Muse - V Festival, Weston Park (17/08/2008)

Paul Bodman | Monday, 18 August 2008

In a wet, muddy field in Staffordshire on17th August 2008, something out of this world happened. Around the arena were mysterious satelite dishes which looked to have come straight from Jodrell Bank. At around quarter past 9, after the Stereophonics had rocked the stage, all went quiet.

Suddenly the dishes started to glow a bright red, and began to move. The crowd went wild, some actually scared by what they were seeing. An unknown but truly epic classical piece filled the air, and a kind of electrical charge pumped through their nerves as three men, one no taller than 5'6, took command of them all.

For the next hour and half, around 50,000 people were mesmerised by the sheer brilliance of Muse. Their showmanship - unmatched. Their talent - indescribable. They took the audience on a magical journey with hits such as 'Supermassive Black Hole', 'Knights Of Cydonia', and 'Starlight', mixed with lesser known tracks such as 'Space Dementia' and 'Dead Star'. With all of this, plus lots more crowd pleasers like 'Hysteria' and 'Plug In Baby', Muse proved why they should have beaten Take That to the best live act award at the Brits this year.

It wasn't just about the music, though. There were some incredible special effects such as lasers with clouds inside, and pyrotechnics, not forgeting the giant satelites with some amazing imagery projecting inside. Muse have placed themselves amongst the giants of rock such as Queen and Pink Floyd in terms of both music and performance, and they are truly the undisputed kings of modern rock - no doubt the greatest live act of the 21st century. Even those members of the audience who hadn't come for Muse were left stunned by what they had seen.

Rating: 5/5