Muse played a ‘secret’ gig at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London last night (September 11) to mark the announcement of ‘The Drones World Tour’ next year.
The gig was confirmed on the band’s Twitter feed yesterday morning, revealing that tickets would be priced at £20 each and sold on a first-come, first-served basis at the Electric Ballroom from 3pm. Queues formed around the block for the rare chance to see Muse perform at a small venue.
The trio – Matt Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard – took to the stage at 8.20pm and played a 90-minute set, including encore. Theatrics and special effects were at a minimum for a straightforward, career-spanning setlist.
Latest album ‘Drones’ was heavily represented in the early part of the performance, with ‘Reapers’, ‘Psycho’ and ‘The Handler’ three of the first four songs. Only 2003’s ‘Hysteria’ broke the flow of relatively new material.
Emma Viola Lilja“OK, Camden – gonna take you back here,” said Bellamy as the band launched into ‘Plug In Baby’ and received an ecstatic reception. ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ followed to a similar response before the pace was drawn back for ‘Dead Inside’ and live jam ‘Drones D&B’.
Interaction with the crowd was sparing, but Bellamy took time at the end of ‘Time Is Running Out’ to say, “Thanks for turning up at such short notice – it was a surprise, yeah?” The capacity crowd replied with the chant, “Knights of Cyd! Knights of Cyd!” “Yeah, but we haven’t got the right bass!” laughed Bellamy.
The ‘Knights Of Cydonia’ fans eventually got their wish at the end of the encore that also included ‘Supremacy’ and ‘Uprising’. Wolstenholme introduced the final number with a solo on the harmonica – a harmonica he later threw into the crowd – while the last word was left to Howard. “Cheers, Camden,” the drummer said as he left the stage. “You guys are fabulous.”
Muse played:
‘Reapers’
‘Psycho’
‘Hysteria’
‘The Handler’
‘Plug In Baby’
‘Supermassive Black Hole’
‘Dead Inside’
‘Drones D&B’
‘Mercy’
‘Time Is Running Out’
‘Starlight’
‘Stockholm’
‘Agitated’
‘Supremacy’
‘Uprising’
‘Knights Of Cydonia’
Earlier in the day, Matt Bellamy announced ‘The Drones World Tour’ on BBC Radio 2, which will include gigs next spring in Manchester, Glasgow and London.
Muse will play:
Manchester, Arena (April 8)
London, O2 Arena (April 11, 12)
Glasgow, SSE Hydro (April 17)
Tickets go on general sale next Friday (September 18), with a fan pre-sale beginning on Wednesday (September 16).
O2 Priority Tickets for Muse are available Wednesday September 16 at 10 am – 48 hours before general release. See all the information.