Oakland Arena (Oakland, CA)
04/14/23
English alt-rock band Muse brought their “Will Of The People” world tour to the Bay Area’s Oakland Arena on April 14th, showcasing their ninth and most recent studio album, Will Of The People, released last August. Muse has been on the road since last June, playing both festivals and intimate theater shows before starting their North American arena leg of the tour in January. Already having taken the show all over the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, the show was a perfectly executed production. The band, consisting of Matt Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme, and Dominic Howard, delivered a both sonically and visually stunning performance that left the entire arena enraptured.
The trio took the stage in mirrored masks to a roar of cheers from the filled arena, quickly turning into the chant that leads into “Will Of The People,” the first and title track from the recent album. They proceeded to play seven out of ten songs from Will Of The People throughout the show, including “Compliance,” complete with streamers toward the end of the song, and “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween,” intro’d by Bellamy playing a Bach solo on a digital organ. Muse performed a 24-song setlist that also had songs from every other full-length album except for their debut album, including staples like “Supermassive Black Hole” from 2006 album Black Holes and Revelations and “Plug in Baby” from 2001 sophomore album Origin of Symmetry. Muse let their music do the talking, addressing the crowd only a handful of times. Bellamy’s soaring vocals and shredding guitar riffs were matched by Wolstenholme’s thunderous bass lines and Howard’s powerful drumming. The band’s nearly 30 years worth of chemistry was very present, and their performance was flawless.
Muse knows exactly how to put on a show. Their production quality is top notch and goes all-out – with a catwalk leading to a b-stage, a large grid of lights behind the band, six moving LED-lined reflective panels hanging over the stage, streamers early in the set, two sets of confetti, tons of pyro, and two massive inflatable characters (“Will the Hacker” and “Baph”) looming over the main stage. Not at all over the top, their visual elements matched how epic Muse’s music is. Short videos played during set transitions, weaving the Will Of The People storyline throughout the show. The night ended with the most classic way to a Muse concert – “Man With A Harmonica” with Wolstenholme playing the harmonica and Bellamy playing the guitar part, leading into “Knights of Cydonia.” Six minutes of pure rock.
Muse’s performance at Oakland Arena was a true spectacle that showcased the band’s talent and energy. They are a band to see live – their music, while epic in its own right, is only elevated by the added visuals and live show experience.
