SimplyAbuDhabi XII

5 7 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I Podium ceremony with both winning Red Bull Racing drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg of Mercedes during the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit on November 3, 2013 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Rainer W. Schlegelmilch/Getty Images) he blasted out classics such as ‘On to the Next One’, ‘99 Problems’ and ‘Holy Grail’, drawing the crowd into an electric atmosphere of pre-race anticipation. Even a brief power cut couldn’t dampen the mood. On Saturday night it was the turn of British power band Muse to fire up the crowd. And they didn’t disappoint. Their experimental, forward-thinking rock, encompassing baroque, progressive and punk elements was a mind- blowing fiesta of light and sound. They’re not afraid of political statements either. A montage of news footage underlining a message of energy crises, stockbrokers and broken dams played out as the group came on stage to play their first track, ‘Unsustainable’. A hard-hitting message, from which the band augmented their showmanship to strut and project their anthemic tunes, breaking down vocals, playing with timing and carrying the audience along in the swell. Masterful. Depeche Mode played out the finale. A second British act, the enduring electronic pioneers wooed a crowd of old and new fans alike. They didn’t just play the nostalgia ticket but wowed with a good cross-section of songs from their new album, DeltaMachine, as well as their much-loved classics in a fitting close to a world-class weekend. We didn’t want the fun to end and so the Amber Lounge is the only place to go to round off the weekend. Now that’s what we call a weekend of spectacular fun in the capital.