Sunday, September 22, 2013

11 was my lucky number! originally posted on xanga March 2013

I am moving  my xanga Muse posts here , they will be in kind of messed up order-
for Muse gigs anyway! I was number 11 in the queue for both the Chicago and Minneapolis gigs and both were awesome experiences. I wish I could do dozens like Catherine Marlin, but on my budget, the two I could get to without needing a hotel were the limit.



My sister provided 4 star hotel service and spa cuisine for free for my Chicago trip. Snow was threatening even before I got there, so knowing downtown parking is ridiculous anyway, I started looking up public transit info again. This was a little trickier than Lollapalooza since I had to connect train to bus but it really went pretty smoothly.




On arrival at the United Center around 9:30 am, I found several old friends already there, and a few new ones. Catherine had the sharpie hand numbering system going to prevent line jumping.  Minutes later they moved us off the dry sidewalk onto an icy un-shoveled one, wtf? It was 30 degrees, not bad for Chicago in March, but we were going to be out there until the doors opened. Mandy (dark blue coat) who got me though my first queuing experience in 2010, assisted with the sharpie numbering.



 Many were smart enough to bring sleeping bags, and we also covered each other for extended toilet/thaw out breaks. The nearest places to do this were all at least 3 blocks away. It is definitely a test of love and endurance to queue for Muse here. Speaking of love, one couple was able to share body heat.


  

In addition to the harsh waiting conditions, the United Center had no idea what was going on with our will call pre-sale tickets. Catherine finally convinced them by 2 pm that these were not the same as paperless tickets and they released them, one bit of anxiety over. The next bit, making sure our queue order was respected, was an ongoing battle, but they finally put up barricades and when the time came , let us enter in semi-sane fashion. It was still chaotic enough that I lost track of Mandy while going for the barrier, and I knew I wanted the slanted part by the thrust stage, so I slid in next to Hillary Van Guilder and Beth Rivera.

And some of my other friends were on the other slant



We had the most adorable security guy in front of us, he kept us entertained while waiting for Dead Sara , the support act, to begin. Despite being a cutie,he was a bit camera shy.



Dead Sara was more enjoyable than I expected. Most support acts have me counting the songs until I can get to Muse, but they kept my attention. Fronted by 2 women and rocking hard, it was over before I knew it. Did not get any good photos of them this night, keep reading for Minneapolis.

Then after 18 months of not seeing them, Muse were finally in front of me, opening with Unsustainable! Our guys seemed happy and full of energy.


This photo,and most of the others in this post are mine. I was surprised at how well I could do despite the shoving going on in the pit, and I did toss out a lot of shaky or off center ones. It is amazing how close Matt and Chris are when using the thrust stage, this is my best photo of the night, probably taken during the Star Spangled Banner.



I am not picky about set lists, I am happy just to be able to see Muse live, but Explorers is a track on The 2nd Law that really gets to me, so I'm glad that was played at this show.
 The rest, according to the musewiki:

Set list



The crowd was quite rough in the pit, especially an obnoxious woman behind me who thought she should be able to shove past, but I am too sturdy for that! Since I was having a hard time getting my camera up, I tried to keep that woman from bouncing Hillary too much because she's a professional and her Muse pics are always incredibly good. Anyhow, I did not let it distract me from enjoying the show and fangirling. The visuals are as spectacular as the last tour, but without getting in the way of interaction with the band. Musicianship was spot on as usual, and the acoustics in the United Center are perhaps the one thing that recommends the place. Matt's vocals were powerful ,I don't understand how anyone is dumb enough to think he could be lip synching!

Like everyone else on the barrier, I was singing along, bouncing and fist pumping, not too old yet! And I was ready for the magic moment during Undisclosed Desires when Matt comes down to the barrier and shakes hands. I did not get a proper handshake, but my left hand did touch him while I had it stretched out, Squeee!

For the second encore break, the arena lit up with mobile phones, and this was appropriately followed by the song Starlight.


 

and the finale was epic Olympic anthem Survival, many of us were singing the choral parts to this and I was able to hit most of the soprano notes, but that's nothing compared to Matt hitting a G# at the end!



Somehow after the show we were right outside again though I had not intended to buy any t-shirts this night. I already had a return train ticket, so I declined Beth's gracious offer to drive me back to the suburbs. Hugs were exchanged, and some of us knew we would meet in Minneapolis again 3 days later. On the bus I finally thought to take a picture of my hand, and the girl across from me knew exactly why!

 

So yeah, I have washed it since but it was a moment I wanted to record somehow.
The snow still had not come when I got back to my car, slightly grateful for that as I was not that familiar with the road back to my sister's. But it started overnight, so I did not drive right back to Minneapolis as originally planned. This worked out OK for me, my sister ended up being sent home early and we got more time to visit, but I worried about my friends and Muse themselves going to Columbus this day and then having to get to Minneapolis. All were safe though and  the next day we were heading northwest to do it again.
Queuing at the Target Center was a massively more pleasant experience.  True, I had taken some steps to ensure that by emailing box office and security staff, but they had let us queue inside in 2010 as well. They are simply more concerned about their customers. So in answer to this question, yes, Dave (box office) and Aaron (security) both rocked!



So sleeping bags and pillows arranged in much more comfort this time, we spent the day resting and socializing...



one group made tin foil hats to pass the time, perhaps in honor of Matt's favorite conspiracy theories or Dom's wikipedia entry! They even put one on the Lakers statue and it was not removed



Communication with Target Center staff remained excellent and they made it crystal clear where the general admission queue was.



The more comfortable conditions enabled us to give some attention to hairstyles suitable for headbanging. (Jae Lu and Beth Rivera)



Food and bathrooms were easy here, too, Starbucks across the street was very accommodating, and many other food places were nearby or willing to deliver in this vibrant part of downtown Minneapolis. At 5: 15 or so we were on full alert for the doors to open at 6 and go for our barrier spots again! And it was the easiest walk to the barrier ever for me. Happy to be with Lisa Smith, Catherine Marlin and Wendy Smith on the other slant this time (photo by Wendy Smith)



No cute security guard this time, but lots of friendly people around us. I had a Dead Sara fan on my right and she was not disappointed.




This time the security guards were actually showing off the set list in advance (photo by Wendy Smith)



And  we were soon rocking with Muse to Unsustainable and Supremacy once more. The third song, Map of the Problematique, is an old favorite of mine, so I was glad to hear that again. The Minneapolis crowd was just as energetic as Chicago but with less aggression. Still, I did not have an easy time framing my shots as we were all jumping and headbanging, so the first decent photo this night was during Supermassive Black Hole.



Matt was covering the whole stage, but I was still definitely in a prime spot. I loved having a good view of his fingers at work on the guitar strings, and well, everything!



Animals is my son's favorite track from The Second Law and has excellent visuals to match with the lyrics about the evil of Wall Street.


not sure during which song I  got this one, might still be Animals



Dom and Chris jam while Matt gets ready for the piano section



We got Sunburn from their first album Showbiz again. That's from 1999 but Matt is still able to sing it with plenty of feeling.



However, the most emotional song on this tour is easily Follow Me, written about Matt's son, Bing. And it starts with a lovely laser moment in Matt's hand.





then he sings his heart out right in front of us



Chris' moment as frontman during Liquid State.



but Matt and Dom are having too much fun in the background!



photo of this fantastic view by Wendy Smith



There was another time of being jostled too much to point my camera thanks to an overenthusiastic drunk girl, but finally some way too nice young man let her stand in front of him. And of course I was ready for another chance for a handshake from Matt during Undisclosed Desires! Once again, I missed out on that , but this time my right hand brushed his wrist can't complain! Finally was able to get a photo again during Time Is Running Out.



These two were likely during Starlight.



then another epic closing with Survival, this time I could not manage the first soprano choral part!



and as the CO2 jets go off , the song ends and the show is over. Our Muse boys are very gracious about tossing mementos to the crowd, though. Someone always gets Chris' harmonica after Knights of Cydonia. and after the last song, there is fierce competition for Dom's drumsticks and Matt's plectrums. However,  I was not going for any of these, I had something I wanted to get to Matt, I threw them hard...



they made it to the stage and he picked them up with a smile!! He has a reputation for enjoying crazy socks and these certainly are
Catherine, Wendy and Lisa were off quickly to head to the next gig in St. Louis. But for some of us, this was our last or only show, so we gathered at O'Donovan's to rehydrate. I think we all downed 3 glasses of ice water in addition to delicious pub food, and those not driving were able to enjoy a beer. And so I thought I should photograph the other lucky hand too



Now Post Muse Syndrome is setting in, as much about missing good times with friends as the band itself. Seeing their photos and writing this post help, but Monday morning is going to be rough this week!

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