The Daily News.com - Madison meets Muse (2000)

Matthew Bellamy may be young, but he isn't naive. True, the rangy singer/guitarist for the British trio Muse has been favorably compared to Radiohead's Thom Yorke and the late Jeff Buckley. And sure, back in the U.K., Muse's dramatic art-rock has the weekly music press in such a tizzy that the young band jumped directly to 2,000-seat theaters after the release of their passionate full-length debut, Showbiz. But this is America, a land not so easily conquered, and Bellamy figures the 25 minutes of stage time Muse is getting as the third act on the Red Hot Chili Peppers/Foo Fighters tour (which visits the sold-out Dane County Coliseum on March 25) is as good an opportunity as any to win over a few fans. "We've done a few showcases in America," Bellamy says thoughtfully. "Sort of 200-seat pubs or clubs. But it was mostly industry people, so we never really played in the States properly, I don't think. The tour with the Foo Fighters and the Red Hot Chili Peppers will take us to all the areas we've never been, and we're looking forward to that a lot." Viewing America with anticipation isn't typical of British guitar bands these days, in large part because very few of them have made an impression on the mainstream. Radiohead and Bush have done it, but they're the exception. Besides, while Bush continue to enjoy popularity in this country, they're viewed as Americanized dimwits back home. So what makes Bellamy think that his band will succeed with a chest-thumping electric tango like "Uno" or a thrilling Queen-style micro-opera like "Sunburn" when the mightiest U.K. band of them all, Oasis, has failed to headline on the American arena circuit? "Well, maybe they aren't very good, then," he chuckles, only half-joking. The plainspoken Bellamy's confidence isn't the result of arrogance. It's the product of necessity. Muse formed in Devon, an area bereft of original bands, or as Bellamy puts it, "It's all cover bands in the discos." Frankly, just snagging a local gig was hard. As for winning over key scenes in London and Manchester? That was even harder for a trio of fresh-faced kids from the hinterland. Given Muse's background, having complete faith in the strength of their music was de rigueur. So what does it feel like, waiting to become the next big thing? Well, Bellamy really isn't impressed by all the hype that Showbiz has received here and abroad. "On the one hand, you don't care about everyone's opinion about what you do with your art," he says slowly, choosing each word with care. "On the other hand, you hope that people like it. You want to be accepted and stuff. I think I'd be lying if I said it's just 'whatever happens happens.' There's definitely an element inside me that wants to be the biggest band on earth. But when NME [New Musical Express] said we're going to be huge, you take that for what it's worth. It would be a laugh to be huge, but we're just starting out. We've got many, many years ahead of us." Tom Laskin

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