Muse returns

There's something to be said for eating humble pie to break into the US market, which Muse did last year when opening for U2 gigs in America, but the English rock band is already very much a star here.

Come Feb 3, Muse will kick off its second Singaporean concert, and will graduate from Fort Canning Park to the larger – and considerably more comfortable – Indoor Stadium, complete with two accomplished American opening acts, Rise Against and Saosin.

“It’s definitely going to be a bigger show, and of course we’re playing a bigger venue this time,” says Christopher Wolstenholme, the band’s bass player. “We’re playing songs from our new album The Resistance, of course, but it will be a mix-up with older stuff from our albums like Absolution,” Wolstenholme adds.

Although that will ensure variety, it also means disappointment for fans who are hoping to hear
The Resistance in its entirety. Wolstenholme confirms that there are some songs, such as the Exogenesis: Symphony suite, that Muse has never performed live and is saving for some of the larger festivals later this year or in 2011, which doesn’t include Singapore.

Muse’s crazy touring schedule means that the band has played to everything from British audiences that know every word of every song, to American audiences who had never heard of them.

Tamer audiences?

In comparison, does Muse find Asian audiences tamer than their European and American counterparts?

“Actually, it’s the reverse because many places in Asia don’t get big gigs as often as, say, New York, where there’s something every week, so Asian audiences really go crazy when they finally get an opportunity to let loose,” explains Wolstenholme.

He has a point. Although Singapore’s concert scene is significantly busier than it used to be, it still isn’t quite the embarrassment of riches that some other major cities in the world enjoy.

Hopefully, that means Muse will get an even more rapturous reception than it did during its Singapore debut in 2007. At the very least there will be more voices screaming because of the larger venue, and organiser LAMC Productions will have its hands full managing all the excitement.