Irish Daily Star 2010-07-12 – One Bell' of a festival show
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It says plenty about rockers Muse that they've been invited back to headlne Oxegen just two years after last having the honour.
Then again, they've upped their game significanlty in that time. With the latest album The Resistance, they're hot on U2's heels in the hunt to become the biggest live band in the world. But in our exclusive interview with Muse ahead of their headline show on the Saturday, Muse frontman Matt Bellamy is modest about their status.
'We've at least 10 years to go before we get close to U2' he says'They've been an inspiration to us, especially when it comes to putting on a live show'
The group supported Bono and the boys last year - so were able to call up the Edge and get him to join them for their Glastonbury slot last month. Matt explains 'We felt bad for the crowd as U2 had to pull out of the festival so we decided to play 'Where the Street's Have No Name. But I couldn't play the guitar part so we decided to ask the Edge'
The U2 guitarist didn't reprise his guest duties at Oxegen on Saturday, but he was barely needed as the trio - completed by Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard - delivered a blistering set.
'We think of Ireland as a second home now' says Matt. 'Chris lives in Dublin with his family and a lot of my family come from the North, so they're coming down to see us.'
'We'll be playing our festival set at Oxegen. We have a stadium show with UFOs and spinning platforms and all sorts of stuff, but we can't bring that to festivals so we try to makeup for it by wearing silly costumes and playing unpredicatable setlist's'
Famed for their spectacular set designs and visuals, we wonder if the reliance on technology is sometimes a hindrance. 'Oh yes - we've definately had our fair share of Spinal Tap moments' the multi million selling star says. 'Like in our indoor arena shows we have 3 moving platforms which go 6 or 7 metres of the ground. At the start we're around a curtain that reveals us, but for the first few concerts it kept getting stuck. At one of the shows, the curtain came down and landed on my head, so I had to play with this big sheet over me, looking like a ghost! But I think our fans like it when we embaress ourselves.'
When talk turns to the new direction of their next album, Bellamy explains the difference between tnes from more recent years like Knights of Cydonia to earlier material like Sunburn. He says:'We've been taking influence from our live show by playing music that was relevant to a large environment. Pronouns moved from 'me' and 'I' to 'we' and 'us'. But my personal life has changed quite radically in the lastyear, lots of things have gone on, so there's every possibility we'll get back to a little more personal stuff - I can feel that step back is on the cards. I've writtensome things already and they seem to be more mellowish - it's basically less orchestrated and more stripped down. Whether that's the whole album or not is a different matter'
The personal stuff in case you were wondering, has plenty to do with his beau, Kate Hudson. Bellamy met the actress in April and they have been an item ever since. Recent reports seemed to suggest that it's very serious with Matt meeting her mum Goldie Hawn and not denying the possibility of marriage in the future. But when quizzed about the stunning blonde, he says these quotes are "absolutely 'madeup" However he add's it going really well.