ON THE ROAD: Muse Take New York, With Lasers

Rolling Stone USA

April 1st 2010

The trio's bombastic U.S. tour is packing arenas nationwide 

HOURS BEFORE SHOW-time Muse frontman Matthew Bellamy is sipping hot tea on a dark, half-assembled Madison Square Garden stage. Actually, he’s above the stage - atop a 12-foot-tall, hydraulic-powered platform that will be his home for the evening. “It’s quite precarious up here,” he says, peering over the edge. “If you were to fall, you could very well break your leg. Or even your neck.” He looks around the arena. “Should we test out the lasers, then?”

  Muse have never been afraid to be a little over the top. The trio conquered the globe with their bombastic brand of proggy, Queen-style space rock. It took the States a while to catch on, but now, on the strength of their fifth album, The Resistance (which debuted in September at Number Three), they're mounting their biggest U.S. tour yet - featuring stops in 19 cities, a headlining Coachella slot and an elaborate, 1984-inspired set whose price tag Bellamy puts at around $2 million. “Before, we've always left the big stuff in Europe,” says drummer Dominic Howard. “It’s nice to bring the bells and whistles over here and say, ‘Look how we roll!’”

  For all the firepower out front, the scene backstage couldn't be calmer. The entirety of their rider - a fruit basket, two packs of gum, an unopened bottle of Grey Goose, some extra boxers, etc. — fits on a small table. Bassist Christopher Wolstenholme sits smoking an old wooden tobacco pipe.

“This blend is called Raven’s Nest,” he says. “I haven’t smoked weed since I was 15, so it’s kind of like being very, very mildly stoned.” Bellamy, meanwhile, spends the afternoon reading a book on evolution by English biologist Richard Dawkins and schooling a visitor on one of his favorite left-libertarian causes, a radical revolution in property rights. (“If it’s not addressed,” he says, “it could tip in an incredibly chaotic fashion - especially in a country like America, where guns are legal.”)

  In the arena, the lights go down on a sold-out crowd. As the band sprints through hits like “Supermassive Black Hole,” from the Twilight soundtrack, and the six-minute “Knights of Cydonia,’ a spectacular blur of flashing lights, smoke jets and lasers mirrors the sound. Bellamy, in a sparkly silver suit, is everywhere at once, banging away on a glowing grand piano and climbing the wings with his guitar. “Playing live is one of the few things in life where you're living totally for the moment,” he says backstage. “It’s kind of like an addiction.”

  After the show, the band’s dressing room has a celebratory air. Word just arrived that Muse’s new single, “Resistance", will top next week's alt-rock radio chart, and a parade of label big shots come through to pay respects. In the corner, Howard and Bellamy seem tired but happy, sipping beers and chatting with two sweet-faced older ladies. “This is my mum!” Howard says. “And this is my mum!” says Bellamy. Their mothers flew in from England for a few days, and the sons are regaling them with afterparties and dinner at Robert De Niro’s steakhouse.

  “For many years, we accepted that nothing was going to happen in America,” Wolstenholme says. “The other day in D.C., I got recognized by, like, six people.” He takes a long puff on his pipe. “It’s nice to feel like America’s caught up with everywhere else.”