Korea Times 2007-01-14 – British Band Muse to Rock Seoul
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British Band Muse to Rock Seoul
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
British modern rock trio Muse will finally give Korean fans a taste of their wildly energetic live performances, holding their first concert here at the Chamsil Gymnasium, southern Seoul on March 7.
Muse members Matthew Bellamy, Dominic Howard and Chris Wolstenholme met as teenagers in the early 1990s in Teignmouth, Devon, England. Then 14-year-old Bellamy joined Howard’s band as a guitarist. When the band’s bassist left, they asked Wolstenholme to learn to play the bass guitar.
After a couple of years of performing in the British indie rock scene, Muse made a breakthrough with their debut album ``Showbiz” in 1999. While their music was initially compared to Radiohead, Muse has since then established a distinctly aggressive sound combining rock, electronica and metal.
Muse’s next albums, `` Origin of Symmetry,” `` Absolution” and `` Black Holes and Revelations” were also commercially successful and critically acclaimed. Their albums have sold a combined total of more than seven million copies in the U.K. Hits include `` Time is Running Out,” ``Stockholm Syndrome (song) | Stockholm Syndrome]],” `` Hysteria,” `` Plug in Baby” and `` Feeling Good.”
Critics and fans raved about ``Black Holes and Revelations, which was released last year. Rolling Stone magazine described it as ``one of the year’s most overblown records, mixing together huge, doom soundscapes, snarling guitars and space-age sound effects with Bellamy's operatic wail.” The album reached No. 1 on the U.K. charts.
Muse is best known for their electrifying live concert performances. Their reputation as one of the U.K.’s most exciting live rock bands was further boosted during their performances at the Glastonbury festival in 2004 and the Reading and Leeds festivals in 2006.
Muse won the award for ``Best Live Act” during the Brit Awards in 2005, and at the MTV European Music Video Awards in 2006. This year, the band will hold a concert at the newly renovated Wembley Stadium, which has a capacity of 90,000. Tickets for the June 16 Wembley concert were sold out in less than an hour. This prompted organizers to schedule another concert on June 17.
Tickets for the Seoul concert will be available from the online ticket service Interpark (www.interpark.com) starting Jan. 18. Ticket prices are 99,000 won, 88,000 won and 77,000 won. Those who bought tickets for the Hoobastank concert will get a 10,000 won discount.
cathy@koreatimes.co.kr
01-14-2007 18:56