Muse. Mind blown. Face melted.

Warning! There be many, many, MANY words ahead!

Where, oh where do I start? I guess I'll start at 8:45 a.m. on 10/26/2010. That's where all the fun began, after all.

I met up with a couple of people I had met on the Muse messageboards

(Erindal = Tracy, mamababa = Margaret), and we headed to the arena. Even that early, we were still numbers 14-18 in line (for those of you who can count, Tracy's son and his friend were with us). However, we arrived just in time for a tiny slice of chaos. The utterly clueless staff of the RBC Center was trying to tell us that we could not be on the property until 5 pm. Uhh...do I need to say that this was a problem? Long story short, we found some nice staffers who were willing to actually talk with us, and everything worked out. We happily returned to our spots right outside the door of the arena.

I thought it might get a little boring standing outside waiting for ten hours. Ya know what though? I kinda had a blast! I've never been around so many people who share my obsession, so it was great getting to talk Muse with everyone. Also, it was really awesome getting to finally meet all the people that had formerly had no faces. Like I said, I had a blast queueing up for this. :)

Getting inside the arena was a little hectic. Actually, "hectic" might not be the right word. "Clusterfuck" would be more accurate. So much for trying to number ourselves off outside the arena. Ultimately, my entire group made it to the barrier though. Nothing between us and the stage but a few security staffers! I couldn't believe how close I was. I don't think there's a word to describe my excitement.

Metric came on. Good stuff. I believe I will look into picking up an album. By the way, the lead singer was absolutely ADORABLE. But enough about them...

Before the lights went out, we could see the glow from Matt's (lead singer/guitarist/keyboardist) guitar inside the first tower. That's when it started to sink in that the boys were only going to be feet away from me, and not the distant specks they were at the last show I attended. We cheered as we watched the silhouettes of the towers rise. Almost time...

Someone had glimpsed part of the setlist, but fortunately, I was forewarned and actually managed to resist the temptation to look. It's soooo much better when you don't know what to expect.

I'm so glad I didn't peek. I was expecting the usual intro into their biggest single "Uprising." That would have been amazing enough on its own. I can't describe how I felt when I realized I was hearing strings, not a keyboard. Muse opened with the first movement of their Exogenesis Symphony, usually reserved for the encore. They have only rarely done that on this leg of the tour, and the times when they did, I had thought to myself "I want this setlist!!!" I never dreamed we would get it. The song continued to build, and I could feel the moment coming when the veils (what would you call them? Tarps? Cloths? Eh?) would drop away, and the music would hit me in the face like a freight train. I remember grabbing the girl next to me (Margaret, if any of the boardies have followed the link I posted) and said, "Here it comes!!" And all at once, the veils fell away, the towers exploded into light, and Matt's beautiful falsetto filled the arena. I think my heart missed a couple of beats, and I'm pretty sure I screamed...

I'm not going to take you song by song. Instead, I'll just highlight the moments that (Warning! Cliche ahead!!) took my breath away.

Every song was mind-blowingly awesome, even the ones that aren't particularly my favorites ("United States of Eurasia," for instance). But then...

So usually, after USoE, they follow up with their cover of "Feeling Good." Sometimes however, they substitute that with "Ruled by Secrecy." I wanted to hear RbS so very badly... As Muse finished playing USoE, I think I stopped breathing. What would they play next? Then the first bar of that beautiful piano line from RbS sounded out, and I know I screamed that time. I sat back and sang along, and then when the fortissimo piano section hit, I teared up. I know not everyone will understand this, but that moment was like nothing else I had every felt before. That song is beautiful on the album, but absolutely breath-taking live. By the end, I was crying a little.

Muse proceeded to melt my friggin' face off for the rest of the show. The next big huge enormous moment for me was the closer. It's the entire reason why I was so excited to hear Exogenesis open the show. When they open with Exogenesis, they close with "Take a Bow." Not only had I never seen the song live before, I imagined it to be quite the epic closer...

I was right.

Everything about it...the build...the EPIC LASERS, the animations on the towers...was simply stunning. "Knights of Cydonia" is a fantastic closer, but "Take a Bow" worked insanely well. I was sad because I knew it would be the last song of the night, but what a song to end with.

That night was the best night of my life. I wish I could relive it a thousand times.

If any of my boardie friends are reading this, again I say it was GREAT to meet all of you!

I took lots of pictures. Not sure how great they'll turn out, but I'll post them all to facebook when I get them up and sorted. :)

MUSE TOMORROW

Short post today. I'm about to put the finishing touches on my packing, then I'm hitting the road. Where to, you ask? Raleigh, NC. What's there?

MUSE

Expect a full report when I get back.

A Thousand Suns

I've said before that I don't care much for album reviews. It's subjective, and no one really has the right to label an album as "good" or "bad." But here are my opinions on Linkin Park's new album A Thousand Suns. Yeah, it came out about a month ago, but I've just now gotten around to grabbing it.

LP hit the scene hot and heavy with their debut album Hybrid Theory. Heavy guitars, rapped verses with screaming (yet melodic, heh) choruses. Second album Meteora followed suit. They experimented a little more electronically, but the same basic ingredients that made fans fall in love with the first album were still very much present. I love both of those albums.

Third album, Minutes to Midnight, began their departure from nu metal. A lot of fans cried out, "LINKIN PARK'S GONE SOFT." I disagree. They're moving in a new direction. Mike only raps in a couple of songs on that album, and Chester only screams on two tracks. The rest of the album is more melodic, more electronic...just more experimental in general. Mike steps forward and sings in a few songs. The lyrics take on a more mature nature ("Hands Held High" is a perfect example). I loved this album, just in a different way from the previous two.

Now comes A Thousand Suns (hard to believe they're on their fourth album. I remember buying Hybrid Theory when it was new...). Again the fans of the first albums complain, but me...from the song-writing perspective, this is their best album yet. It's more mature both lyrically and musically. Not everyone will like it, but kudos to LP for writing what they want to write. There are 15 tracks on the album, but only 9 of those are actual, stand-alone songs. The rest are short instrumentals ranging from 18 seconds to 2 minutes in length. They're not something I would put on my iPod, but when listening to the album front to back, they unify it quite nicely.

I've heard this album called Linkin Park's OK Computer. It's great. It's inventive. I don't know if I would go that far. OK Computer is...pure genius. But A Thousand Suns certainly is...something else. I think it could very well become my favorite LP album.

It's a concept album, LP's first. It's unified with the themes of war and fighting for what you believe in. Some favorite tracks are the lead single, "The Catalyst," "Waiting for the End," "When They Come for Me," and "Iridescent."

I could write a great deal about each individual song, but this post is already getting pretty long. So I'll leave you with a few comments on the aforementioned "When They Come for Me." Mike's lyrics here are a response to those who say that Linkin Park should stick to the music they became known for. Here are some lyrics that I particularly like (these are not consecutive):

"I am not a pattern to be followed"

"Nor the same person telling you to forfeit the game" ("forfeit the game" being a reference to "Points of Authority" from Hybrid Theory)

"Even a blueprint is a gift and a curse

Cause once you've got a theory of how the thing works

Everybody wants the next to be just like the first"

"Yall ought to stop talking, start trying to catch up, motherfucker"

I just love that "EFF YOU" feeling the song has. That's right, boys. It's your music, and your right to move it in whichever direction you will.

Ep. 17: Kim Loves Weezer

Weezer

Stats

Formed: 1992

Albums: 8

Breakout Single: "Undone-The Sweater Song," 1994

Seen live? No :(

Weezer once solidly occupied the #3 position on my list of favorite bands. Their latest antics have knocked them down a bit. Don't get me wrong, I still love them, and I commend them for writing what they want to write. It's just to me, while I like some of it, it just doesn't have that same charm that previous albums had. I highly doubt that they will ever be knocked from my faves list though. Too many good memories here.

The first song I heard by these boys was the aforementioned breakout single. Oddly enough, I heard it almost 10 years after the fact. Strange, eh? I've told you before though...I haven't always been as musically aware as I am now.

Many Weezer fans are losing interest in them, due to their new "pop" image. I don't really care. I read an interesting article just the other day though...one fan in particular is trying to raise $10 million for them. Why? He wants to pay them to break up. Last I heard, he hadn't even raised $300 for his cause. After hearing about it, drummer Pat Wilson said that if the fan made it $20 million, they'd take the "deluxe" break-up package.

I don't think I have to tell you that the fact that fans are demanding they break up just because they're not writing music that they want to hear anymore grates on my nerves, stomping all over my biggest musical pet peeve. But whatever...

Here's one of my faves, "Perfect Situation," from their fifth album. Recognize the girl starring in the music video? None other than Elisha Cuthbert, a.k.a. Kim Bauer!

Closer and Closer...

Yes, yes, I'm still alive. Things have been a little crazy lately. Of course, I haven't been so busy that I can't spare 10 minutes to type up another post for my series, but I've been just busy enough to rob me of any desire to do so. :D

I could move on to the next episode now, but I'm tired. I've been working some overnight shifts lately, so my sleep schedule is bass-ackwards. I believe I shall make a quick note here, then retire to my bed for a nap before work this evening.

Muse in 19 days!! I can't believe it's this close. When I bought the ticket, it was still 5 months away, and now it's less than 3 weeks! I'm so excited! I've been lurking on Muse's messageboards, and I've found some people to meet up with there in Raleigh. We're gonna meet outside the arena at a bright and early 8 a.m. That's 12 hours before the first band even hits the stage. Sounds crazy, right? But there's no doubt that we'll be on the freakin' barrier getting there that early. As in, nothing in that entire arena between us and the stage, but the barrier and a couple members of security. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THIS EXCITES ME?? It will be the best night of my life.

Plus, one of the girls ordered 12 of these for us (we'll pay her back when we meet): http://www.flashingblinkylights.com/blueflashingsunglasses-p-1713.html

So there we'll be. In the front row, with bright flashing sunglasses. I can't even imagine how awesome this show will be.