Contributed By: Ali Rachman
Created On: Sunday, 06 April 2008
Hits: 77
 H.A.A.R.P. The band takes the stage – to much pomp, circumstance, and confetti – to “Dance of the Knights,” written for “Romeo & Juliet.” That means, yes, the band pulls out the big guns right away, launching into “Knights of Cydonia,” and while the band delivers a rip-roaring version of the song (trumpet player and everything), half the fun is watching the crowd. They’re pogo-ing their butts off from the very beginning, but when the big post-“No one’s gonna take me alive” riff hits, the place literally explodes. Hell, the crowd maintains that intensity through “Map of the Problematique” and “Butterflies and Hurricanes,” which is akin to moshing at a Cure show.
The band, mercifully, gives the audience a chance to rest. The problem is that they gave the audience a really, really long time to rest. “Butterflies and Hurricanes” is arguably one of the band’s best songs, but playing it after “Problematique” and before “Invincible” and “Starlight” is just a cruel thing to do to an audience. (The DVD goes even further into the mines of mellow gold, including “Hoodoo,” “A Soldier’s Poem,” Feeling Good,” “Unintended” and “Blackout,” yikes). For as many high-energy songs as there are in Muse’s catalog, it’s shocking to see them go the mellow route for a show that will be documented for time immemorial. Perhaps replace one of those ballads with “City of Delusion” or “Exo-Politics,” perhaps? One other quibble: Bellamy needs to go back to saying “No one’s gonna take me alive” at the ending of “Knights of Cydonia,” instead of his all-too-proper reading of “No one’s going to take me alive.” It’s a battle cry, for God’s sake. Sing it like your life depends on it. Even the video screens behind him say “gonna.”
H.A.A.R.P., much like Green Day’s American Idiot 2005 tour document Bullet in a Bible, is one of those lightning-in-a-bottle moments that captures the band at the height of its powers. This is not to say Muse has peaked, but rather that they were very, very smart to capture this moment in time. A must-have for any fan of the band.
 
What's On Related: |
Dr Pepper Responds to Guns N' Roses for Failing Free Soda
Awards