Muse to Play Intimate Show at Mayan Theater

Sandra Miska

The English rock band Muse may have stadium status these days (they played three sold out shows at the Staples Center in 2012), but they still know the value of a small venue. Muse will play an intimate show in support of their upcoming album “Drones” at the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles.

More and more successful bands are making the decision to get back to their roots and connect with fans at intimate shows when the timing is right. Weezer did a similar thing last November when they played a show at the modestly sized Belasco Theater in support of their album “Everything Will Be Alright.”

“Drones” will be the seventh studio album from Muse. The members of Muse met in the early 1990s when they were college students in Teignmouth, Devon, England. Matthew Bellamy successfully auditioned for to play guitar in drummer’s Dominic Howard’s band Carnage Mayhem. They then asked Chris Wolstenholme to switch from the drums to the base. Bellamy became the singer, and five years and multiple name changes later; Muse released their debut album “Showbiz.”

“Drones,” that is to be released June 9, was produced by legendary British producer Mutt Lange, who is celebrated in the industry for his work with AC/DC and Def Leppard. Bellamy explained last year via Twitter that the themes in “Drones” would include “Deep ecology, the empathy gap and World War 3.”

Muse has already released music videos via YouTube for the singles “Psycho” and “Dead Inside.” Bellamy recently explained the album’s title in a recent interview with the BBC.

“To me, [drones] are like a modern metaphor for what it is to lose empathy, and to start to not care much about what’s going on around you, and what’s going on around the world.”

He also explained that the band is getting back to basics with their new album and tour.

“The most important thing for this album is that we went back to being a guitar, bass and drums band.”

To keep with the stripped down theme, for their current tour of small venues, the guys of Muse are traveling together on a bus.

Muse will play the Mayan Theater in DTLA on May 15.