Muse!! The Grammy winning trio bring their 'The Wow! Signal Tour' to Toronto’s RBC Amphitheatre
- Justin Michael Carriere
- 19 hours ago
- 9 min read
By: Justin Michael Carriere
Toronto, Canada - Muse. And they were. For 16,000 people!! The lads from London (the UK, not the ON) have sold over 30 million albums since forming in 1994, won 2 Grammys (and a plethora of other awards) and are currently on tour for their 10th studio album The Wow! Signal. Matt Bellamy (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard), Chris Wolstenholme (bass, backing vocals) and Dominic Howard (drums, percussion) absolutely mesmerized a capacity crowd at the RBC Amphitheatre on Wednesday night with a stunning light show, frenetic pace and a selection of over 20 songs! With an assist from multi-instrumentalist Dan Lancaster, the band had the RBC crowd up on their feet from the get-go (more on this later!)
The excitement was sky high for this show, and you can count me as one of the excited! For one, it was my first time shooting at RBC Amphitheatre (shoutout to the whole team for making it a seamless experience!) and two, since 2009, anytime I hear “Uprising” I am instantly inspired to riot… in a safe and lawful way of course, but lookout because JMC’s about to become unleashed!!
The “worst in the world, apocalypse inspiring” air quality threatened to dampen the festivities, but TO concert goers are hardy folk. So, while the venue took a little longer to fill up than usual, by the time Muse took to the stage, the place was packed all the way to the back of the lawn!
The Temper Trap
Before the night skies settled in, opening band The Temper Trap took to the stage. When I was prepping to cover this show, I was listening to their catalogue, completely unfamiliar with it, until the opening riff of “Sweet Disposition” started… I was instantly transported back to the ‘2009 moon-eyed romantic’ version of Justin riding the (500) Days of Summer soundtrack wave! With mellow and infectious grooves, the indie pop band from Australia, formed in 2005, has 4 studio albums to their name including their 2026 release Sungazer.
Made up of Dougy Mandagi (lead vocals, guitar), Joseph Greer (lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Jonathon Aherne (bass, backing vocals) and Toby Dundas (drums, backing vocals), the quartet had a short but impactful set. Starting strong with “Love Lost”, Madangi’s vocals were smooth and on point, and while the crowd wasn’t quite as full as it might have been so early on due to the weather, those in attendance were in for a treat! Moving through their songs, they leaned into new material off the latest album like “Lucky Dimes”, “Into the Wild” and “Giving Up Air”, the latter of which served as a beautiful closer. And when the time came for “Sweet Disposition” the opening riff inspired just as much nostalgia and awe as it did over a decade ago! The track sounded great live and all in all the (now growing!) RBC crowd was served with a remarkable start to the evening courtesy of the gents from down under!
Oh! And lest I forget, it was Aherne’s birthday the following day, so happy belated sir! I hope he and the band enjoyed a beverage or two in celebration of that and an awesome set on Wednesday night!
The Temper Trap Photo Gallery (all photos by: Justin Michael Carriere)
Bloc Party
Next up on the RBC Amphitheatre Stage was Bloc Party. Hailing from the UK, the indie pop/rock/electronic quartet, formed in 1999, boasts 7 studio albums including their latest offering Anatomy Of A Brief Romance, due out September 11 of this year! Consisting of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, guitar), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, programming) Harry Deacon (bass, synth, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle (drums, backing vocals) the quartet offers a unique blend of electronica and guitar driven rock. When I first cracked into the band’s material, it seemed like it was going to be in the same vein as the late 90’s UK electronic explosion of The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers. And while there are definitely echoes of that, Bloc Party digs a little deeper, both lyrically and sonically.
Opening with “Coming On Strong” the tone was established early for a high energy set. Both Okereke and Lissack preside over an impressive array of guitar/programming pedals which provides them the ability to offer their signature sound live. Though it’s not without risk! While not audibly noticeable to us (well not to me anyways!) after their second tune “Hunting for Witches” there was a bit of a gap while one of the sound tech was out to inspect Lissack’s pedal board.
No harm no foul however, as Okereke had no problem filling the time with a bit of banter and telling the audience that “we’re from London and we’re not going to let a little poor air quality fuck things up!” Up and running again they ripped through “Rough Justice” and were back on track. Once they were done with that tune, so were us photographers. As we were filing out, being the gentleman that he is, Okereke said “bye photographers”. We reciprocated with a little wave which is of course the polite thing to do as gracious Canadian hosts!
Following up with “Love Bombs” off their forthcoming record, this tune has hit song all over it (I’ve listened to it multiple times since the show!). It’s got a catchy hook and a thick bass line under Okereke’s smooth chorus vocals. Check it out! Another highlight from their time was the track “Blue”. Prefacing it with “this next song is about true love except it wasn’t really true”, the stage was awash in blue light and Okereke’s smooth baritone (sliding effortlessly into falsetto) mixed with Bartle’s driving drums during the chorus gave an anthemic Cure-ian feel. And speaking of drums… Bartle is a machine! Such an anchor for the band and so many impressive fills on tunes like “He Begins To Lie” and crazy time signature break (with the rest of the band) on “Helicopter”.
Closing their time out, and before launching into “Ratchet”, Okereke quipped “Back home we call this next sort of song a banger… do you like bangers in Toronto?” And we do. And it was. An amped up tune with rapid fire lyrics and a perfect end for the now near capacity RBC capped off with a classic mic drop!
Bloc Party Photo Gallery (all photos by: Justin Michael Carriere)
Muse
After instruments were cleared, and “Mop Guy” (yes, the guy mopping the stage) received several ovations, the anticipation was getting high. Even for us photographers gathered at the front of the stage the buzz was real. As the clock came up on 9:00, the familiar swell of applause began… only to ebb away... false alarm! Then at 9:05 the applause started anew, but again, false alarm… after two or three of these, and many aMusing (see what I did there?) conspiracy theories, my favourite being “maybe he just stubbed his toe and needs a second!” the lights dropped… and we were away! Now, I’d heard that Muse puts on a good show… but I can’t even begin to describe it (but I will because that’s why you’re here!). My words likely won’t do the incredible spectacle justice, but I will do my very best!
Decked in red and black outfits, the band entered fully bathed in red lighting and gathered in front of Howard’s drum kit for a brief interlude before bursting into opener “Hysteria”, off their 2003 album Absolution. From the outset, Bellamy was a man possessed. I’d been thinking to myself before the show started that there was an awful lot of space for just two guys… turns out it’s the opposite! I’m not sure any stage on earth would be enough room to contain Bellamy’s electricity! He was back and forth from one end to the other, between bright red mic stands, down the middle thrust of the stage and essentially covered every inch of it before they’d even made it to their next tune!
Wolstenholme countered by moving in more of an intimidating swagger. He looks so bad ass in all the pics! And while Howard was a bit more bound to his kit, you could feel just as much intensity coming from behind the drums. And with neon green drumsticks and see through toms, his contribution to the “devastatingly cool” vibe could not be denied.
Following up with “Cryogen” the band moved right into “Supermassive Black Hole”… and I for one did not really make the connection until I heard someone behind me scream “Edward!!” But, regardless of how you got on board with the tune, the volume at RBC got ratcheted up a couple of notches! Tapping (literally) into the “Hexagons” intro Bellamy was on his knees in the middle of the stage briefly before getting up and right back to the mic for the start of the first verse… I should say at this point it was absolutely astonishing to watch this man in complete command of not only the music but the entire amphitheatre which was now 16,000 strong!!
After a brief stop at the merch booth, because how often are you going to get a chance to have a shirt that matches Matt Bellamy’s GUITAR, I was back at my seat. Though seat might be a bit of a misnomer… NO ONE WAS SITTING! And while that is often the case during PARTS of a show, I do not recall the last time I was in fixed seats and did not use it once. And this was the entire 200 section. Such is the aforementioned power of Bellamy and bandmates. An amazing stage presence, incredible music and a light and video show that rivals most.
Speaking of… this was the first time I could fully take in the massive lighting “cubes” hung above the stage. Moving up and down, and capable of projecting seemingly infinite patterns and shades it was awe inspiring. Combined with the extensive video production which saw two camera men on stage, a crane suspended above the centre thrust and a main camera in the pit stage left, this was a sensory experience that transcended a “concert”. While most bands use the side screens to simply project a larger image of what’s taking place on stage, Muse was seemingly making a concert film in real time; distorted filters, fisheye lenses, mirror images, over-head shots, and a myriad more.
Now… at this point in my review dear reader, I realize that should I continue dissecting every moment of this scintillating show, you’d be here reading for over an hour! So, I will move forward with some highlights, and know that for however many appear here, you can multiply them several times over. On we go!
Making full use of the light cubes to create a soft amber glow and a “cathedral” like appearance for “Be With You”, Bellamy’s vocals were immaculate and as the song crescendoed… confetti cannons exploded at the front of the stage and in the audience!!
While there was not a lot of banter from Bellamy (when you have an 11 album catalogue you need to get to it!) he took a quick moment to say, “Let me hear you sing on this one” before breaking into “Madness”. Personally this is my favourite Muse tune, so you better believe I indulged him. While I can’t hit those high notes (and neither could most of the RBC crowd) we sang loud and the performance of it was fantastic. Wolstenholme broke out the double neck bass (could have been a bass and guitar combo, couldn’t quite tell!) and by the end we were all singing along to the staccato lyric of ‘madness’.
When the time came for the “Uprising”, they used the JFK speech intro from “Defector” projected onto the screens before Wolstenholme took centre stage and kicked off with the opening riff on bass! Bellamy was sans guitar to begin with and when that first chorus dropped, myself, and the entire amphitheatre, came unleashed!! Well, as unleashed as we could without being escorted out. Bellamy eventually strapped the axe back on for an epic finish to the tune!
Another Wolstenholme centre stage moment was for a rendition of Ennio Morricone’s “Man With A Harmonica” to intro “Knights of Cydonia”. The tale worthy of a Morricone spaghetti western, with visions of an old-fashioned stand-off (check out the music video!) was punctuated in performance by the lyrics projected on the light cubes, huge flames exploding out of the back of the stage and an epic drum solo/outro by Howard!!
When “Nightshift Superstar” came around, Bellamy appeared decked out in a lit suit jacket and sunglasses. And I don’t mean “lit” in a slang way, literally lit up, as in lighting panels all over it and patterns projecting on the glasses!! He stayed in them for the rest of the show through “Undisclosed Desires” and the closer “Starlight”, another singalong with the whole amphitheatre, with Bellamy interjecting “we love you Canada” in between chorus lines.
For their encore, the band broke into “Take A Bow”, complete with lyrics displaying across Bellamy’s sunglasses, streamers exploding into the audience, lasers criss-crossing above our heads and fire balls shooting into the air!! As the band said their goodbyes, Howard took to the mic and, in what I wished was my super cool British accent, thanked us for being there and for “braving the fucked-up air tonight, we appreciate it!”
Set List
Interlude
Hysteria
Cryogen
Supermassive Black Hole
Hexagons
Thought Contagion
Intro
Stockholm Syndrome
Kill or Be Killed
Be With You
Psycho
Madness
Plug In Baby
Hanging in Victory Square (Ilan Eshkeri & Matt Bellamy cover)
Time Is Running Out
Uprising
Knights of Cydonia
The 2nd Law: Isolated System
Nightshift Superstar
Algorithm (instrumental intro only)
Undisclosed Desires
Prelude
Starlight
Encore:
Take a Bow
Walking out of the amphitheater, the communal energy was strong on this one. It was a beautiful blend of serenity, awe and a sense of having witnessed something special. And if there’s a better way to spend a Wednesday night, I can’t imagine what it could possibly be!!
6 clear drum kits out of 5
Muse Photo Gallery (all photos by: Justin Michael Carriere)
Muse Online
Show Date: July 15, 2026