Muse plays Madison Square Garden, twice
British rockers Muse: Christopher Wolstenholme (from left), Matthew Bellamy and Dominic Howard. (Undated) Credit: Handout
On the heels of "The 2nd Law," its sixth album, Muse is hotter than ever.
In the midst of a globe-trotting tour, the band -- which has drawn comparisons to acts ranging from U2 to Queen in recent years -- even made an appearance at the Final Four in Atlanta, where it played its aptly titled "Madness."
Fortunately for local fans, the band will headline two shows at Madison Square Garden -- one tonight and again tomorrow.
HEY, BABY
Muse touches on the theme of rebirth across its albums, so what did lead singer Matthew Bellamy do when he and his movie-star girlfriend, Kate Hudson, were expecting a child of their own?
He recorded the sound of his then-unborn son's heartbeat on a phone and used it to lead into the band's "Follow Me."
Bingham Hawn Bellamy -- yes, the middle name comes from his grandma, Goldie Hawn -- was born July 9, 2011. Hudson became pregnant with Bingham only two months after meeting Bellamy.
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SUBSCRIBE NOWFor her part, Hudson told Elle U.K. last week that she and Bellamy will tie the knot eventually, in part because Ryder, her 9-year-old son, wants a party.
TOSSED OUT
Songwriter Charles Bollfrass sued Warner Music in September for $3.5 million, claiming Muse had stolen his idea for a space opera he called "Panspermia/ Exogenesis."
Muse responded vehemently, saying the claims had absolutely no merit, and earlier this month a judge agreed with the band.
In early April, Louis L. Stanton, a Manhattan-based U.S. District judge, dismissed the case, ruling that Bollfrass' idea was generally similar to the final three songs on 2009's "The Resistance" -- called the "Exogenesis: Symphony" -- but that the creators treated the themes differently.
Bollfrass claimed he contacted the band's representatives in 2005 and 2006 to see if they'd compose the score for his opera but was told the band wasn't interested in films at the time.
TOGETHER FOR A WHILE
Bellamy, Dominic Howard and Christopher Wolstenholme have made music together since they were teenagers in Devon, England, in 1994.
When they started playing together, the trio called itself Rocket Baby Dolls for a battle of the bands competition. Muse also has played under the names Gothic Plague and Fixed Penalty.
If you go
WHO Muse
WHEN | WHERE 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, Madison Square Garden
INFO $32.50-$65; 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com
