Muse at the Verizon Center

On September 11, 2013, Muse performed at the Verizon Center as part of their "The 2nd Law" world tour. I actually had not planned on attending until maybe the night before. The concert took place on a Wednesday night and the tickets were maybe sixty or so dollars, but these were measly excuses at best--this was perhaps the best impulse decision I've ever made.



I wish I could begin to convey the true awesomeness of the performance and I do not use the term, "awesome," lightly. Even if we were to completely ignore Matthew Bellamy's unparalleled falsetto, Muse spared no expense for its stage effects. A pyramid of screens took its place at the center of the stage and these screens had a life of its own, consuming the band as it sunk and revealing the band as it ascended. Synchronized lyrics flashed across the screens and I suppose you don't even have to question the presence of laser and strobe lights with this kind of show.



Matthew Bellamy himself had a unique kind of stage presence. His skill with both the guitar and the piano, together with his totally distinct falsetto, inspires a sort of incredulity; how can one man be so talented?



As Bellamy got down on his knees and thrust his microphone into the crowd during "Starlight", I felt a certain sense of unity, a collective love for his music, the kind that can only be brought upon by thousands of people singing "Our hopes and expectations. Black holes and revelations," in unison.