And, the winner of the most incredible -- and surprising -- best show? MUSE. My expectations were low -- am not really a Muse fan. But, the bombast and bravado worked tremendously on the main stage -- amid the mountains -- on Saturday night. As I tweeted after their set, the torch has now been passed from U2 -- to Coldplay -- to Muse as the champions of arena rock. In fact, speaking of champions (as in "We are the Champions, My Friends"), Muse reminds me a lot like Queen. Incredibly dramatic ... and that's a good thing. The band's multi-media show during the set powered their music -- taking it to new heights -- rather then overpower it. Fantastic.
Too many highlights to list them all, so instead, I'll just give you my Top 10 favorite sets -- starting at #10.
#10 -- Them Crooked Vultures (David Grohl was on fire)
#9 -- Vampire Weekend (3rd time seeing them; expectations were too high)
#8 -- Yeasayer (the more I listen to them, the more I like them)
#7 -- Deer Tick (wacky lead singer; great music)
#6 -- the XX (one of the hottest bands around right now)
#5 -- Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros (a cross between the Grateful Dead and a cult)
#4 -- deadmau5 (the evil mouse head during the late night set was classic)
#3 -- Devo (yes, Devo -- vintage, classic -- great; brought me back to 1984)
#2 -- the Avett Brothers (great music, and surprisingly powerful live show)
#1 -- Muse (the new kings of arena rock)
