CALGARY - They've been trumpeted as the best band in the world by a smitten U.K. press and an even more adoring European fanbase.

And after seeing Muse shake the Saddledome to its rafters Tuesday night, that sensationalistic title is not entirely far-fetched.

The Britrock trio could still impress the most jaded music fan if they had only a stack of Marshall amps on stage to keep them company.

But a bare stage at Muse concert? That's just crazy talk. There's a reason why this band from the picturesque town of Teignmouth, England, has accumulated so many glowing live reviews.

Their show is a theatrical event -- complete with spectacular lighting design and an eye-catching stage setup that featured three massive, interior-lit columns that resembled concrete office towers.

The screens on the towers created an interesting array of visual effects particularly at the beginning of the show when a line of human figures were seen walking up staircases within the structures. As the "people" toppled off the stairs, the curtains dropped from the middle of the skyscrapers and revealed singer-guitarist Matt Bellamy, bassist Christopher Wolstenholme and drummer Dominic Howard.

Muse has a flair for the dramatic as was brilliantly demonstrated during the opening song, Uprising, followed by the similarly rousing The Resistance.

Powerful, emotional and driving, they set the tone for the two-hour show, which was heavy on tracks from Muse's 2006 North American breakthrough album, Black Holes & Revelations and its latest release, The Resistance.

Bellamy's soaring, tremulous voice filled the 'Dome as Wolstenholme and Howard added the sonic weight. The sound was beefed up with help from a backing singer and touring keyboardist Morgan Nicholls, as well as what sounded like pre-recorded backing vocals.

Looking lean and mean -- well, lean anyway -- in an oversized white T-shirt and slim-fitting fuschia pants that still looked baggy on him, Bellamy shimmied for the crowd as his bandmates tore through dark, booming numbers such as New Born (which was complemented by a jaw-dropping laser light show), Supermassive Black Hole and Ruled By Secrecy.

Bellamy is an extraordinarily talented guitarist, though his stage banter leaves something to be desired.

Addressing the crowd almost 30 minutes into the set, Bellamy shouted "Hey Calgary!" and told his fans the last time Muse played here "it was in a f---ing shopping centre."

Perhaps he really did think MacEwan Hall was a mall, but methinks he may have confused Calgary with our neighbours to the north.

Nevertheless, the Muse faithful took whatever they could from the singer, who kept the chit chat to a minimum.

Muse played to 90,000 at London's Wembley Stadium, and although the Calgary attendance came nowhere near that, I was pleasantly surprised at the decent turnout.

About 10,000 people took in Tuesday's concert and there encouragingly appeared to be a large number of long-time fans.

And even those younger fans who were introduced to Muse's commanding stadium rock through the Twilight and New Moon soundtracks had done their homework, letting out loud cheers for even the older songs.

Los Angeles four-piece Silversun Pickups kicked off the evening with a tightly wound set of blistering melodic rock. It's Silversun Pickups' third Calgary appearance in less than two years. And while they didn't quite nail it as they did during their headlining gig at MacEwan Hall last year, they proved a worthy opener for Muse.

Silversun has been compared to Smashing Pumpkins, which is fair, but their distortion-laden songs also bring to mind a more cohesive My Bloody Valentine.

It'll be hard to beat the Muse/Silversun Pickups pairing for best show of the year.