy. If they are, they probably know him for featuring on Artful Dodger’s ‘Rewind’ or the comedy terms of ‘Bo Selecta’. Prior to the concert, we remained anticipated over what he would look like as many of us have seen how ripped he’s become, and more importantly whether his voice would produce the sleek, RnB sounds that we once heard roughly 12 years ago.

At roughly 7.45pm, we were treated to music by Craig David’s support act – Charlie Brown. I will admit, I was not too familiar with his music. However recently, he had a Top Ten UK hit with his single, ‘On My Way.’ I have some decent things to say about the singer from South London. He has a great voice, one which is suited to RnB. I would say the music he is directing definitely has more of a pop factor than RnB which is expected from the current lull that RnB music has taken. Brown covered Miguel’s Adorn which is a difficult risk to take, and for me, one which did not pay off because of how amazingly Miguel sings it. Brown warmed up the crowd well, and ended his set playing his new single ‘Dependency’.

After what felt like hours, and without teasing the crowd, CD’s band came out and opened with ‘Flava’. This song has always been comedy for me because of it’s ice cream lyrics! Nevertheless, we were so excited that it pumped the crowd and low and behold we had a rather sleek, fit and energetic Craig David in front of us.

Though London has probably not seen him on a stage for many years, he is undoubtedly a great performer and singer. Although some may say otherwise, he seemed incredibly humble and thankful for the great turnout. Fans in the crowd were the dedicated sort, who knew the lyrics to all the unreleased songs from his past albums. We all sang along to some of his most well-known tracks from his iconic album Born to Do It, including ‘Rendezvouz’ and ‘Walking Away’. We also enjoyed some great tunes from his second album Slicker Than Your Average such as ‘Hidden Agenda’ and ‘Rise & Fall’ which CD recorded with Sting. CD also had an incredibly talented band that kept the crowd lively and entertained in between his quick breaks off stage.

One of the highlights of this concert for me was when his decks were rolled out onto stage. CD told the crowd about the parties he hosted in his (now) hometown of Miami where he spins the records under the name TS5. As a DJ, CD did not fail one bit. He mixes amazingly well and dropped some of the best tracks in hip hop, RnB, and garage. Oh and his MC-ing? It just filled me in a cloud of nostalgia!

Looking back it’s a shame that the height of his career did not span a longer amount of time. But the singer is launching a come-back. He debuted his new song, ‘Less Is More’ which is reminiscent of his older material whilst also having quite a current feel. There are also rumours that CD plans to work with Drake. That would definitely be interesting!!

In my humble opinion, if CD’s comeback doesn’t go as planned, he can always have a great, solid career as a DJ. He definitely knows what he’s doing on the decks. For me and surely the other twenty somethings in the audience, CD definitely impressed and is no different to his self 10 years ago, well, maybe a little more ‘hench’.