Muse are back - and louder than ever. But if you're going to storm back to the rock world in true style, you're going to need some hard and heavy reinforcements. Cue Marmozets, the rising rockers hand-picked to support Muse on their current Psycho UK tour.
The tour kicked off in earnest with a blistering set in Belfast last night (see the report, footage and setlist here) - but to get a true measure of how the tour is going, we caught up with Marmozets singer Becca Macintyre as she recovered from the night before, to discuss the 'humbling but awesome' life on the road with Muse, the reaction from their hardcore fans, how the new material is going down, how Matt Bellamy is a guitar God - and just how much security he really needs....
Gigwise: How was the first night on tour playing Ulster Hall?
Becca Macintyre: It was weird, but cool. The crowd were digging it and it was our first time playing in Ireland, which is quite exciting. We got to watch Muse for an hour or so, so it was pretty surreal. It's all about the riffs.
How did you come to be invited on this tour?
The bassist and drummer are fans. I don't know how we got on the tour, but apparently they're fans - they watched us last night and very kindly gave us a card to say 'Thank you for coming on the tour'! And two bottles of fine champagne, so that was nice of them.
And now you've got to do it all again.
Yeah, we've got about six dates with them - but it's a very strange tour. Security is really high. We all got kicked out of the venue. We were setting up all of our shit then these security guards were like "Right, you need to leave because Matt's coming."
Watch Marmozets cover Jack White's '16 Saltines' for Gigwise below
How are you getting on with Muse's hardcore fans?
They're an older generation than ours, and even for Muse they don't go that crazy. There were a couple of moshpits that broke out, but everyone's just sort of bobbing their heads and enjoying it - that's pretty much what they did for us as well. We've had a lot good feedback from people afterwards and overall it was really good.
This is a huge comeback for Muse - what does it mean to be supporting a band of that stature on an album like this?
I've never really been a big fan of Muse, but the rest of the boys in the band are. Matt Bellamy's guitar riffs are amazing and I was pretty humbled by how awesome he is - it's almost like 'The Matt Show'! They're cool, they've got fucking great songs. It wasn't until we were watching them and I was like "I know what that song is - these guys are huge!"
What did you make of the new material?
They opened with 'Psycho', then ended with a completely new one that no one had heard. They took ages to come back for an encore, but ended with a surprise new song that no one has heard. It was all just riffs and glorious. Their sound is just impeccable - I've never, ever heard a live sound like theirs. That's what makes this more intimate tour more special.
With a band the size of Muse returning with a heavier sound and the likes of yourselves and Royal Blood bringing rock back to the mainstream, to you feel a shift in sound back towards guitar music?
I guess so. I just love doing what we do and I love the music that we write, more than anything and more than any music that I've heard. So it's really special for us that we're able to do this forever, which is so cool. We must be doing something right! It's not just fans but big people within the music industry, so that's cool - apparently Matt [Bellamy] just doesn't like bands so doesn't even bother, which I find interesting because I'm quite similar like that.
I suppose we're part of something. If you look at all the best festivals coming up, it's about rock bands - more than anything. I think it's about bloody time, instead of some pussy fucking pop shit, do you know what I mean? I've been sick and tired of that for years, and I think that's why we ended up doing what we're doing. I've got nothing against girls and shit, but I was never brought up having a role model as a singer, there was no one that I wanted to be - maybe that's part of the reason that's Marmozets are what they are. I don't really give a shit about anything else.
- Check back soon for more of our interview with Marmozets
Marmozets' acclaimed debut album, The Weird And Wonderful Marmozets, is out now.
Muse release Drones on 8 June, and their remaining UK tour dates with Marmozets are below. For tickets and information, visit here.
16 March - Glasgow Barrowlands
19 March - Newport Centre
20 March - Exeter Great Hall
22 March - Manchester Academy
24 March - Brighton Dome
For tickets and details, see below.
