This could surpass all others to be the #1 concert experience on my list...

Let me just say that I've never seen three guys rock a stage as much as Muse. If you've been wondering where I've been, I've been obsessing over seeing one of my top favorite bands live in Las Vegas.

When they came out onto the tiny Joint stage at the Hard Rock, I knew this was going to be special. They've only recently begun to have a following in the US. I got to chatting with the guy sitting next to me (who also sold me my tickets on Stubhub) who said that he and his wife routinely follow the band around the world. He said it was 'a once-in-a-lifetime' experience to see them perform in such an intimate setting. They just saw them perform a couple sold-out shows in London where the crowd was 90,000+. The Joint was 4,000 people. Yeah, that's like Matt and the boys performing in your bedroom. If your bedroom could hold 4,000 people.

As soon as they came on, they immediately got the crowd into it with their new single "Uprising". It's quite a powerful, rebellious anthem and totally set the mood. I wasn't sure if the crowd was going to be made up of hardcore fans or just passive fans who were there for the other bands, since it was a holiday radio show put on by 107.5 FM.

Definitely hardcore fans.

Muse ripped through 12 songs without even a pause between songs to say hello. It seemed that they were trying their best to fit in as much as they could within their allotted time. The entire crowd sang along to many of the songs, the most moving of which was "Time is Running Out" from Absolution. Unfortunately, that was true for the concert too, because they were quickly approaching the end of their show with a strong performance of "Knights of Cydonia", one of my favorites on Guitar Hero. :)

I don't really have a go-to favorite Muse song. They are one of those rare bands that I can throw on one of their albums and listen to it in its entirety without skipping tracks. I was particularly happy that they played "Hysteria", as it has been one that I've heard is ridiculous live. And it was.

Photo credit: www.Vegasdeluxe.com

I can't even describe in words how well the songs translate into a live performance. You just have to experience it for yourself and be in the moment. If the songs sound like they are powerful on CD or on your iPod, multiply that by eleventy hundred and that is about what it's like in person. Some people have commented that any band can sound good when some of their music is pre-recorded. That's the rumor that circling on some sites. Of course some of the music is pre-recorded. Muse is three guys, with Matt Bellamy playing most everything besides bass and drums. It would be impossible to recreate all of the intricate layers of music live. In this concert, Matt did start out "United States of Eurasia" on the piano... even though it was sort of a sad upright piano, not very fancy, when he's used to grand pianos. To see Matt's hands create the riffs in such a fury is a trip! Same with Dom on the drums. A person next to me commented that he has never seen anyone play like that in his life. It's totally a must-see concert.

Setlist included:
Uprising
Unnatural Selection
Supermassive Black Hole
Resistance
Interlude
Hysteria
United States of Eurasia
MK Ultra
Starlight
Time is Running Out
Plug in Baby
Knights of Cydonia