Muse - Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver - 05/10/04

I've been going to punk rock shows for over twelve years now, and it's been a long time since any band has made my ears ring. Muse did it.

First, get a sense of the show. The first venue sold out, and the one they moved it up to that is nearly twice the size almost sold out too. Yet it's a rainy Monday night. Yet the screaming for Muse sounded like Kiss took the stage. Vancouver is an infamous laid back city when it comes to live shows, we confound and aggravate bands the world over.

It's one of those things, when you put three amazing musicians together who love their songs, it's hard not to enjoy yourself. They were so tight it was incredible to watch. I was amazed by the solid harmony, that is not an easy feat with unpredictable monitors and sound and everything else variable that's life on the road. Muse nailed it.

The crowd loved it. I was standing way at the back so I could see (I'm short), and I was grooving along, I definitely wasn't the only one. People were dancing three-quarters back through the crowd, and there were hands waving in the air for the whole set.

They played mostly songs from Absolution, with a few from Origin of Symmetry. Standouts were Newborn which was truly incredible to witness, and Stockholm Syndrome as the encore.

I would go see this band no matter what city nor what venue, over and over again.

Oh yes, The Exit from New York opened, and they were not bad, but not good. If Corey Hart had been in The Police, and then he and Sting had had a lovechild, and then he formed a band, it would have been this band. I'm serious.