MUSE and SILVERSUN PICKUPS, E Center, April 5
WEST VALLEY CITY — When Silversun Pickups lead singer/guitarist Brian Aubert told the nearly sold-out E Center audience that Muse would blow their minds, he wasn't kidding.
The progressive British trio Muse hosted the thousands in the E Center to an extra-sensory experience that did take some mind-blowing detours, but ultimately centered around tight, flashy and musically difficult anthemic, stadium rock.
There were three massive, 3-D LED screens suspended above the semicircle stage, and the band — guitarist/vocalist Matthew Bellamy, drummer Dominic Howard and bassist Christopher Wolstenholme — sometimes rose to the occasion on three rising platforms that were also garnished with additional LED screens.
Endless supplies of green laser lights shot their way to the back of the E Center while multiple strobes and stage lights highlighted the action on the stage.
Opening with the adrenalized "Uprising" and continuing into "Resistance," both track one and track two, respectively, from the band's most recent CD "The Resistance," Muse worked the crowd into a frenzy.
Not missing a beat, the band launched into "New Born," from the 2000 CD "Origin of Symmetry," and then got cosmic with "Supermassive Black Hole."
The band never seemed to mind wearing its musical influences on its sleeves. There were shades of Queen, Pink Floyd, the London Suede and David Bowie that emerged throughout the night.
In addition, the band handed out some musical Easter eggs for the older fans in the audience. Bits and pieces of the intro to Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker," the coda to Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" and the trademark lick to Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" dotted the set's audio landscape.
Bellamy's black grand piano, complete with sound-activated LED lights embedded in the cover, made its appearance during another new composition "United States of Eurasia (+ Collateral Damage)."
The rhythm & blues percussion of "Undisclosed Desires" and joyful keyboards of "Starlight" cued the audience to sing along to the catchy, beat-heavy time signatures.
A mellow vocal intro to the driving "Unnatural Selection" set up the frantic "Time Is Running Out."
Capping the set was the dynamite arrangement of "Plug in Baby."
The encore consisted of the ambitious and nebulous "Exogenesis: Symphony, Part 1: Overture," the head-banging "Stockholm Syndrome" and the galloping "Guitar Hero" track "Knights of Cydonia."
Aubert and the Pickups were the explosive opening darlings of the evening, even though their mix was a bit muddy. Still, the band offered a set full of its trademark sonic soundscapes and primed the audience for Muse.
e-mail: scott@desnews.com