Muse, Glastonbury Festival

By Ian Burrell

28 June 2004

If ever a band ought to have been prepared for playing the Main Stage at Glastonbury it was Muse. The West Country outfit (hailing from Exeter) have been coming to the festival since they were teenagers.

And this was as close as the Main Stage got to the memorable Radiohead set on the same platform last year. Muse stepped up to the plate for the biggest gig of their career, opening with "Hysteria" before entering into "New Born".

The band went on to paint a series of dreamy soundscapes from the albums Showbiz, Origin of Symmetry and Absolution.

The weather had turned cold for the last embers of the festival but the Muse faithful looked on from around their campfires, as the band made spectacular use of the Glastonbury lighting system.

A high point of the set was the single "Time Is Running Out", with searing guitars and Matthew Bellamy's high-pitched vocals building to a crescendo that perfectly suited the setting and the occasion.

Muse's homecoming was assured, although elements of the crowd seemed a little disappointed that it was over so soon.

Earlier, a red-shirted Morrissey produced one of the strongest performances of this year's Glastonbury. He mixed his solo material with Smiths' tracks such as "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out".

In an occasional aside to the audience, he said: "I know we have some friends out there ... 12.'' It was the understatement of the day.