a ridiculously detailed catalogue of matt's guitars for my show*! aka a collection for people who have maybe an unhealthy obsession with Manson guitars
*4/14/23; in order of how excited i was to see them! this isn't necessarily a ranking of how cool i think these guitars are! this ranking is based purely on the amount of deadly chemicals released by my brain upon seeing them.
#10 Matt Black FR(Matt Black Whammy)/Chrome FR(Chrome Whammy)
i'm pairing them first since they're almost identical in build(though the MBFR is in drop D) and i was expecting to see both of them/have seen them used in past shows :)
Chrome Whammy also gets used the most in this era and both of them have given me so much grief when trying to identify these guitars. the dark chrome finish looks SO much like the Matt Black FR under certain stage lighting and it's nearly impossible to tell them apart by hardware, there've been so many times when i confidently think oh hey he's using the Matt Black Whammy but no its Chrome FR. and vice versa. even at certain points during the actual concert i was second guessing myself, they make me feel delusional.
used for:
MBFR: Psycho; Chrome Whammy: WOTP, (Interlude)Hysteria, Compliance, Thought Contagion, KOC
#9 Matt Black 3.0
i was excited to see her with visible wear and tear from the obvious, so much so that i specifically took a picture of the broken headstock foregoing any attempt at pretending matt was supposed to be the subject of the picture.
used for: WAFF
#8 M1D1 Stealth
even knowing i would see her, i just got so excited about the kaoss pad. as one does. its a special little joy to see hardware thats so uniquely Muse. like in what other performance are you going to get to see a kaoss pad in a guitar(or bass)!
this picture is a screenshot from my video because ngl most of my image capture for SBH was spent filming dom. for a friend.
used for: SBH
#7 MB-1 Blue(Blue Steel/Blue Beast)
i just think she's sooooo pretty, the blue is such a beautifully rich shade and i love the gloss finish, as much as i love the play on "matt" with the matte guitars, i'm weak to pretty shiny things. it was also so exciting to see her because i really wanted them to play Resistance and when i saw matt with the MB-1 Blue i knew they were going to! (barring the fact that they were alternating every night and i knew that night it was Resistance's turn, for some reason i was still worried we wouldn't get it lmao) i did accidentally call her Bluebell at the time though. which i don't think has been used at all this tour(🥲).
TIRO, Resistance, Madness
#6 Oryx
somehow i neglected to take a picture of her specifically??? i'm really kicking myself because i didn't get any closeups during WSD or KOBK but the whole time i was holding my tongue from talking about her during the show 😭 because who in their right mind wants to hear some random screaming fan yelling about how the Oryx is matt's first Manson with 24 frets during the show 💀 i did get to see him use it earlier this year at my last Muse show which is why i've put it before my #5. but she is so unique and interesting, there are so many cool fun facts about her! i don't know how i didn't get a good shot, i was probably too busy headbanging.
i did get this pretty cool picture from KOBK though 🥲
used for: WSD, KOBK
#5 MB-S Prototype(Verona Sky)
to finish off the trifecta of newbies(2022/2023 additions, barring remodels)! suuuuch a beauty and makes watching Verona just that much more magical! a brand new Manson special for the WOTP era for the most tender moments of the show <3. both Verona and TDS instrumental have a dreamlike energy live, which to me is elevated by the MB-S in her beautiful sunburst orange and strat-style shape. matt was pretty far from us while perched on will's shoulder so i didn't get a great pic of it but i tried! its just such a gentle, almost pensive little moment in the set between two heavy bangers(WAFF/SBH) which i love, it feels oddly intimate in spite of being in a full arena as matt coaxes each note out of the MB-S and it echoes into the open space.
here she is pre and post-confetti shower(she did not come through unscathed)!
used for: Verona, TDS(AR)
#4 Red Alert
since there are three red guitars in use for Uprising this tour, i really didn't know which one we were going to get! the last time i saw them in january, matt used the MA EVO Sustainiac Satin Fire Red, which is fun, but like the other Fire Red, has a matt(e) finish. i was really hoping we would get to see Red Alert and we did!!! she looks like cherry candy i need to take a bite. uh, that is to say. she's very pretty and my eyes sparkle in her presence. and she has a special name which is always important to me. i wouldn't say Red Alert ranks higher than some of the other beauties on this list in terms of how cool i think they are, but since there wasn't a guarantee we'd get to see it, it ranks highly here!
used for: Uprising
#3 Mirror 2.0
notoriously a nightmare to get a good picture of live, what with the whole... mirror finish and all, here she is!! our beloved veteran of the lineup, Mirror Manson <3. what a joy to see her, even though she's not the original. i couldn't confirm which Mirror he was using at the time since they're almost identical, but the fuzz factory knobs are slightly further apart than the OG, and 2.0 is fit with a MBK-1 on the bridge rather than the original Mississippi Queen P90s. not sure if Chrome Fuzz is in the rig for this leg, but theoretically she also had potential to be used here in place of the Mirror, so another happy slight surprise there for Mirror enjoyers. it really is another special little joy to see and hear Plug in Baby with such an iconic guitar, and especially when we get to play call and response with the fuzz factory!
used for: PIB
#2 Chrome Whammy 2.0
now i know it seems like an odd choice to put her here especially considering i had Chrome FR as my #10, but let me explain.
YMMFLIH is one of my favorites on WOTP so as it is, i was already losing it from the moment matt sat down to play the intro(WHICH IM CRAZY ABOUT). about halfway through the second verse, i regained enough mental consciousness to realize matt was using the new Manson Origin Etch pickups on the bridge!!! this was a huge surprise since MuseWiki isn't updated and i had been totally drooling over the pickups on instagram for weeks(months??)(<- still has never touched an electric guitar) so getting to see them in person and being used on stage was SO EXCITING!!! unfortunately by the time i realized, i wasn't able to get a clear picture of the bridge since matt was playing the final chorus. thus began the search for my new white whale.
after the concert, i scoured my pictures and videos for a shot of it, confident that i saw it during Halloween and on the Chrome Whammy. i looked at every picture i had, but found that all my pictures of the Chrome Whammy just had the MBK-2 humbucker on the bridge, so i thought maybe i made my usual mistake and thought it was Chrome when it was actually Matt Black. i checked my pictures of her too and it was the same so at that point i felt like i was going completely mental. i checked every video and picture from the Muse instagram with manic obsession and could only find a tiny glimpse of it in one of the mini clips from a concert reel.
i went back to MuseWiki to see if i could find it there and thats when i realized. it wasn't Chrome Whammy. it was Chrome Whammy 2.0.
live reaction to this realization:
in hindsight i should've realized the guitar matt was using for Halloween had a humbucker on the neck instead of a single coil Sustainiac which is a dead giveaway, hence the above reaction. the problem still remained though, i had no photographic evidence. though MuseWiki reminded me it was 2.0, it still says the bridge is a MBK-2 and the pictures remain un-updated. i had confirmed for now that i was not delusional, but i still didn't have a picture and i wanted so desperately to talk about it. but then my savior appeared right under my nose. my dear friend @domwhoreward found this picture from one of her shows and i was FINALLY VINDICATED!!! HERE SHE IS IN ALL HER GLORY!!!
used for: YMMFLIH
anyway. that brings us to...
#1 HOLOFLAKE MY BELOVED
words cannot describe how absolutely insane i went when i saw her!!! Holoflake is my favorite guitar currently in use(though it's very close with the Black 7-String 2.0), i just love the glittery, glossy black finish so much, it's so pretty!! not only that, but the only song it's being used for this tour is MOTP, the one song i wanted to hear MOST out of all the songs on rotation and one of my favorite muse songs of all time!! it was such a personal moment for me because if they hadn't played MOTP, we wouldn't have gotten to see Holoflake at all. this was my most special moment from my show, i think the guy next to me probably wished i was dead though. this is once again a screenshot of my video since i spent most of it in a manic panic screaming crying and throwing up. its a miracle i was even still alive after that. or anyone within a 5ft radius.
used for: MOTP <3
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Neighborhood Watch S2 Ep1: Shindig
Hello!! We finished the first session of season 2! And jesus christ- a lot happens, it was a bit disjointed! But I’m here to try and make sure it’s all coherent! (my own personal comments will be in the tags)
So let’s go!
A week has passed since the Season One finale; the Dome’s been dropped, and everyone in the Main Cast knows that John is a monster.
Since the Dome is gone, the rest of the town had been unlocked for us to explore!
During the week, Song buys new flowers for her house at the florist- she runs into Louis, who’s been buying native wildflowers to improve his lawn. He runs into some interns who work for the mayor, who offer him some free seed packets for some newly discovered flower- They grow quick, with thick thorny vines and stems, and are ready to bloom within a week with beautiful tie-dye-esque colors. Louis declines, not trusting anyone who’s a part of the government, and the florist owner, Kathy, is wary of the flowers due to how quick they grow; they can very easily become invasive.
Song does archery practice with Amira in her backyard- Amira has not mentioned John being a monster, and Song hasn’t asked her about it. Amira does mention, however, that while hiding in Song’s house during the s1 finale she found a black book with a red gem. That’s one of Song’s spellbooks, and Song vaguely says she uses it to help protect herself. Amira shows interest in it, and Song discreetly tries to sense if Amira has the potential to become a magic-user- but Amira’s aura indicates she doesn’t have any ability for magic at all, which is odd because all humans normally have the capacity for it; the center of her soul is dead-blue.
Shelby starts her Twitch-streaming again, with the internet being back up, and when she’s not busy with that John spends time with her; Not only because she’s his friend, but as a way to make up for making her worry so much (and to avoid the rest of the Main Cast). Sometime during the week John tries to go the park, but sees Louis there and immediately turns around to go home. He also fills in Emmett about the events of taking down the Hunter, omitting the fact that he is one himself.
Markus keeps to themself for most of the week, ordering take-out (there’s only one Uber driver in Greenville, btw, his name is Kyle and he sells weed on the side) and healing from their wounds. At some point, they get rid of Emmett’s corpse with carrion beetles, and use his bones to make bonemeal for various projects- including their worm farm. Towards the end of the week, they decide it’s been long enough- They march right up to the Doe/Waters household and knock on the door.
Shelby is busy streaming, and so John answers. He freezes when he sees it’s Markus, and in a cold panic he closes the door. Through the window he sees that Markus looks sad, and they walk away. John feels awful, and is still reeling from the cold panic, but he doesn’t want to make it awkward by opening the door again, and they’ll want to talk about that night, oh no, god you fucked up- And so he decides to head to the park, as part of him still finds nature to be calming/ feeling a bit like home.
He people watches, observing the librarian reading a book, until it starts to get darker out, and begins his walk home.
Meanwhile, going back to Markus walking home, I feel it’s time to mention that some more neighbors have moved in during the week- Two of them being Heath and Sammy Clark. Heath, a 5′6 blonde guy, jogs up to a dejected Markus and invites to him and Sammy’s get-together (in fact, they’ve sent out invites to the entire cul-de-sac). Markus doesn’t seem too into it, and heads home.
On the topic of new neighbors, I’ll summarize them now:
The Clarks have moved in across from Phil. Heath is an outgoing trans man, and Sammy is a very quiet and hairy ginger man who’s almost 7ft tall.
Bonnie McMurry moves in next to Shelby and John. She’s a sweet older lady in her mid 60s and lives alone, though she had a bunch of odd-shaped boxes with her labeled “Lois”. Shelby had asked about it, revealing Bonnie had an adult son who passed some years ago. During the night, loud music can be heard from her basement.
William Krieger is a socially awkward and reclusive man with a pencil stache. He keeps his pet rats in his many coat pockets.
Kenneth Feinstetter lives across the street from Louis. He is a loud and boisterous man with glasses who will tell anyone willing to listen to him about his ridiculous conspiracy theories regarding Greenville.
Some moving trucks come in at midnight. Lucretius Wayne introduces himself to the neighbors, sending out gift baskets of high quality. He’s charming, and even the Pattersons like him.
Louis recognizes Lucretius as the vampire Lestat. His ex.
But the time for the Clark’s party is here, and Markus decides they’re going. They get all dressed and give themself a pep-talk about how they’re going to make friends. They head outside and see the Pattersons are heading over to the party as well, and for a moment consider heading home, but then Lucretius appears with some wine and greets the Pattersons; Karen waves at him, and Bob seems... jealous? Markus decides to go, if only to see this drama unfold.
Louis doesn’t like being left out and decides to go. As he’s walking over, William approaches him and wants to be invited to the party. Louis makes a comment about if William is really going with a jacket that has so many pockets, and William responds he’s got to bring his family with him. Louis doesn’t like William, who’s standing far too close to him, and so when Philip approaches Louis takes his chance to leave.
Kenneth approaches Louis and asks if he’s seen anything weird, or out of the ordinary? Louis almost says no, but then mentions that he’s never seen Lucretius leave his house til after sundown- he might as well try and direct suspicion towards his ex.
Song decides to bring some wine over, and as she exits her home Lucretious greets her; They compare the wine they’re bringing, and he offers her his arm. She takes it, and together they walk to the Clark household. Louis sees this, and though his expression remains calm, his grip tightens.
The Sampath family is going; Amira waves to Song, and she and Lu wave back.
Markus approaches the Pattersons and asks how Karen is doing (bc, yknow, The Curse), and she says she’s doing much better. Bob thanks Markus, who says that while they don’t like each other, they don’t want his wife to die, and Bob says he’ll owe Markus a favor because of their help. Markus squirms away.
John and Shelby are going as well; John prepares a snack tray to bring along. As the two of them leave they hear music coming from Bonnie’s basement; as much as John wouldn’t admit it, part of him is glad he’s away from the noise.
The Clarks are greeting people as they enter; John approaches, sees the rest of the Main Cast and seriously considers leaving, but Shelby interprets this as general social anxiety and reassures him it’ll be fine. He makes eye contact with Song as she approaches- her gaze hardens, and John looks away.
Lucretius asks Song if everything is okay; she responds by saying not everyone in the neighborhood is getting along at the moment. Lucretius is invited inside by Heath.
Inside is very spacious; the archways leading to the different rooms have been altered to be taller, and even then Sammy has to bend over a little bit to avoid hitting his head. There’s snacks, drinks, etc. Sammy offers Philip some alcohol, and he turns it down.
Markus is in awe of how tall Sammy is, and heads to a corner to vibe. They can hear the spiders behind the bookshelf in their corner. William shows up to stand next to them, and Markus bluntly tells him that they want him to go away (”Please go away. I can say it in four different languages if you’d like.”) William’s smile starts to fade at Markus’ insistence, and he actually starts to look angry, but then gets distracted by a snack tray and scurries away.
John and Shelby have bumped into Kenneth, who’s informing the both of them about some kind of drama going down on Twitter. John doesn’t have social media, so he doesn’t quite know what he’s talking about, but he likes listening to people talk and wants Kenneth to like him- especially since Kenneth doesn’t know about his monstrous nature. Shelby brings up the fact she’s a Twitch Streamer, upon which Kenneth looks her up on the Internet, and then awkwardly excuses himself.
Everyone starts to vote for which party game to play. John approaches Philip, who’s trying to tune his guitar to bring some extra entertainment to the party, but Phil is having a bit of trouble tuning it. Lucretius appears and offers to tune it, and plays a flamenco riff (and winking at Louis), absolutely showing up whatever Phil was planning to do (John doesn’t interpret it that way, though, and thinks it’s nice how Lucretius helped out Phil).
Markus and John both notice Bob Patterson and Louis going off into one of the other rooms of the house- Bob has noticed Louis’s reactions to Lucretius, and asks if they know each other. Louis tries to play it off- not every person with a southern accent knows each other, Bob- but Mr Patterson wants to know if Lucretius is anything similar to the monster he saw the previous week, if something supernatural is going on. Louis says nothing supernatural is going on with any of the new neighbors, in response Bob whispers something to him before storming out. Louis, apparently a bit shaken by what Mr Patterson had whispered, takes a moment before leaving the room and heading back to the party.
The group has decided on Two Truths One Lie. Some highlights:
William glaring at Markus the entire time
Almost every normal neighbor hoping that Markus’s “I have over 300 bugs at my house” bit is the lie
Everyone immediately guessing Philip’s lie (divorced but on good terms)
Kenneth putting one of his truths down as him “knowing the truth about this town.” Song asks him what that means, and Kenneth invites Song over to his house to look at his charts and notes some day.
Lucretius smiling at Louis the entire time is was Louis’ turn (we find out Louis is allergic to wool)
Flirting with Song when it was her turn (He’s been flirting with her the whole party, I should add.)
And then it’s Lucretius’s turn. He grins, and gives his options:
1) He was born in Louisiana.
2) He has a skin condition that prevents him from being out in the sun
3) ...And he’s bloodthirsty monster.
Louis knew this, but Song doesn’t pick up on the danger; like almost everyone else, she’s incrediby charmed by Lucretius. John was too, actually, but as soon as that was said, John realizes that Lucretius’s charm is all part of a lure to get prey, and that he could be something similar to John. Markus realizes the danger as well, and deduces that everyone in this room could be in danger- so they summon a bunch of cockroaches to scare everyone away.
Almost no one notices it was them who caused the roaches- except for William, who’s been staring at them the whole time.
People start running away in the chaos- Heath faints, Sammy tries to stomp the bugs (shaking the house with this, actually), and Louis tries to get ahold of Song, but Lucretius has taken her hand before he could do anything and has gotten her out of there. Lucretius offers to walk her home, and she accepts.
Once outside, John tries to make eye contact with Markus- a “did we both notice the same thing” kind of look. Markus sees this and looks almost panicked, an “oh god not again look” (Unknown if it was fear about John or the event happening), before their gaze becomes sad. A monstrous roar appears from inside the house, and Markus races inside. John tries to head in too, but Louis calls out to him and says they need to talk. John anxiously says something about getting rid of the roaches and attempts to get away, worried Louis wants to talk about That Night, but the Crooked stops him (”John. This isn’t about you”).
Meanwhile, inside, Markus sees Sammy angrily stomping at the roaches. Markus, not wanting to have their bugs killed, leads them out with food. Sammy corners Markus and, speaking for the first time, growls a comment about how he didn’t see what Markus did was necessary, and that he knows about their kind and would appreciate that Markus never do that again. Markus stammers an apology and runs home.
Louis leads John to his house, where he asks what John knows about Lucretius. John tells him (how the charm is a lure, how he might be like him), and Louis says that John is strong enough to take him on in a fight, but not strong enough to survive; Song is in just as much danger in Lucretius’s presence as she is in John’s. At this comment John tense and seems angry, and Louis said it wasn’t meant to offend: He needs John’s help to kill Lucretius, after all. Stakes, garlic, crosses and etc might be useful.
Also, Louis tells John, Bob knows about Lucretius, the house shook when Sammy tried to kill some roaches, William has rats in his pockets- there’s a Lot more to deal with than John being a monster, or even Louis’s ex being a vampire.
Meanwhile, Lucretius has walked Song back to her house. He says it was a pleasure to hang out with her this night, and Song agrees- but the night isn’t finished yet; Would he like to come inside for some coffee?
He accepts, and is invited inside.
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