Muse w/Silversun Pickups – Sommet Center: Nashville, TN (3.15.10)

Posted by Lenny Vowels on 03.23.2010

The British rock trio continues their headlining U.S. Tour by coming to the South and putting on quite the show.

With the tickets purchased two and a half months in advance, 7 of my friends and I were at our peak of excitement for seeing this show being headlined by one of our collective favorite bands. Even a two-and-a-half hour drive wasn't stopping us. After nearly losing some of the tickets (don't ask), we arrived at our booked hotel. It didn't hurt that this hotel was within walking distance of the arena either. Much love goes out to my friend Linsey for that one.

The last of our party reached our seats in the Sommet Center right as the Silversun Pickups were taking the stage. I found it odd that they got no fanfare of any sort on their arrival, as I figured they were a notable enough band to warrant that kind of acknowledgment. But I digress. The band's set was still great, and I've listed it below to the best of my recollection. I'm honestly not sure if Future Foe Scenarios was the right song, so if anyone happened to be there, then by all means, say so.

1.Growing Old is Getting Old
2.Well Thought-Out Twinkles
3.There's No Secrets This Year
4.The Royal We
5.Future Foe Scenarios
6.Substitution
7.Panic Switch
8.Lazy Eye

The setlist was a really good selection, although I would've loved to hear a live rendition of “Melatonin” from the Carnavas album. I was also surprised that "Panic Switch" wasn't the closer. It's likely their most popular song and all over the radio to boot. Maybe they wanted to close with "Lazy Eye" due to Rock Band Syndrome (as in, a lot of people know of it due to the rhythm game fad). Overall, I was very pleased with their performance, but as we all know, it was just the appetizer for the main course...



At this time, I would like to thank my good friend Merritt for supplying the awesome pictures, but while it may be easy to judge by the pictures that we were pretty far from the stage, it certainly didn't make the show any less phenomenal. I mean, 50-foot tower speakers with screens, awesome music, and a laser show? I was in love with this concert from the moment it started! Predictably, "Uprising" opened this magnificent fiasco and was truly the ultimate crowd-pumper. "Resistance" following up served the double purpose of likewise following on the album The Resistance and bringing the crowd down a few notches, as it was a bit more soothing.

Muse then decided to kick it old school with my favorite track from Origin of Symmetry in "New Born." What made it even cooler is that they bridged to the next song with the guitar riff from "Headup", one of my favorite songs by the Deftones. All of this insanity lead into “Supermassive Black Hole,” the first Muse song I could consider my favorite. It's not my favorite these days, but it's still an awesome song and even more fun to see live. “MK Ultra” was an interesting follow-up, as it's not one of my personal favorites, but it didn't detract from the show either.



A riff from Rage Against the Machine's “People of the Sun” led the band into the heaviest bass track in their catalog, “Hysteria.” This one certainly got the crowd going, as everyone around me was singing along, and there wasn't a motionless body down in the pit. It was even cooler when they closed out the song with the riff to AC/DC's “Back in Black.”

It was at this time that the band took their place on their original high-rise platforms again for some piano numbers. First, after being led in by their B-side “Nishe,” was “United States of Eurasia.” Possibly my favorite song from The Resistance, this song was everything live that I had wanted it to be: intense, epic, and loud as hell! Then, the band led into the teaser intro from the Black Holes and Revelations opener “Take a Bow”, before segueing into “Feeling Good.” I loved the scenery for this one, as all of the screens were alive with the images of nature that set the scene perfectly. It also didn't hurt that I had flashbacks of the hilarious profanity-laced video for this song from Muse's appearance on a Spanish radio show (for those who haven't seen it, look it up).



At this point, the band decided to break away from their usual album hits and all of the focus was brought on Dom and Chris for what is known to fans as the “Helsinki Jam,” due to the fact that it originated in Helsinki. It's a drum-solo song with bass backup that features the two musicians on a rotating drum platform and rocking out as only they can. It was a pretty awesome treat that happened to precede “Undisclosed Desires,” which I'm actually not a big fan of, but I won't deny its popularity. The visual spectacle that accompanied the song was completely immense, so at least it wasn't boring. Thank goodness they followed up with my most anticipated and guaranteed song of the night in “Starlight.”

The primary list of songs closed out from here with “Unnatural Selection,” “Time is Running Out,” and “Plug In Baby,” all of which were excellent. Once the lights dimmed, we were treated to the opening notes of the “Exogenesis: Symphony.” I won't lie that I almost freaked out here, thinking we'd get to hear the entire symphony. Alas, it was not to be, as the crowd had to settle for the SPECTACULAR double encore of “Stockholme Syndrome” and “Knights of Cydonia” instead. The back-to-back wall of noise and sing-along anthems really were the perfect close to an already tremendous show.



Despite how good the show was, I do have to take a few points away from the venue. The Sommet Center itself was all right, but having a beer vendor scream “BEER HERE!” is very distracting when you're trying to enjoy a concert, so their staff gets a thumbs down for that night. There were also a few issues amongst our crowd that gave it an oddball feel, but should that really affect the overall grade? I guess we'll find out...


1. Uprising
2. Resistance
3. New Born
4. Supermassive Black Hole
5. MK ULTRA
6. Hysteria
7. Nishe
8. United States of Eurasia
9. Feeling Good
10. Helsinki Jam
11. Undisclosed Desires
12. Starlight
13. Unnatural Selection
14. Burning Bridges + Time Is Running Out
15. Plug In Baby

Encore:
16. Exogenesis: Symphony Part I (Overture)
17. Stockholm Syndrome
18. Knights of Cydonia

The 411: My original prognosis was to deduct points from the show because of circumstances beyond the performers' control, mainly because, you know, them's the breaks. However, in good conscience, I can't do that. This show was everything I had wanted it to be on so many levels. The company was awesome, the visuals were electrifying, and the band sounded as if they were playing like there was no tomorrow. I can't ask for much more in the concerts I attend, and Muse certainly delivered in spades. If you're a fan and haven't seen them, do it. You'll remember it forever.

Final Score:  10.0   [ Virtually Perfect ]