Stop and capture the essence of what you would feel if you had the opportunity to go see the greatest live band in concert: beyond ecstatic, purely delighted, flustered, energized, and insanely excited all at the same time.

This is exactly what I had felt upon arriving at the First Mariner Arena on Wednesday, March 3 to see one of my favorite bands – Muse.

As shameful as it is to admit, I first started liking Muse when I had heard their hit, “Supermassive Blackhole,” on the soundtrack of the infamous movie “Twilight.”

When I heard this song, it immediately struck me as a new, different type of alternative music.

What makes this band even more likable is the fact that they are British.  Who doesn’t love a British accent?  The word “Baltimore” never sounded so beautiful.Muse has a mix of an R&B and alternative sounds that makes them different from most bands. To satisfy their many fans, they’ve opened up their tour for 2010.

The Silversun Pickups opened for Muse. Do not get me wrong, they are a good band, with a different type of sound and a good lead vocalist.  But to be honest, who are they?  I’d never heard of them until I saw them in concert.

They did a good job.  They had nice vocals, nice guitar riffs, and nice kick and snare, but I was not pumped up by the end of their performance. Even though I have downloaded their one song, “Panic Switch,” I was left feeling a bit disappointed.

After the Silverstone Pickups were done playing, there was an intermission, making me even more anxious to see Muse.

Finally, when the lights dimmed and my heart was pounding almost out of my chest, the “Intro” started.

The stage had three tall city-like buildings placed on it.  And as Muse started their performance, the windows of the buildings began to light up.  Once they were lit, you could see the outlines of people going up the stairs in the buildings.

It was absolutely astonishing.  I was in complete awe, with my mouth open and everything.

But after a couple minutes, I started to wonder:  Where is MUSE?!

Then, I heard a woman saying  “Destroy…..Destroy….Destroy,” and as the people starting falling, the sheets covering the buildings were removed.

There they were.

They immediately began playing another one of my favorite songs: “Uprising.”  By now, everyone was bouncing up and down and moshing out of pure and utter excitement, while screaming the beloved lyrics.

As they moved from one song to the next, a mesmerizing light show moved to the beat of the music.  I did not know what to watch, the lights or my idols.

The next song on the line up was “Resistance,” which slowed the show down a little bit.

The next four songs that Muse played were “Supermassive Blackhole,” “Hysteria,” “Undisclosed Desires,” and finally, “Starlight.”

Each song was performed beautifully and I was in shock throughout the whole concert.  The lead singer, Matthew Bellamy, has an astonishing and gorgeous voice.  It is even better in concert, which is something you cannot say about many other bands.

The bass player and back up vocalist, Christopher Wolstenholme, did a remarkable job on all of his solos.  In addition, the drummer, Dominic Howard, was also crazy— in the most proper fashion.

The buildings would move up and down to allow the band to play on the stage or be suspended on the buildings, keeping me guessing as to what the band would do next.

One of the most memorable parts was that the music would never stop playing. There would always be incredible guitar solos between each one of their songs.

All in all, the concert was breathtaking.  My hands were shaking after the concert because I had truly just witnessed the greatest live band of all time.

Hilary Weidner can be reached for comment at [email protected]