London Earls Court Exhibition Centre 2004 - 19th (gig)
| Muse show | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Earls Court Exhibition Centre[1][2] |
| Date | 19th December 2004[1][2] |
| Location | London[source?] |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Songs | 19[2] |
| Support | Soulwax,[3] The Zutons[1][4][source?] |
| Start (UTC) | 20:00[source?], 18:00[note 1] (doors) |
| Capacity | 19,000[source?] |
| Price (GBP) | 25.00[note 1] |
| Sold out? | Yes[source?] |
| Gig nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Numbers Nightclub | ← | Earls Court Exhibition Centre – 19th | → | Earls Court Exhibition Centre – 20th |
Information
Often considered one of Muse's greatest ever performances, the two nights at Earls Court felt like a very special occasion. The band were coming back home for the first time after a very long tour in the USA, and just in time to wrap up the year before Christmas.
The concert was announced on the 18th October 2004.[1] Pre-sale was from 09:00 on the 20th October through Seetickets,[1] while general sale started on the 23th October at 09:00.[1] Further tickets were put on sale on the 19th of November at 09:00 through gigsandtours.com.[5]
The Show
This was the 'red jacket' gig, with the Mexican wave.
Dominic Howard and Christopher Wolstenholme opened up the gig, while Matthew Bellamy ran around backstage with a camera which was linked to the big screens on stage.[source?] He ran up to (and embarrassed) security guards and made 'rock' gestures with his hand in front of the lens.[source?] Finally, he ran in front of the audience, many of whom had their faces on the big screens, before handing the camera to a stage-hand and starting Hysteria.[source?]
After The Small Print, Matt smashed the Ibanez guitar he was playing. He subsequently picked it up, walked to the edge of the stage, and threw the guitar into the audience. The Micro Cuts ending slowed down to an almost complete stop. Crying Shame was performed live for the first time, and for the only time in the UK. Bellamy commented in the XFM interview preceding the next day's concert that the new song went down "like a ton of bricks". [6]
Thomas Kirk commented that the new songs, Crying Shame included along with Dead Star and Micro Cuts, were his favourite moments at the Earls Court gigs.[7]
Speech
| After Hysteria | Bellamy | "Thanks very much! It's good to be home!" |
| Before Stockholm Syndrome | "Thank you very much for coming today! We're home, this is our home, it's great to be back. We're called Muse by the way. And er, what can I say? Merry Christmas!" |
Media
A video recording of Hysteria [watch], made by Thomas Kirk was made available to the fans via the website as a 'Christmas Present from Muse' in December 2005. The same performance of Hysteria in audio format was also released as a bonus track on the XX Anniversary remaster of Absolution in 2023.
Video of The Small Print was also released, and Dead Star was broadcast instead of Glorious on the XFM radio broadcast the following night. An audience audio recording in lossless (FLAC) format can be found on MuseBootlegs here.
And interview with XFM that took place in between the two nights can be viewed on YouTube here.
Attire
This night featured Matt in a red coat, until it was taken off after the first encore. This marks the only occasion Matt was pictured in this coat during the Absolution Tour. He would go on to where the coat once more, three years later at the Rock Werchter Festival in 2007.
Trivia
Both nights were fully recorded and at the time, were long rumoured to be the band's next commercial DVD. However, during Autumn 2005, Thomas Kirk posted on the official Muse messageboard that the "sound mix wasn't good enough”, so the films were scrapped and the Glastonbury footage from earlier in the year was repurposed and released for the Absolution Tour DVD. Despite this, several pro-shots from across both nights have subsequently been released, including The Small Print and Stockholm Syndrome from the 20th that were included on the Absolution Tour DVD as bonus footage.
Setlist
- Dracula Mountain (instrumental) [watch]
(Manson Bomber, Zon Sonus Custom 4) - Hysteria [watch]
(Manson Bomber, Zon Sonus Custom 4) - Butterflies & Hurricanes
- New Born
- Sing for Absolution
- Crying Shame [watch]
- Muscle Museum
- Citizen Erased
- Ruled by Secrecy
- Pre-Sunburn '04 piano intro + Sunburn (keyboard)
- Thoughts of a Dying Atheist
- Riff + The Small Print + Township Rebellion riff [watch]
(Ibanez Destroyer, black Pedulla Rapture RB5) - Heartbreaker riff + Time Is Running Out
(Manson Laser) - Plug In Baby
- Bliss (extended)
Encore 1
- Dead Star
- Micro Cuts (extended outro)
Encore 2
- Intro + Apocalypse Please
- Stockholm Syndrome + 0123 riff + Endless Nameless riff (or a variation of it) + Hyper Chondriac Heavy riff
Gallery
Notes
References
- ↑ a b c d e f London gig announced (2004-10-19). MicroCuts. Retrieved 2007-11-26 from microcuts.net.
- ↑ a b c Earl's Court setlist (2004-12-20). MicroCuts. Retrieved 2007-11-24 from microcuts.net.
- ↑ Tom Wilson. (2004-11-02). Soulwax to support Muse on the 19th!. Retrieved 2007-11-24 from www.muselive.com.
- ↑ [Promotional poster]. Retrieved 2007-01-07. [verify]
- ↑ More Muse tickets on sale from Friday (2004-11-17). MicroCuts. Retrieved 2007-11-26 from microcuts.net.
- ↑ https://youtu.be/RMiKNAJkVKw?si=UGkCGKtw1ZIxOpVM
- ↑ Thomas Kirk. (2005-03-02). Tom Kirk Live Webcast. Muselive. Retrieved 2007-03-07 from www.muselive.com. [verify]