So last night my buddy A-Bomb and I went to the double bill of British rockers Muse and Band Of Skulls at Rexall Place here in Edmonton.
This was my third time seeing Band Of Skulls and first and last time seeing Muse. When this show was announced I was really interested in seeing Band Of Skulls play a big venue, as the first two times were at the Starlite Room, a small 800 capacity venue. I wasn't ready to pay 80 dollars to see just the opening band. As for Muse, I know very little about them and have never heard their music before Sunday night. As luck would have it, I managed to get a pair of tickets for the show. I knew I had to take my buddy A-Bomb to this show as he had seen Band Of Skulls the previous two times with me as well, so it was an easy decision.
We got to the show in perfect timing to catch Band Of Skulls hit the stage to a small crowd. probably a couple of reasons for that, it being Super Bowl Sunday and the early 7pm start. Nonetheless, we made it in time to catch their 45 minute set. They opened with the hard hitter "Sweet Sour" from their latest album with the same title that came out last year. My fear of how they would go over on a big stage was put to rest in no time at all. They looked very comftorable on it, as I am sure they have played on bigger and better stages such as outdoor festivals. The three piece band that consists of Emma Richardson on bass and vocals (I still say she looks like a Ramone), Russell Marsden on guitar and vocals and drummer Matt Hayward on drums play a rockin' blues Zeppelin style of rock n' roll. Nothing pretentious about Band Of Skulls unlike Muse. I was very impressed with their set, being a shorter set then I have seen them play before, they left out some of the slower songs and played an all out rocking set. Some of the songs played on this evening were "Hollywood Bowl", and "Death By Diamonds And Pearls", "I Know What I Am" and "Bomb" from their first album Baby Darling Doll Face Honey.
During the show guitarist Russell Marsden said "here is a slower quiet song for you" and then went in to the song "Close To Nowhere" which is anything but slow or quiet. Another newer song from the Sweet Sour album was "Devil Takes Care Of His Own" which was excellent too. What impressed me the most during the show this night was drummer Matt Hayward, he reminded me of Led Zeppelin's drummer John Bonham in his power and presence on the drums, very cool. By the end of their set the coliseum was starting to fill up more and the fans that were there seemed to really be enjoying Band Of Skulls. They must have won some fans over, because by the time I went to get a t-shirt, the one I wanted were sold out at all the merch booths, shitty deal. All and all, Band Of Skulls kicked ass.
Some live footage I shot at the show.
Pictures of Band Of Skulls I took at the show.
Next up was headliners Muse. Their stage set up was impressive, which I had heard about. By the time Muse came on the place had filled up to a crowd of about 7-8,000 people, would be my guess. The band came on and one of the first things I noticed was the bass players lit up bass frets, looked kind of 80's like and lame. It started alright, they have some good riffs, but then it would get all wanky and lose me. Having not listened to them before, I knew none of the tunes, and can say I have no interest in hearing their albums. If anything, I will say they have an impressive light and laser show, but after about an hour, both A-Bomb and I had heard enough. The fans that were there for Muse were definitely getting in to them though, people dancing,tweaking and singing along. They obviously have a following, but again not my kind of music. My buddy summed it up good "they come off as a self indulgent jerk-off music kind of band". That made me laugh and would have to agree with him.
I wanna give a big shout out to Mick and Pete for lining up the tickets for me. Thank you very much!!! Good times!!!
Pictures Of Muse in Edmonton.
These few pictures were taken from the nose bleeds.
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