Muse in concert to close this year's Grand Prix after-parties in Abu Dhabi. All photos: Antonie Robertson / The National
Muse in concert to close this year's Grand Prix after-parties in Abu Dhabi. All photos: Antonie Robertson / The National
The packed crowd for Muse see off the 2024 Grand Prix concert season
The packed crowd for Muse see off the 2024 Grand Prix concert season
It was the first time the British trio has performed for more than a year
It was the first time the British trio has performed for more than a year
Singer-guitarist Matt Bellamy in Abu Dhabi
Singer-guitarist Matt Bellamy in Abu Dhabi
The crowd at the Muse concert on the closing night of the F1 in Abu Dhabi at Etihad Arena
The crowd at the Muse concert on the closing night of the F1 in Abu Dhabi at Etihad Arena
Muse drummer Dominic Howard in full flight
Muse drummer Dominic Howard in full flight
Matt Bellamy during the Muse concert
Matt Bellamy during the Muse concert
Chris Wolstenholme on bass
Chris Wolstenholme on bass

Culture

Music & On-stage

Muse caps off Abu Dhabi F1 after-race concerts with blazing rock show

The occasion marked the British trio's first show in more than a year

Saeed Saeed
Saeed Saeed

December 08, 2024

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Live updates: Follow the latest on the 2024 Abu Dhabi F1

Being a rock group is a thankless business these days. With the hip-hop genre dominating the charts and a dazzling new wave of female singers leading an exciting phase of pop music, rock's significance on the large stage has largely been relegated to a handful of legacy and veteran artists.

This makes the UK group Muse an intriguing exception. Now well into their third decade, they continue to capture attention with high-concept albums and grandiose concerts brimming with pomp and spectacle.

Even when there isn’t a new album on the horizon, the trio remains ready to deliver a spectacle, as crowds discovered on Sunday at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Park.

Performing the closing concert of the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix, the show marked their first of the year and started a jaunt that will see them play at Riyadh’s Soundstorm Festival on Friday.

The time in between shows hasn’t left them rusty, with the group entering to recorded chants and launching into a blazing version of Won’t Stand Down.

It is a shape-shifting highlight. Singer and guitarist Matt Bellamy begins the track with an Eastern-inspired guitar motif before settling into a punchy verse, then launching the song into a wall of crushing guitars and Dominic Howard’s thunderous drumming.

Up next is Hysteria with singer Bellamy’s potent vocal performance matched in intensity by Chris Wolstenholme’s dazzling bass lines. The song is one of their clearest examples of marrying sharp melodies with their signature technical, prog-rock prowess.

It conjures the kind of energy only a committed rock band can deliver. If the Abu Dhabi show is part of their long-awaited return to touring, we can confidently report that Muse shows no signs of losing their will.

The concert capped off another dynamic series of concerts at the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix. It began on Thursday with the double bill of DJ Peggy Gou and soul singer Teddy Swims, followed a day later by Maroon 5, before Eminem performed to a capacity crowd of 40,000 people on Saturday.

All tickets were exclusive to Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ticket holders.

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The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:

Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.

Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.

Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.

Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.

Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.

Saraya Al Khorasani:  The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.

(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Day 2, Dubai Test: At a glance

Moment of the day Pakistan’s effort in the field had hints of shambles about it. The wheels were officially off when Wahab Riaz lost his run up and aborted the delivery four times in a row. He re-measured his run, jogged in for two practice goes. Then, when he was finally ready to go, he bailed out again. It was a total cringefest.

Stat of the day – 139.5 Yasir Shah has bowled 139.5 overs in three innings so far in this Test series. Judged by his returns, the workload has not withered him. He has 14 wickets so far, and became history’s first spinner to take five-wickets in an innings in five consecutive Tests. Not bad for someone whose fitness was in question before the series.

The verdict Stranger things have happened, but it is going to take something extraordinary for Pakistan to keep their undefeated record in Test series in the UAE in tact from this position. At least Shan Masood and Sami Aslam have made a positive start to the salvage effort.

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Updated: December 08, 2024, 8:29 PM
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