From a gig yesterday in front of 150 people, to one in front of around 70,000 today - a slightly different kettle of fish, it is fair to say. This was also my first visit to the new Wembley, amid tales of £5 pies, £8 burgers (it sounds like a slightly more expensive version of the Emirates Stadium), and of course after a year's delay in opening the place to begin with. Along with it also came all the stuff you expect from stadium gigs - general lowest common denominator nonsense that comes from hosting lots of occasional gig-goers, for whom this is the big day out of the summer. That means Zane Lowe playing music in between bands - he is from Radio One you know!The rain cleared off in the middle of the afternoon, in time for the bands starting. First band on were Rodrigo Y Gabriela, a (male and female) pair of Mexicans who play with just 2 acoustic guitars. Given this, they make a very interesting noise, based obviously around a "Spanish" guitar sound. One plays proper guitar stuff, whilst the other uses her guitar to provide beats, bass, and general rhythm to the songs. Comparisons with the White Stripes would be obvious, and justified in that these are 2 musicians who specialise in using their instruments very creatively. Very interesting, but the sound they were making was little more than background noise in this kind of setting - a shame, because I'm sure in a smaller venue (or just one with a roof), they would be interesting to go and see.
Next up were Dirty Pretty Things, who I saw a couple of times last year, but haven't encountered since about this time last summer. They played an energetic set, but one which also never really hit the heights for me. I know that being in a stadium is not the ideal setting for a band like DPT, but they and their sound just seemed to be getting lost in the hugeness of the venue. They did play a couple of newer songs, which sounded promising, but the set for me had an air of a rent-a-band appearance, without them really seeming to put all that much into it. Clearly a band that are much better in a smaller venue - I didn't enjoy this set, but blame the venue as much as the band for that.
Finally, main support act were The Streets. They most certainly were capable of pulling off a show in a stadium this size, they played a fantastic hour-long set, which really got the crowd going. Including the majority of their singles, and a pleasing number of songs from their debut album, the live band were excellent, and Mike Skinner did a great job of engaging with the audience, making them laugh, and getting people excited about what was coming later. They initially seemed to be trying to win the Muse crowd over, possibly aware that not everybody would necessarily have been huge Streets fans. But they seemed to succeed in that task very quickly, and milked it from there on.A highlight of The Streets' set was the constant banter from Mike Skinner about Freddie Mercury playing at Wembley Stadium, especially the over-the-top audience hand-clapping for Radio Ga Ga. He seemed to be taking the piss out of the whole venue, and of stadium rock pomposity and cheesiness. Which was very amusing, and went down very well. Lots of his banter and one-liners were very funny - this was a brilliant set, and a real bonus to see this on the support bill for a gig I was already going to anyway. The NME were also quick to report what happened in the set.
For all of the support bands, the stadium had been weirdly empty, or emptier than expected at any rate. I think the new trend of selling specific reserved seats for these gigs, instead of just unreserved seating, must encourage people to show up later, safe in the knowledge that their seat is safely waiting for them. But it must be annoying for even a main support band at a gig like that, to be playing to a half-empty stadium.
So, Muse finally arrived just after half past eight, appearing on a small tower in the middle of the pitch, then walking to the stage. Getting the crowd jumping immediately with Knights of Cydonia, they made a lot of noise - like the White Stripes with two people, their sound is a very big, powerful and impressive sound for three people to be making. Over the next 2 hours, they played a set which delighted the crowd, but left me thinking that it was all a bit routine - sure, the biggest gig of their career, and all the big riffs were present and correct, but all in all a very standard and theatrical Muse gig.
I am not the biggest Muse fan in the world - I have been aware of them for their whole career, saw them live a couple of times (but a few years ago now), know several of their songs, see them all over music TV channels, and hear them all the time on radio stations like XFM. But I don't really "get" why people like them so much. And I certainly don't get how a band like that can sell out Wembley Stadium twice - I never thought that this many people had heard of them, let alone liked them or were interested in going to see them. Some of their songs are OK, some are good even, but it is just fairly standard (if very loud and powerful) stadium rock music.
The gig was good, and all of the reports will obviously talk about how Muse triumphed, and reigned supreme over Wembley Stadium for 2 nights, but it all seemed a bit strange to me - just seeing how many people like them, and sort of wondering why.
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