Roskilde 2007 - Muse, pics inside! Options

[Kaneda]

For those not in the know, the Roskilde Festival is one of the largest music festivals in Europe - and was a muddy mess this year - the worst since it started in 1971. Example - this is usually grass:



... and no, there's not supposed to be a lake here:



... or here... Actually lost an old acoustic guitar in the muddy "lake" one day - plump



Anyway, things got better through the course of Saturday and Sunday. Almost looks idyllic (and as usual at Roskilde, it is)



So, Muse... As some will know, our band does covers in addition to original songs - lots of Muse covers, covering most of their entire repertoire. Some cover bands have a blessing in that the band they cover really don't do too well on the stage compared to in the studio, so they can actually at times give a better concert than the real thing. Not so here

Muse was utterly, astoundingly, flabbergastingly amazing.

Anyway, Muse held - or so it looked to me (and some friends who were further in the back) - the entire audience of 60.000+ at the Orange stage in check for 1 hour 40-or-so minutes. Every song anyone could have wished for (except Bliss and Hyper Music) was there. As mentioned in another thread, I'm not a big fan of Black Holes and Revelations - but in a live setting those songs suddenly sound much more ingenious, and comparable to the earlier albums, while still bringing lots of new stuff.

Matt showed that he is an underrated guitar player, even if he's rated high (by some of us) - tapped solo in New Born was astonishing, Knights of Cydonia was such a meticulously crafted wall of sound that I'm finally beginning to like it.



His singing was out of this world - I've heard lots and lots of live recordings, and seen their live shows a few times before, but now I have a new standard to live up to - not least in Feeling Good (which was so beautifully done and so perfectly phrased I could have cried ).

And Dominic and Chris did their part and more - constantly being so accurate in tone and dynamics that everything just clicked while allowing room for spontaneousness. All in all, they let out a sound more powerful than many a metal band who have played on this demanding stage.


(a look away from the stage right before the encore started - some day I'd like to say, "that's taken from the Orange stage right before our encore" )

Most people I talked to during the night after the last concert agreed that this was by far the best concert of this year (although, to be fair, the standard was pretty low this year). Some said it was the best they'd heard at Roskilde ever. I wouldn't go quite so far - there's lots of acts - also (or especially) on the smaller stages - in the past 15 years, that have such a fond memory of, I can't pick a favorite. But it's up there.

Oh, I should also mention that The Who still rock to this day

Any great festival experiences for others this year?


Editorial note: published July 17.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

This post has been edited by Maria: Jul 16 2007, 03:43 PM