A review of their Newtown gig, Sydney.
[from what I remember..]
Date : Thursday 9th March 2000
Venue : Newtown RSL Club

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A review of MUSE. Thursday 9th March 2000 Newtown RSL

With its 70's inspired decor, and the constant *ker-ching's* of braying poker machines, the Newtown RSL venue seemed an unlikely setting for a band tagged as the "Best New Band" by British magazine NME. Not only carrying the weight of such praise, the oft-cited Radiohead comparisons and Jeff Buckley-isms surely would have put the pressure on a band barely out of their twenties, a band who have only just recently released their full-length debut "Showbiz". If they were feeling the pressure, they certainly didn't show it, as the whip-thin Matthew Bellamy (singer/guitarist), Chris Wolstenholme (bass) and Dominic Howard (drums) took the stage. From a thundering UNO the remainder of the gig highlighted the exquisite voice of Bellamy who effortlessly swings between the quavering falsetto of a Thom Yorke, to a snarling pained guttural growl. From the noise of electric guitars and a helluva lot of feedback, to stripped down acoustic numbers (a double bass for instance) MUSE demonstrate great versatility and range, exuding a confidence on stage that belies their age.

More rock than Radiohead, the similarity between the two however seems to spring from a shared need to express themselves emotionally through their music (pain, angst - the whole gamut) and a shared skill at amazing songwriting. Muse seem to be the raw young material of a younger Radiohead who give a charged live performance, complete with the very "rock" ending of smashing their instruments. Shame the roadies had to clean the mess up afterwards.

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