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triangular-pyramid shaped stage
The stage was designed and built by the Belgian company Stageco (who also designed the stage for U2's 360° Tour). It features a ball on the top which is said to be the "All Seeing Eye" from the book 1984. On the pyramid itself there are separated blocks, with most of them being screens which project animations and also turn inside out occasionally. There is a catwalk-like structure leading from the front of the stage into the crowd, with a
elephant lift
at the end which moves 10m in the air and 15m forward, with space for 3 people. This so-called elephant lift would rise into the air and over the audience during performances of Undisclosed Desires and Take a Bow (the latter of which involved frontman
U.F.O is released into the crowd
with an acrobat hanging from the rear of it reaching for the people. However this has not been used in all stadium performances. The band's festival performances have been different from both these stage performances. For the shows in Australasia in early 2010 and the headline appearance at Coachella the band used 3 video strips in a similar arrangement to the top halves of the pillars but on the back wall of the stage. The festival stage was redesigned for the 2010 European festival shows with 3 groups of hexagonal video screens on the back wall of the stage and different visuals to those used earlier in the year for some songs, although for one show in Latvia and two shows in Asia Muse used only one solo screen. Also on one occasion, the UFO was used, in Germany. For the band's headlining set at Glastonbury Festival 2010, U2 guitarist The Edge was invited on stage to play "
The Resistance Tour was a worldwide
In revealing news of the tour, music magazine ''
quoted drummer concert tour
A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...
by English alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...
band Muse
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in ...
in support of their fifth studio album '' The Resistance''. The opening European leg began on 22 October 2009 and ended on 4 December 2009, comprising 30 shows. The second leg, which began on 7 January 2010, included thirteen shows, seven of which were part of the Australasian Big Day Out
The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...
shows. A North American leg of 26 shows took place in early 2010. Nine stadium shows took place in Europe in 2010, with three of those dates taking place at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
and Old Trafford Cricket Ground. A second round of North American concerts took place throughout September and October 2010. These dates focused on secondary markets and other areas not previously hit on the tour. A return to Australasia took place throughout December 2010 and Muse are confirmed as openers for U2's 360° Tour dates in South America in spring 2011 and also played further European shows in the summer of 2011. At the conclusion of 2010, the tour was placed on Pollstar's annual "Year End Top 50 Worldwide Concert Tours", and appeared 13th worldwide, earning over $76 million with 64 shows in 2010.
Background
A promotional tour was first confirmed by Muse in March 2009 when they announced that "We are pleased to confirm that Muse will be touring in the UK, Europe and North America this autumn." In June 2009, the band confirmed the dates for an opening European leg of "The Resistance Tour", which they announced would comprise 30 shows. Tickets for the shows in the United Kingdom, Sweden and France went on sale from 5 June, while tickets for other European dates went on fan pre-sale between 11 June (Netherlands) and 17 June (Spain). Tickets for the UK arena dates, both pre-sale and general sale, sold out within minutes of going on sale. On 22 September 2009, it was announced that extra tickets for many of the European concerts would be sold beginning on 24 September.
Warm-up shows
On 18 August 2009, a duo of concerts collectively entitled "A Seaside Rendezvous
A Seaside Rendezvous was a 2009 pair of concerts by English alternative rock band Muse. Held at The Den in Teignmouth, Devon, the town in which the band's members spent their childhoods and began their musical careers, the homecoming concerts w ...
" was confirmed for 4 and 5 September. The concerts were the first in the band's childhood hometown of Teignmouth
Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about 12 miles south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14,749 at the ...
, Devon in over ten years, as well as the first shows since the band's appearance at V Festival in August 2008 and since the completion of '' The Resistance''. The performances included the debut appearances of five songs from the upcoming album, including lead single "Uprising
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
", "Undisclosed Desires" and title track "Resistance".
The band also performed a small number of shows at other venues in Europe, before they supported Irish rock band U2 for nine dates on the North American leg of their 360° Tour in September and October and in South America in March and April 2011.
Design and setup
In revealing news of the tour, music magazine ''NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' quoted the band as saying "We are coming up with a different and exciting stage set and production which will encompass our fans", suggesting that the stage will be placed in the middle of each arena, with the audience surrounding the band, a technique first used by prog-rock band Yes in 1978. On 22 July, via their Twitter page, the band revealed that they were "working on set design", hinting at fans to "Expect an 8" stone 'enge"." In September 2009, the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Dominic Howard
Dominic James Howard (born 7 December 1977) is an English musician who is the drummer and co-founder of the rock band Muse.
Early life
Howard was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in England. When he was around 8 years old he moved with hi ...
as revealing that the band members will "be on these three pillars moving up and down", adding that "There might be a loose narrative that we're trapped in some kind of institution and we're trying to break out of it", which he promises will "look impressive." Music website Drowned in Sound
''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums.
History
''D ...
also spoke to Howard, publishing the following quotes regarding stage setup:
For the stadium performances, the band changed the set design completely. Like the arena tour, the design was based on the book 1984 by George Orwell but this time the new design featured the band on triangular-pyramid shaped stage
The stage was designed and built by the Belgian company Stageco (who also designed the stage for U2's 360° Tour). It features a ball on the top which is said to be the "All Seeing Eye" from the book 1984. On the pyramid itself there are separated blocks, with most of them being screens which project animations and also turn inside out occasionally. There is a catwalk-like structure leading from the front of the stage into the crowd, with a
elephant lift
at the end which moves 10m in the air and 15m forward, with space for 3 people. This so-called elephant lift would rise into the air and over the audience during performances of Undisclosed Desires and Take a Bow (the latter of which involved frontman
Matthew Bellamy
Matthew James Bellamy (born 9 June 1978) is an English singer, musician, producer, and songwriter. He is primarily known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for English rock band Muse. He is recognised for his eccen ...
wearing an LED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
suit). During performances of "Exogenesis Symphony: Part I – Overture" U.F.O is released into the crowd
with an acrobat hanging from the rear of it reaching for the people. However this has not been used in all stadium performances. The band's festival performances have been different from both these stage performances. For the shows in Australasia in early 2010 and the headline appearance at Coachella the band used 3 video strips in a similar arrangement to the top halves of the pillars but on the back wall of the stage. The festival stage was redesigned for the 2010 European festival shows with 3 groups of hexagonal video screens on the back wall of the stage and different visuals to those used earlier in the year for some songs, although for one show in Latvia and two shows in Asia Muse used only one solo screen. Also on one occasion, the UFO was used, in Germany. For the band's headlining set at Glastonbury Festival 2010, U2 guitarist The Edge was invited on stage to play "
Where The Streets Have No Name
"Where the Streets Have No Name" is a song by Irish rock music, rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1987 album ''The Joshua Tree'' and was released as the album's third single (music), single in August 1987. The song's hook (music) ...
" with Muse, seeing as U2 had cancelled their planned slot for the previous day due to Bono's back injury from rehearsals weeks earlier.
Tour dates
Setlists
Throughout the vast majority of the tour, every arena concert would commence with a performance of "Uprising
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
", with the main set ending with either "Unnatural Selection" or "Plug in Baby
"Plug In Baby" is a song by English rock band Muse. It was released as the lead single from the band's second studio album, ''Origin of Symmetry'' (2001), on 12 March 2001.
The song became the band's highest-charting single in the UK when it p ...
" and an encore consisting of Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture), Stockholm Syndrome
Stockholm syndrome is a condition in which hostages develop a psychological bond with their captors. It is supposed to result from a rather specific set of circumstances, namely the power imbalances contained in hostage-taking, kidnapping, an ...
and Knights of Cydonia
"Knights of Cydonia" is a song by English alternative rock band Muse and is the closing track on their 2006 album ''Black Holes and Revelations''. The song's title refers to the Cydonia region of Mars, which gained public attention from the ill ...
concluding the set. However, towards the end of the tour, Exogenesis Part 1 would sometimes be used as an opener. Also at these shows, Knights of Cydonia would be performed early in the set, signalling the first time this song would not be used as a concert opener or closer since 2006. Uprising would also be played to similar effect at these shows, with that also only being performed as the opening song in concerts prior to the ones opening with Exogenesis Part 1.
Concerts taking place within arenas would include roughly between 16–18 songs on average, while stadium shows were roughly 21 songs long.
Box office score data
Cancelled dates
# Performance in Broomfield cancelled due to heavy snow on the Vail pass blocking the way to the venue. Muse immediately announced a new date for the Denver area to take place at the Pepsi Center on 2 October 2010. # Performance in Stockholm, Sweden cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. # Performances in Kansas City and St. Louis were cancelled due to the pending birth of bassist Chris Wolstenholme's fifth child. This also affected the band's performances in Cincinnati and Columbus, which were rescheduled to 11 October 2010 and 12 October 2010, respectively.Personnel
*Matthew Bellamy
Matthew James Bellamy (born 9 June 1978) is an English singer, musician, producer, and songwriter. He is primarily known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for English rock band Muse. He is recognised for his eccen ...
– lead vocals, guitar, piano, keytar
The keytar is a lightweight synthesizer that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is supported by a strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement onstage, compared to conventional keyboard ...
on "Undisclosed Desires"
*Christopher Wolstenholme
Christopher Tony Wolstenholme (born 2 December 1978) is an English musician. He is the bassist and backing vocalist for the rock band Muse.
Early life
Chris Wolstenholme grew up in the English town of Rotherham before moving to Teignmouth, ...
– bass, backing vocals, harmonica
*Dominic Howard
Dominic James Howard (born 7 December 1977) is an English musician who is the drummer and co-founder of the rock band Muse.
Early life
Howard was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in England. When he was around 8 years old he moved with hi ...
– drums
*Morgan Nicholls
Morgan Daniel Nicholls (born 18 March 1971) is an English musician, member of English pop band Senseless Things and best known for performing with Muse, Gorillaz, The Streets and Lily Allen. He has released one solo album under the mononym Morg ...
– keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals, percussion, brief guitar on "United States of Eurasia
"United States of Eurasia" is a song by British alternative rock band Muse, featured on their fifth studio album '' The Resistance''. The song was made available as a free download online on 21 July 2009. It is followed by an instrumental sol ...
".
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Resistance Tour, The Muse (band) concert tours 2009 concert tours 2010 concert tours 2011 concert tours