Muse melts faces, and maybe some snow at Target Center

 

Muse finally returned for a show in Minneapolis after nearly 10 years! For once I missed the Chicago show on this tour as it was the night before, and I did not trust February weather in the Midwest. As it was, Mother Nature got a blizzard out of the way a few days before the show, just barely allowing my braver friends to make the road trip there and back overnight.  

Target Center has generally been awesome for indoor queueing, but after a 10 year gap, I thought it would be good to check in with the staff. It turned out to be all new people, but they were great and took good care of us. I could only have wished for bathroom access in the building, but the way it's set up would make that a security problem. So when Kelsy arrived in town the day before, I chose Kieran's for lunch partly to scope out the bathroom situation. It was no sacrifice as the fish & chips were divine. 

Most of us agreed to start the queue at 8 am, and within an hour the Chicago crew arrived. They said it was really nice driving, no semis!  I was number 12, right behind Melodie who drove up from Iowa the night before. At 10 am when Kieran's  opened, this old lady made a mad dash over, then had an omelet while chatting with the bartender. He and the other staff did seem surprised that there were dozens of people queuing for Muse already. For a while the queue was not that big, but more people arrived mid-afternoon.

Queuing

It seemed every time my staff contacts came to check on us, I was making a bathroom run! I probably did more than most given my age, wasn't sure I should even be attempting barrier, but being able to see Matt up close is powerful motivation, plus I had a pair of socks for him again. 😊 There was a sound check delay after doors, so some people started making quick runs for merch. I finally went for it as well, and of course they let us in at that moment. I hustled to the barrier, knowing Mel would hold a spot, went to the wrong side first, but caught up with her on Matt's side. Then I did the wide stance so she could do a merch run. It really was quite orderly and pleasant though, My crew all got good spots. 

Matt side barrier babes

Chris' side, photo by Lisa Smith

No Circle of Death for Madness this time

One OK Rock from Japan was the first opener, and a nice surprise. Apparently they are huge in Japan, and I can see why, very talented, real rock musicians that had a good blend of classic rock and modern influences. 

One OK Rock

Evanescence was up next. I was familiar with their earlier work but had not really followed them. Amy Lee s voice was as beautiful and powerful as ever, but sadly drowned out in the mix by over-heavy drums. It was bad enough to be physically uncomfortable from where I was, so I just tried to endure until it was time for Muse. 

Amy Lee

Evanescence 

Those of us who had queued all day tried to stretch our backs during the break, thankfully it wasn't too long, and once Muse was on the stage I got my usual energy boost, and didn't entirely remember I had a cranky knee. There was pyro for the opening song. Will of the People, and it seemed like every 3 songs or so after that! 

It's WOTPING Time!

I thought I might get some good photos of Dom for a change, but that cymbal was in my way, luckily others captured "arm porn" , he did not keep that jacket on for long!

Dom, photo by Lisa Smith

One of my old favs, Map of the Problematique , returned to the set list with a bonus outro from our own Prince's Sign O the Times. The person who posted this must have been about 3 people away from me.  

My cover photo for this post is a screencap from Compliance which came fairly early in the set, and now includes streamers. Lisa caught that moment.

Matt welcomes streamers during Compliance, photo by Lisa Smith

Many of us were looking forward to hearing Verona live, they debuted it the night before, it was beautiful and moving and maybe it wouldn't have mattered if Matt didn't hit all the high notes, but he did, perfectly. 

 Matt singing Verona, screencap from my video 

I only did a snippet of video so I could watch the rest of it properly. 

Toccata and Fugue in D minor 

Though the lyrics are dark, You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween is fun to dance to, and someone near me yelled out "I'm you're biggest fan!" at the appropriate moment. (Misery reference)

The Dark Side Alternate Reality Version was an atmospheric moment.  I think we all tried to photograph it, but Lisa's photo is better than mine.  Matt is perched on the shoulder of the figure in the background, known as Will the Hacker. 

The Dark Side AR by Lisa Smith

I think this may have been during Supermassive Black Hole. "Guitar sex" is part of why I queued all day. 😈

Matt Bellamy. photo by Sean Kelly

The crowd did a great job singing along with the silly noises Matt makes to start off Plug In Baby. We stayed pumped up through Uprising, and soon we were introduced to "Baph"  This character appeared in a video earlier in the show but I would like to hear more about it! 

"Baph" is this Murph in a new outfit?

Kill or Be Killed included more pyro though I didn't catch those parts. 

Finally the melancholy notes of Man With a Harmonica sounded, in all but one show I've attended this is the intro to the closer, Knights of Cydonia, now also with pyro!  I didn't photograph anything so I could bounce but I was also getting ready....I had a pair of socks for Matt with a shroom design that I had been unable to get to him in Chicago last fall.  At this point, I had decided I was going to go for tossing them on the catwalk since I was in a good position to do so. The guys walked out to the B stage to say goodnight and tossed picks and sticks. As they walked back, I lobbed the socks and they landed right in front of Matt and he quickly scooped them up.  Then he turned to see where they came from and we exchanged a wave.  💓 A perfect ending for me, and quite a few of us did well getting mementos, with Ariel getting Chris' harmonica just in time for her birthday. 

The setlist: it was long enough for me.  

photo by Lisa Smith

Some people had to catch rides or rest right after the show, but the majority of Musers I know  (and many that I did not know!) converged on Pizza Luce. It's pretty smart to have slices cafeteria style at that hour, but even so they were overwhelmed. The staff hung in there though, and soon caught up. I downed a can of fizzy water and 2 or 3 glasses of plain water, and still felt somewhat dehydrated later. Our people did not all fit at one table, but it was still great to be together processing the awesomeness of what we had just experienced. The number 12 has faded from my hand now, but I have some confetti, a cool t-shirt, and lots of extra warm memories.