Musings

Yes, everyone, I am back!

I can’t lie and say that I am happy to be back though – I had such a great time in Southern California, I really wish my time there didn’t go so quickly. I always have a hard time when I need to come home from California trips, I can definitely see myself living there pretty happily. Unfortunately, it is not in the cards so I am satisfied to have plenty of friends (and family) allowing frequent visits to be easy and enjoyable.

The first thing that made this particular trip enjoyable was my sudden and random attainment of a pair of Muse tickets. Those of you that know me well, know that I have been aching to see them live for ages. Sure, I saw them open for U2 in Tampa last year, but it only served as a tease. Unfortunately, the band never makes its way near Florida – not that that has stopped me in the past from trying to secure tickets in other cities such as Boston or New York. However, the tickets always sold out immediately, leaving me to think that it was just not in the cards for me to see Muse headlining their own show.
So you can imagine my surprise when a friend from The Knot voiced via Twitter that she could no longer go to a Muse show in Anaheim the day I arrived in Los Angeles. In fact, she just so happened to tweet about it the same day that I found out they would be playing a show while I was there (they were actually playing several). I channeled my inner John Locke and took it to be destiny. They were meant to be mine!

And boy, did I appreciate it. The show was at the Honda Center (aka; the Pond – home to the Mighty Ducks) and when we arrived, we shamefully took the elevator up, up and away to the  upper level, where we started our climb to our nosebleed seats. As the usher greeted us, I guess our faces said it all. Before we could even hand him our tickets, he asked us if we would like to be upgraded at no cost. What? In 5 minutes flat, we were in our new seats at club level, being served beers by a wait staff! It was just absolutely ridiculous. I’m pretty sure I forgot that at that point, I was completely sleep deprived and thrown off schedule due to the time zone change. I was pumped!

Passion Pit opened the show and I was pleasantly surprised. I have their album, Manners, but only gravitated to a few songs. I wasn’t expecting much, but they managed to have me on my feet dancing and grinning from ear to ear. The best way I could describe it was as a party in a box. It was impossible not have a goofy smile on your face, which only got me even more excited to see Muse take the stage – and take the stage they did! Leaving us in suspense for what seemed like forever, the three large pillars of light began to glow in the dark arena and I knew that I was in for quite the ride. Of course, Muse is known for being one of the best live rock bands in the world, so I had pretty high expectations. But I can honestly say that hearing and seeing are two completely different things. Experiencing Muse live has been one of the most amazing moments of my life to date.

I hate to sound dramatic or silly, but it truly moved me.
They bring so much energy that it is almost too much to take at one time. It leaves you reeling and just happy to be alive at that very moment. Matt Bellamy is so talented, it’s almost disgusting. He switched from destroying his collection of electric guitars to going to town on his piano in a blink of an eye and never once sounded pitchy or off key. The closest I can come to describing the night was magical. What really got me though, was hearing Knights of Cydonia live for the first time ever. They closed the show with it and as if the song wasn’t epic enough on its own, they managed to make it even more so. It began with a harmonica introduction courtesy of bassist, Chris Wolstenholme, and continued to build with Matt spinning a giant light box in between guitar shreds – lighting up portions of the audience. An audience that was raising their fists up as if it were ready to fight a war that Muse was leading. The combination of everything (and maybe a little sleep deprivation and that time of the month) got me really emotional and teary eyed.

As I walked away from the Honda Center, I was reminded of how powerful music is and how important it is in my life. It really set a tone for the rest of the trip and is probably what sent my emotions into overdrive for the next 4 days. I can’t stress this enough: please listen to this band and see them live if you are lucky enough to have them visit your hometown or anywhere in a thousand mile radius. Not to quote Garden State or anything, but they just might change your life.

For all of those non-believers, check out the following 2 HD videos I took: