Photos: Alessio Neri

MOUNTAIN VIEW — Muse continued their national tour Friday night with a nearly sold-out show at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, and fans eagerly awaited their presence. Muse played hit after hit, each one with more energy.

Muse opened up with “Dig Down,” which although it started off slow, was very crisp and showcased Muse’s wide vocal range and guitar skills. This transitioned well into “Hysteria,” which was very well received, and it sounded much heavier and harder than its recording off of Absolution. Singer/lead guitarist Matt Bellamy and drummer Dominic Howard would often start some hard rock jams and transition them into their popular hits like “Supermassive Black Hole.”

Midway through the set, things slowed down a bit with “Madness” off of their album The 2nd Law. It was a nice change of pace and showcased some more electronic-infused influences. After a small pause, Bellamy mentioned the next track they were going to play was released in 2006 but “seemed so much more relevant now.” It was not surprising after hearing the keyboard intro that it was the opening track off of Black Holes and Revelations, “Take a Bow.” Just as on the album this was followed up by “Starlight,” one of the many power ballad rock anthems of the evening.

Muse played for 90 minutes straight, after which confetti and balloons came pouring down throughout the amphitheater with a cheering audience, followed by an encore set of two fan favorites, starting with “Uprising.” The slower but well-pronounced vocals paved the way for the guitar solo through the end, exhibiting a change in the time signature and syncopated rhythms. Knowing the night was coming to an end, fans were excited to hear “Knights of Cydonia” played last. All of the energy for the whole evening culminated with the final song, which showed Muse’s musicianship as one of the most dominant bands in modern rock today.

PVRRIS opened up the show to early fans, followed by 30 Seconds to Mars led by Jared Leto, whose showmanship and stage presence set the stage for what was to follow.

— Natan Ovadia

Follow photo editor Alessio Neri at Instagram.com/windowofcolor and Windowofcolor.com.