Muse + Royal Blood + The Warning live @ Home Park, Plymouth - 27th May 2023
ahead of the set, I was still queuing outside the venue when they brought what sounded like a great 30 minute set to a close. It's always a tough gig opening for bigger acts in a stadium but it is surely made harder by delays to getting fans in to the venue so I hope they come around as I was genuinely excited to see them.
Bathed in the late afternoon sun and dressed all in black, it was easy to spot Royal Blood who were next up on the impressively rigged stage. By this point, the stadium was filling up nicely as the Brighton duo swaggered through a set of their hits with not fat to trim. Songs like 'Lights Out' and 'Figure It Out' still sound fresh, powerful and vital nearly 10 years on from their first release but the newer material has the cutting edge of a band who know they will be performing in bigger venues. There was a nice touch when frontman Mike Kerr expressed his genuine gratitude at being invited on tour with a band he'd queued up to see as a teenager which proved that dreams really do come true.
And so, as the sun set over the home of Plymouth Argyle, Devon boys made good Muse took to the stage in ominously futuristic face masks (like a disco version of Squid Game) and immediately ripped in to the funky revolution inciting 'Will Of The People'. The Teignmouth-formed trio then wasted no time in moving straight in to the hypnotisingly brilliant 'Hysteria' followed by the war cry of 'Psycho' which completed one hell of an opening trio. It does pose the question, what other band could get a crowd of 16 to 66 year old fans (numbering 26000) to sing "your ass belongs to me now" and "I'm gonna make you, a fucking psycho" just three songs in to a set? The answer is probably only S-Club 7 but I think there's some Scientology at play there.
As the set progressed and we were treated to versions of 'Madness', 'Time Is Running Out', 'Plug In Baby' and 'Supermassive Black Hole', the staging and theatrics only got more flamboyant. The central run way got plenty of use, the light show was impressive and the pyrotechnics and ticker tape cannons were timed to perfection so as not to cause a fire hazard. The pinnacle of the show, however, was the giant, hooded mask with accompanying gloved hand that glowered ominously over the back of the stage to increase that sense that big brother was watching and ready to meter out some punishment. This prop was used most effectively during surprise highlight 'You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween' as a number of familiar horror masks flashed up on the screen-face of the hooded overlord. Chucky, the Scream, Michael Myers, Squid Game, Pennywise and more all made an appearance which added an extra twist of fear to this particular narrative.
As expected, Muse put on a huge show and the crowd loved it, lapping up every tune and singing along to a band who, by their own admission, hadn't played in Plymouth for 22 years which was far too long a gap to leave. So, come back soon and bring the Warning back please, I promise to turn up a good 5 hours before the gates open so I get to see them!
More information:
Muse - https://www.facebook.com/muse
Royal Blood - https://www.facebook.com/RoyalBloodUK
The Warning - https://www.facebook.com/TheWarningRockBand