event Lollapalooza: Muse + Coldplay

Like Queen before it, Muse made the move from ornate, orchestral glam to a grab bag of genres—the transition happening between 2003’s grandiloquent Absolution and 2006’s scattered Black Holes And Revelations. The band split the difference on 2009’s The Resistance. Muse’s embrace of science fiction has never served it better, even as the disc’s descent into disco, French pop, and full-on symphonic superheroism gets a bit giggle-inducing. Coldplay hasn’t put out a record since 2008’s Viva La Vida, but there’s still plenty of interest in the band’s oeuvre, from weepy, sentimental ballads (such as “Yellow”) to weepy, sentimental ballads bolstered by distorted guitars and plodding drums (such as “Violet Hill”). The band’s latest single, shamefully named “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall,” pulls from the U2 school of bombast and jangle, while maintaining that trademark Coldplay whine. Lollapalooza attendees will have to choose between the two bands, as they simultaneously headline separate stages at the festival Friday.

Like Queen before it, Muse made the move from ornate, orchestral glam to a grab bag of genres—the transition happening between 2003’s grandiloquent Absolution and 2006’s scattered Black Holes And Revelations. The band split the difference on 2009’s The Resistance. Muse’s embrace of science fiction has never served it better, even as the disc’s descent into disco, French pop, and full-on symphonic superheroism gets a bit giggle-inducing. Coldplay hasn’t put out a record since 2008’s Viva La Vida, but there’s still plenty of interest in the band’s oeuvre, from weepy, sentimental ballads (such as “Yellow”) to weepy, sentimental ballads bolstered by distorted guitars and plodding drums (such as “Violet Hill”). The band’s latest single, shamefully named “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall,” pulls from the U2 school of bombast and jangle, while maintaining that trademark Coldplay whine. Lollapalooza attendees will have to choose between the two bands, as they simultaneously headline separate stages at the festival Friday.