Tails from the Bark Side

So, tonight my Twitter and the resulting feed straight onto Facebook probably lost me a few subscribers. MUES. MUUUUUUES! I watched them live on the intarwebs. I think my best quote was, 'JUST WHEN I think I'm done with following this ridiculous space pony queen band I see them live and explode with spam.'



Why wasn't I there? Cry. And where can I get a suit like that? And while I'm not sure what I think of the new album, please, you have enough good songs so can stop playing Starlight now, guys.

So, as well, my mum got married last weekend. It was wonderful and emotional and here are some photos.







I'm a bit emo at the moment for some reason. Can't explain it and I've lost all interest in documenting my silly life too. So I'll stfu and gtfo.

Every Muse gig I've been to has been special for a different reason. I've seen them 10 times, because when you're there you really get a feeling that each show is a REAL moment in history. This is the only show on Earth! They are fantastic live. I don't go on about them all the time for no reason. But, if you haven't already skipped past this post with a mumble of, 'Oh God, Gemsy's babbling about that ridiculous Queen band again', then you've probably heard about the setlist beef...

Bands get bigger stage shows as their catalogue of work and fanbase gets bigger. Well, duh! More money, more scope for mad ideas, crazier outfits, more drugs and less rock 'n' roll. Of course, it gets harder to please everybody. There's new fans, and there's the old ones who talk of 'glory days'. All bands get it, and they carry on rolling in dosh, either giving a toss about what the fans think or not. A lot of Muse's fans aren't happy. I don't think the band have stopped giving a toss, but it sounds like they've got complacent. The setlist is short. I joked the other day that they're playing all the songs I normally skip! Even though I love all their songs, and watching Muse is always going to be the best way to spend an evening (even if it's £60 for 1 song) they just seem a bit lazy these days. Teignmouth felt quite lazy. We were excited to hear the new songs for the first time, but they didn't sound that exciting (Unnatural Selection excluded!) My mates and I were a bit disappointed after the gig, truth be told (the awful crowd probably had a lot to do with that!) We actually booed when the Feeling Good megaphone came out. I have to admit, hearing the singles and crowd-pleasers every time... it gets a bit dull. But we discussed it thus, "Yeah but it's a homecoming gig, they're gonna play hits rather than album tracks and fan favourites." And the curfew was early. And the sound levels had to be low. But, even though they played Cave (!) there was something else lacking. It's hard to explain, but it's a vibe, maaan. In Teignmouth I had the depressing thought that maybe I just didn't like them anymore, but my love for The Resistance certainly put the kybosh on that idea. Yeah, there's definitely just a weird vibe with the live show. I didn't think that vibe would continue on the tour, but by all accounts, it is.

Tonight's Liverpool gig was over at 10pm. Crazy. I remember running for trains after Muse gigs, because their last jam would go on until 11:06, 11:10... then they'd come back and say thanks again, throw champagne around, dive into the drumkit and smash everything up. Maybe they feel like they don't need to work hard anymore? It's like they can't be arsed. Maybe they've realised that they could stroll in and play Feeling Good three times and just the verse of Starlight and then go home, and they'd still get a 'best live band' award. It definitely feels like they've lost it a bit. It's a bit like when the Manics alienated a lot of old fans by only playing songs from Everything Must Go and This Is My Truth... They came back with a bang, so hopefully Muse will too. Just seems weird that this 'slow' vibe is appearing at the height of their career. Matt admitted that they've had no time to rehearse, which I found a bit shocking. No rehearsals for a world tour, touring a number 1 album? Really? And the stories are getting worse, 18 songs, then 17, then 16... rumours of pre-recorded vocals... tonight people were even discussing the possibility that the band could be ill!

So, the argument keeps going in circles. Most people are still thrilled and excited to be seeing them, myself included, which is brilliant. Some people are whinging, myself included, which is disappointing. Haha. Most people are coming back from the gigs full of yay, but some people are shaking their heads and wondering why they bothered. Of course there's no way they can please everyone and there's nothing we can do about it - no amount of moaning and harrassing the band on Twitter is going to change anything. We didn't get Escape added to the setlist, and we didn't get our Bobbleheads (boo!) Really, I think the show is still amazing (it's the lads on a stage playing some instruments ffs, how can they really be bad?!) and this is really just a case of old fans being the worst critics. They always are, the miserable bastards. Of course I want Dead Star and Glorious and Space Dementia and Ruled by Secrecy and The Small Print and Hyper Music (the last one isn't that much of a far-out request! It was a single!) As I keep saying, 'short' doesn't necessarily mean 'shit'. I think this time next week I'll be just as pumped as I normally am when I've been to a Muse gig. Plus, by the sounds of it we'll still be able to catch last orders! :)

SATURDAY 14TH NOVEMBER IS LYNZI DAY!

NB: I wrote all this, then was reminded that today is actually Showbiz's 10th birthday. How WEIRD.

Moar NBs: TOM KIRK. What a dude.

I threatened to do this the other day, and my Saturday sucked, so here it is! I was hoovering today, and listening to their new album for the 68th time, and it dawned on me that I've been into Muse for ten years. TEN. They're the only band who've managed to keep my attention for so long. I go on and off actually listening to tons of their music but I still keep up with their shenanigans and buy all their stuff without thinking about it. As I'm going through such a fangirly stage again at the moment (since Teignmouth and the release of The Resistance) I realised that I really should take some time to tell you why I love this ridiculous rock band so much. This damn band, who have given me TEN YEARS of good times, jolly adventures, and made me so many great friends. There are lots of links and I've tried to use lovely old Microcuts.tv for videos where I can, but most of it's from YouTube. I hope it doesn't get Warnered. So, here goes; 35 reasons why I think Muse are the only best greatest modern rock band ever in history since the Fifties.

( GO! )