British rockers Muse coming after all; The Chemical brothers and Apollo 440 to host a grand dance party
Against all odds, Muse, one of the most celebrated British bands of our time, is coming to play a gig in Kyiv, promoting their latest award-winning album, “Black Holes and Revelations.” Over the summer, news spread that Muse was cancelling its Kyiv concert. The confusion had nothing to do with Muse’s unwillingness to play in Ukraine’s capital, but rather was created by the Russian company that had originally signed an agreement with the band’s management, as well as governmental officials, who were too busy getting ready for elections to provide all the necessary permits. Luckily, everything was resolved by the Ukrainian company ASA, who has brought stars like The Black Eyed Peas and Jamiroquai to Ukraine.
Muse is a progressive rock band formed in Teignmouth, Devon in 1997, comprised of Matthew Bellamy (vocals,) Chris Wolstenholme (bass guitar) and Dominic Howard (drums). The band blends alternative and progressive rock, funk, electronica, and heavy metal, creating a sub-genre dubbed new prog. Muse is known best for their energetic live performances and frontman Matthew Bellamy’s eccentric interests in global conspiracy, theology and the apocalypse. Their most recent album, “Black Holes and Revelations,” charted at No. 1 in the UK, much of Europe, and Australia, and also achieved success in the US, reaching No. 9 on the Billboard 200 album chart. In their latest album, Muse has created a more original, progressive style of rock music different from their Radiohead-esque debut “Showbiz.” Baroque and grandiose, theatrical and space-age, the Devon three-piece’s epic sound was destined to reach giddy heights. “Black Holes and Revelations” has a strong political theme that follows the earlier albums and marks a new direction for the band. It often describes the more controversial elements of this topic, including “unjustifiable war, abusive power, conspiratorial manipulation and populist revolt,” and is strongly influenced by the conspiracy theories that are popular amongst the band. The album earned a Platinum Europe Award after selling one million copies in Europe, while the band also won the BRIT award for Best Live Act in February 2007.
In 2007, Total Guitar Magazine hailed Matt Bellamy as “the first guitar genius of the 21st century” and NME Magazine voted him the 14th Greatest Rock’n’roll Hero of all time, beating Lennon, Dylan and many musical greats. If you haven’t yet witnessed Muse’s dazzling show with flames, fireworks, glitter and graceful dancers spinning below suspended balloons – it’s about time to get hold of a ticket.
Palats Sportu (1 Sportyvna Ploshcha, 246-7406). Oct. 13, 7 p.m. Tickets: Hr 130 to Hr 550
Two British electronic music megastars, The Chemical Brothers and Apollo 440, are coming to Kyiv for the Djuice Music Drive Festival. Grammy Award winning electronic music duo from England, The Chemical Brothers is comprised of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method and other lesser-known acts, the “brothers” were the pioneers of the big beat electronic dance genre, and are known for high-quality live sets, credited for being one of the few truly arena-sized electronic acts. Their live shows feature large screens displaying psychedelic images, strobe lights and lasers that project over the crowd. The Brothers have also played at many major festivals, from Glastonbury to Reading and currently hold the record for most gigs performed in a year at the Brixton Academy.
Summer of 2007 saw the release of their latest album to date, “We Are the Night,” in which they continued collaborating with famous rock outfits. In addition to performing their own music they also hold regular DJ nights, mixing other artists’ tracks.
Supporting band Apollo 440, known to wide audiences for such hits as “Don’t Stop the Rock,” have successfully invaded both the pop charts and the dancefloor with their combination of rock, techno and ambient. They will surely do a good job heating you up before you meet with the incredible Chemical Brothers.
Palats Sportu (1 Sportyvna Ploshcha, 246-7406). Oct. 18, 7 p.m. Tickets: Hr 60 to Hr 160
