The Drones World Tour 2015/16
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| Drones Festivals Tour 2015 | ← | The Drones World Tour 2015/16 | → | Drones Festivals Tour 2016 |
A headlining tour in support of Drones, The Drones World Tour 2015/16 or the Drones 360 Tour, as it's sometimes reffered to as, officially began on November 17th, 2015 with two sold out gigs at Palacio de Los Deportes in Mexico City. Prior to the tour, Muse have released an official teaser trailer for the it, which can be seen here. The tour ended in 2016.
Information
This was an indoor arena exclusive headlining tour. This was mainly because of the use of flying drones, the outdoor use of which was forbidden by the health and safety restrictions. The official start of the tour was, as mentioned, on November 17th 2015 in Mexico City. The tour lasted until the summer of 2016. Despite Muse previously "touching" the surround experience of a 360 show during both The Resistance and The 2nd Law tours, during which, on some occassions, audiences were also located on stands behind the stage, with the band giving them some interaction, mainly through a rotating drum riser, this was the first time that the band were actually put in the midle of the arena, on a 360 stage, giving all audiences a proper 360 visual and sonic experience.
According to Matt, this was Muse's version of Pink Floyd's famous The Wall.
Warm Up Gigs
The tour's warm up gigs took place on a short tour across Asia and South America in Autumn of 2015, including their first performance in mainland China. The warm up gigs' setlists had some basis for the main tour sets, with Psycho and Reapers as show openers, and Voodoo Child being the main intro to Supermassive Black Hole. These warm up gigs also included Unsustainable, which wasn't played on the main tour.
The first such gig was in Beijing, China, and the last one was in Bogotá, Columbia. The stage design was the same as with the Drones Festivals Tour 2015. Opening acts included The Ruse for most of Asian shows, Utopians for most of South American shows, and TELEBIT for the last show in Bogotá.
Stage/Production Design
The stage was based around a rotating circle in the middle of the arena, with two runways spreading out from it, spanning length-wise in the arena, each one with a bigger hammerhead B-stage on its end. In terms of stage-height, the stage and the runways were lower than usual, so that band could get intimate with the crowds, while the two elevated B-stages sat at stage-level. The two B-stages housed tech bunkers and cool-down areas for the band underneath them. Each of the hammerheads was also equipped with its own elevating platform (one for Chris and one for Matt and his piano). This was also the first Muse stage to feature no drum riser, and Morgan's equipment was placed in a bunker/hole lowered into the stage, placed behind Dom, facing the opposite direction. In order for the band to arrive inside the venue and to the stage, they blended themselves in by dressing up as "Revolt police", which consisted of several crew-members dressed as riot police from the Revolt music video, standing infront of the barriers, before the start of every show.
Above the main circle was a circular LED screen, displaying most of the visuals. Other visuals were projected on transparent curtains, placed above both the runways and the main stage, which got lowered at certain points during the concert. The visual aspects of the tour were producted by Moment Factory, a Montreal-based media and entertainment arts studio, which have worked on tours of various musical artists such as Bon Jovi, Madonna, Imagine Dragons and Nine Inch Nails as well as held their own visual art installations across the world.
One of the most notable aspects of the tour were also 16 custom-made autonomous inflatable drones, or HFOs (High Flying Objects), as the crew called them, made in partnership with a Dutch company Path65. The drones themselves consisted out of an inflatable ball, which was put inside a light propeller-fitted frame. These drones were controlled by a custom written computer program. Sensors, which helped control them, had to be calibrated for each venue, and were located throughout the entire venue. The drones were, when not in use, "parked" on trussing above the stage, where the "brains" of the system sat. Alongside these 16 HFOs was also one bigger inflatable drone, shaped like the famed MQ-9 Reaper military drone (thus adopting the nickname, "Reaper"), travelling above the audience during the middle part of The Globalist, starting with the Seattle gig. On night four in Paris, two such drones were used during the song. This was the only time that they've used two instead of one. The Reaper was sometimes refered to by fans as "The Dildrone". In Brussels, Drone stations had to be placed on the floor due to the height restrictions of the venue.
According to Bellamy, they originally wanted each of the 16 small drones to have it's own projection on it (hence the matte-white drones, which were used during the opening Mexico gigs in 2015), however that turned out to be technically impossible, prompting them to swap and use transparent drones for future shows instead. In the Drones World Tour movie, these projections were simulated using visual-FX.
During Mercy, both streamers, and confetti, shaped like "Drones" stick figures (as seen on the album cover) were released. Unlike previous tours, no CO2 streamers were used during or at the end of the show. The production also didn't allow Matt's feedback amp to be present on the stage, making this the first tour with no amps on stage.
The 'Drones' Enchanced Experience Package
The Enchanced Experience Package was a special VIP package containing one premium VIP ticket, early access to the venue, admission to the MUSEum, invitation to the pre-show party at the so called Starlight Lounge, one limited edition tour poster designed exclusively for the Enchanced Experience guests, one souvenir laminate and private merch shopping.
The MUSEum
The MUSEum was a travelling exhibition which was, as mentioned above, available to visit by buying the Enchanced Experience Package. As its name suggests, the exhibition included various memorabilia from Muse's previous tours, such as musical gear, costumes and VIP/crew passes.
The MUSEum was included as part of the experience again at the North American Summer Amphitheatre Tour in 2017, the gallery of which can be seen on the tour's page.
Drones World Tour (Live Film)
The Drones World Tour movie was released on July 12th 2018 in cinemas all around the world. The movie was directed by Tom Kirk and Jan Willem Schram with additional direction and production by Hans-Peter Van Velthoven. It was produced by Corrino Studios. The movie is comprised of footage shot at four European shows in 2016, in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
More on the film here.
Average setlist
- Drones (choir track)
- Psycho / Reapers
- Dead Inside
- Interlude + Hysteria
- Plug in Baby (extended outro) / Bliss (extended outro) / Citizen Erased
- Isolated System
- The Handler
- Map of the Problematique / Resistance
- Supermassive Black Hole
- Prelude + Starlight
- United States of Eurasia / Apocalypse Please / Feeling Good
- Munich Jam (fast ending)
- Madness
- Undisclosed Desires / Resistance (if not played earlier)
- JFK + Reapers (if not played earlier) / Revolt / Stockholm Syndrome / Interlude + Hysteria (if not played earlier)
- Time Is Running Out
- Uprising (extended outro)
- The Globalist
- Drones (reprise)
Encore
Notes
- Several minor setlist changes were made during the first couple of gigs (such as Reapers opening and Psycho being the second track) of the tour, allthough the setlist have became consistent throughout the tour.
- Drill Sergeant sometimes replaced Drones at the beginning at gigs where HFOs weren't used.
Main Tour Stats
| Album | # of songs | Songs played |
|---|---|---|
| Showbiz | 1 | Sunburn |
| Origin of Symmetry | 4 | Bliss, Plug in Baby, Citizen Erased, Feeling Good |
| Absolution | 7 | Apocalypse Please, Time Is Running Out, Stockholm Syndrome, Interlude, Hysteria, Blackout, Butterflies and Hurricanes |
| Black Holes and Revelations | 6 | Take a Bow, Starlight, Supermassive Black Hole, Map of the Problematique, Assassin, Knights of Cydonia |
| The Resistance | 4 | Uprising, Resistance, Undisclosed Desires, United States of Eurasia |
| The 2nd Law | 5 | Supremacy, Madness, Panic Station, Prelude, The 2nd Law: Isolated System |
| Drones | 11 | Dead Inside, [Drill Sergeant], Psycho, Mercy, Reapers, The Handler, [JFK], Defector, Revolt, The Globalist, Drones |
| Other | 2 | Munich Jam, Glasgow Jam |
Asia / S. America Warm-Up Tour Stats
| Album | # of songs | Songs played |
|---|---|---|
| Showbiz | 1 | Muscle Museum |
| Origin of Symmetry | 3 | Plug in Baby, Citizen Erased, Feeling Good |
| Absolution | 5 | Apocalypse Please, Time Is Running Out, Stockholm Syndrome, Interlude, Hysteria |
| Black Holes and Revelations | 4 | Starlight, Supermassive Black Hole, Map of the Problematique, Knights of Cydonia |
| The Resistance | 2 | Uprising, Resistance |
| The 2nd Law | 1 | Madness, Prelude, Animals, The 2nd Law: Unsustainable |
| Drones | 2 | Dead Inside, [Drill Sergeant], Psycho, Mercy, Reapers, The Handler, [JFK], Revolt |
| Other | 1 | Munich Jam |
Gigs
| Date | Venue | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 2016-06-21 | Olimpiyskiy | Moscow, Russia |
| 2016-06-17 | Žalgirio Arena | Kaunas, Lithuania |
| 2016-06-16 | Riga Arena | Riga, Latvia |
| 2016-06-14 | Hartwall Arena | Helsinki, Finland |
| 2016-06-12 | Telenor Arena | Oslo, Norway |
| 2016-06-11 | Ericsson Globe | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 2016-06-09 | Forum | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| 2016-06-08 | Forum | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| 2016-06-06 | Barclaycard Arena | Hamburg, Germany |
| 2016-06-04 | O2 Arena | Prague, Czech Republic |
| 2016-06-03 | Mercedes Benz Arena | Berlin, Germany |
| 2016-05-21 | Mediolanum Forum | Milan, Italy |
| 2016-05-20 | Mediolanum Forum | Milan, Italy |
| 2016-05-18 | Mediolanum Forum | Milan, Italy |
| 2016-05-17 | Mediolanum Forum | Milan, Italy |
| 2016-05-15 | Mediolanum Forum | Milan, Italy |
| 2016-05-14 | Mediolanum Forum | Milan, Italy |
| 2016-05-12 | Hallenstadion | Zurich, Switzerland |
| 2016-05-11 | Hallenstadion | Zurich, Switzerland |
| 2016-05-09 | Wiener Stadthalle | Vienna, Austria |
| 2016-05-06 | Barclaycard Center | Madrid, Spain |
| 2016-05-05 | Barclaycard Center | Madrid, Spain |
| 2016-05-03 | MEO Arena | Lisbon, Portugal |
| 2016-05-02 | MEO Arena | Lisbon, Portugal |
| 2016-04-18 | SSE Hydro | Glasgow, Scotland |
| 2016-04-17 | SSE Hydro | Glasgow, Scotland |
| 2016-04-15 | O2 Arena | London, England |
| 2016-04-14 | O2 Arena | London, England |
| 2016-04-12 | O2 Arena | London, England |
| 2016-04-11 | O2 Arena | London, England |
| 2016-04-09 | Manchester Arena | Manchester, England |
| 2016-04-08 | Manchester Arena | Manchester, England |
| 2016-04-06 | The SSE Arena | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| 2016-04-05 | 3Arena | Dublin, Ireland |
| 2016-04-03 | O2 Arena | London, England |
| 2016-04-02 | Barclayard Arena | Birmingham, England |
| 2016-03-31 | Olympiahalle | Munich, Germany |
| 2016-03-16 | Palais 12 | Brussels, Belgium |
| 2016-03-15 | Palais 12 | Brussels, Belgium |
| 2016-03-13 | Palais 12 | Brussels, Belgium |
| 2016-03-12 | Palais 12 | Brussels, Belgium |
| 2016-03-10 | Ziggo Dome | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| 2016-03-09 | Ziggo Dome | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| 2016-03-07 | Ziggo Dome | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| 2016-03-06 | Lanxess Arena | Cologne, Germany |
| 2016-03-04 | Bercy Arena | Paris, France |
| 2016-03-03 | Bercy Arena | Paris, France |
| 2016-03-01 | Bercy Arena | Paris, France |
| 2016-02-29 | Bercy Arena | Paris, France |
| 2016-02-27 | Bercy Arena | Paris, France |
| 2016-02-26 | Bercy Arena | Paris, France |
| 2016-02-01 | Verizon Center | Washington, DC, USA |
| 2016-01-31 | Wells Fargo Center | Philadelphia, PA, USA |
| 2016-01-29 | Prudential Center | Newark, NJ, USA |
| 2016-01-27 | Barclays Center | Brooklyn, NY, USA |
| 2016-01-25 | TD Garden | Boston, MA, USA |
| 2016-01-23 | Centre Vidéotron | Quebec City, QC, Canada |
| 2016-01-21 | Centre Bell | Montréal, QC, Canada |
| 2016-01-20 | Centre Bell | Montréal, QC, Canada |
| 2016-01-18 | Centre Vidéotron | Quebec City, QC, Canada |
| 2016-01-16 | Air Canada Centre | Toronto, ON, Canada |
| 2016-01-14 | Joe Louis Arena | Detroit, MI, USA |
| 2016-01-13 | United Center | Chicago, IL, USA |
| 2016-01-09 | Mandalay Bay | Las Vegas, NV, USA |
| 2016-01-07 | Valley View Casino Center | San Diego, CA, USA |
| 2015-12-19 | Staples Center | Los Angeles, CA, USA |
| 2015-12-18 | Staples Center | Los Angeles, CA, USA |
| 2015-12-15 | Oracle Arena | Oakland, CA, USA |
| 2015-12-13 | Moda Center | Portland, OR, USA |
| 2015-12-12 | KeyArena | Seattle, WA, USA |
| 2015-12-10 | Rogers Arena | Vancouver, BC, Canada |
| 2015-12-05 | Gila River Arena | Phoenix, AZ, USA |
| 2015-12-02 | American Airlines Center | Dallas, TX, USA |
| 2015-12-01 | Toyota Center | Houston, TX, USA |
| 2015-11-20 | Palacio de los Deportes - 20th | Mexico City, Mexico |
| 2015-11-18 | Palacio de los Deportes - 18th | Mexico City, Mexico |
| 2015-11-17 | Palacio de los Deportes - 17th | Mexico City, Mexico |
| 2015-11-11 | Los Angeles Sports Arena (Dress Rehearsal show) | Los Angeles, CA, USA |