Muse @ Electric Factory

Since the fuckin' fucks that run the Electric Factory (I would hyperlink the venue, but I can't even find a homepage for them) don't allow cameras in, and I wasn't willing to crotch it and risk having my memory card taken from me (again), I found this pic on-line. Not sure who the kids are with frontman Matt Bellamy, but they loitered around the Muse tour bus until 3am to get this pic. Good for them. Reminds me of when inmytree and I did the same with Ben Harper back about 5 years ago. Good times.

So although inmytree and I initially planned to make the drive from DC to Philly together for this show, plans came up, forcing my fellow bastard and wingman to catch Muse in NYC and spend the rest of the weekend in NY. Never afraid to role Han Solo, I hit depart DC at the height of rush hour, and make it about 50 miles in my first 2 hours of travel. Overall total time for the drive was 3.5 hours...we've done worse.

I arrive at the parking lot of the Electric Factory and immediately sense a disturbance in the force. Not because I dislike the Electric Factory, but because it was this parking lot where i got my foot ran over by a drunken fan upon completion of the Audioslave show last year. This resulted in my running shoe flying a good 15 feet in one direction, and me sprinting in the other direction after the vehicle with the mission of punching out one of its windows. I lost. Anyway, with too much time to kill and a fresh $40 dollars in my pocket thanks to me selling inmytree's ticket to an actual fan, I stop for some pre-concert drinks at Whiskey Dix. All I have to say about this place is if you get the Whiskey Dix Special, you're treated with a shot of Jack and a can of PBR for $5. $40, see ya later.

Back at the Electric Factory. After a wonderful prison search at the front door, I catch the second half of The Cloud Room. Inmytree and I saw a great performance by this band back at the Black Cat earlier this year, with about 10 other fans. I'm not going to lie...I was much more comfortable seeing them play at the Black Cat. And they seemed much more comfortable playing at the Black Cat as well. Regardless, I thought they played well, and they clearly did not deserve the harsh reception Philly gave them. Some Boo's, but basically just shouting 'You're not Muse!' (No shit) or 'Put Muse on stage!' during the set.

Cloud Room leaves; begin intermission music. Probably the best I've heard all year, and I give no credit to the Electric Factory for this, under the assumption that the band pics the playlist. 3 songs from Death from Above 1979, Editors, Interpol to name a few. Meanwhile dudes clearly trying to be 'growing up Gotti' and ladies doing their best to be Meadow Soprano run their mouths about how shitty the new Muse CD is, and how they just want to hear Hysteria, which everybody seems to think is off of their first album. Oh boy.

Well, the sweet ain't so sweet without the sour, and Muse definitely brought the fucking house down and gave everybody more sweet than they knew what to do with. Except for all of the fans in the upper level, which is about a third of the venue...they remained sitting the whole time. Regardless, this show snuck up into my top five of the year without a doubt. And it made me regret missing last years show (don't blame me, blame my DD) College Park show even more.

Here's the set list...exact same as the previous night's show in NYC. You really couldn't have asked for a better selection and order of play (except that I really, really, really wanted to hear Small Print):

Take a Bow
Hysteria
Supermassive Black Hole
Butterflies and Hurricanes
Starlight (in B-flat)
Forced In (no lyrics)
Bliss
Feeling Good
Soldiers Poem
Invincible
Plug in Baby
New Born
Stockholm Syndrome

Map of the Problematique
Time is Running Out
Knights of Cydonia