Muse treated fans to a setlist of rarely-played songs at a intimate charity gig last night (August 19).

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The trio are set to headline this year’s Reading & Leeds festivals next weekend, but played for a just 2,000 lucky fans at the special show at London’s O2 Shepherds Bush Empire.

The gig was billed as a “By Request” show, which gave ticket-holders the chance to vote for their top 10 favourite Muse tracks to be included on the setlist. As a result, the performance included many earlier songs that the band haven’t played live in years.

Among them where the like of ‘Easily’, a b-side to the 2006 single ‘Starlight’ that had never been played live before last night. Muse also aired ‘Glorious’ for the first time since 2005 and ‘Showbiz’ for the first time since 2006.

The set included two encores, both consisting of two songs each. Throughout the set, the band interpolated parts of other artists’ songs into their own, with ‘Hysteria’ featuring a riff from AC/DC‘s ‘Back In Black’, ‘Plug In Baby’ being delivered with an extended outdo that included part of Guns N’ Roses‘ ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’, and closing song ‘Knights Of Cydonia’ beginning with a snippet of Ennio Morricone‘s ‘Man With A Harmonica’.

The full setlist was as follows:

‘Assassin’
‘Dead Star’
‘Muscle Museum’
‘Easily’
‘Glorious’
‘Butterflies & Hurricanes’
‘Citizen Erased’
‘Munich Jam’
‘Showbiz’
‘Fury’
‘Interlude’
‘Hysteria’
‘New Born’
‘Yes Please’
‘Sing For Absolution’
‘Plug In Baby’
‘Futurism’
‘Knights Of Cydonia’

Fans could also stream the gig from home, via an Instagram live video. Many, both at the gig and watching online, took to Twitter to share their reactions to the show. “Best show of my life,” wrote one fan. “Looks like Muse enjoyed it as much as we did.”

“Never been happier to feel like that before,” shared another. “Thank you @muse and thank you @o2sbe.”

“Muse last night was phenomenal,” tweeted another. “Never thought I would get to see a debut album song live EVER. Despite Matt’s fading falsetto, he did good.”

See those and more reactions below.

The special gig was to benefit The Passage, the largest volunteer-run resource centre for homeless and vulnerable people in London. All profits from ticket sales to the show were given to the organisation.

As well as running hostels for those sleeping on the streets, The Passage also provides help with employment, medical care and advice in other essential areas. You can find out more about them by visiting their official website.

When the band announced the show in July, frontman Matt Bellamy said: “We have admired The Passage’s work for a while now. Their work is vital to the community in London. We are looking forward to doing our bit to help the amazing staff and volunteers and the homeless people who benefit from their tireless hard work.”

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