Muse’s Epic — with a capital “E” — live show completely destroys its studio albums, thanks to an insane light show, skyscraper-sized riffs and (sometimes) apocalyptic videos. What the UK trio’s shows seem to lack is appropriately sequenced setlists, however. When I saw them at Lollapalooza this year, the headline gig suffered from a pronounced mid-set drag, where any early momentum completely drained away because of too many delicate songs in a row.

The same thing happened at Vegoose, sadly. The opening trio of tunes — “Knights of Cydonia,” “Hysteria” and “Supermassive Black Hole,” each one more full of gigantic riffs and theatrical vocals than the next — whipped the crowd into a frenzy. Vocalist/guitarist/pianist Matt Bellamy donned a natty red suit (Halloween duds? Signs are unclear: Muse’s drummer was Spider-man, the bassist in a suit as well) that made him bizarrely resemble the Riddler from Batman. Especially when he started jumping around the stage lithely, doing exaggerated guitar-soloing gestures and mock-shooting the instrument as if it were a gun.

But soon the band explored the prettier, delicate corners of its catalog, like Black Holes and Revelations’ Bic-flicker “Invincible.” And while these moments are impressive — Bellamy’s virtuoso piano playing is especially beautiful — they also completely kill the raucous, distorto-prog feel of the show.

My complaint is a small quibble, though, as even a sub-par Muse show is better than many “best” shows by other bands. And I suspect that much of my distress had to do with position in the crowd. I spent the first half-hour or so in the front row, but as I moved farther back in the crowd — where people were more sedate — somehow I felt less engaged. The electric currents between crowd and band make a Muse show special. Being around hundreds of people completely freaking out, dancing and chanting along is exciting and contagious.

And even though Muse is known for its loudness — Bellamy’s yowling vocals and his penchant for using a distorto-pad on his guitar ensure that — its Vegoose gig sounded great, one of the few sets to maintain audio balance despite volume.