I dont even know where to begin my review of this show except that it was AMAZING. I'm watching their live DVD right now as I write this blog since the set list is pretty similar. Difference though is that I can't feel the energy of the crowd here in my living room...and I think this image of Paul says a lot for the high energy of their performance. There were moments that tall people's heads were in my way and I knew I was missing something cool happening...usually involving one of the band members climbing on Paul's piano.
They actually jammed out a lot more than I thought they would...Paul and Roy (the bassist) both took turns rocking a huge bass drum, and Darren even once brought one up on top of the piano! Break The Same and Reset were two great examples of that. And Darren the drummer, rocks so hard that he literally tapes his headphones to his head with what looks like duct-tape so that they don't fall off. If you hear their songs, you'll recognize the intense driving beats that he brings, so its not surprising that he might get out of control live!
The lighting of their show is pretty cool, but as weird as this sounds, they almost don't even need it. The music is so dynamic you could just visualize a light show with your eyes closed.
I love how Paul is bringing SexyBack with the keytar...i haven't seen one of those since bad pop bands in the 80s. He's another front man that has a lot of charisma (and physical agility). He was extremely entertaining to watch as he jumped off the piano, kicked his legs up in the air like the pic above, ran around the stage, pounded the crap out of the bass drum...and he even crowd surfed! -- most of this happening during Break the Same. He also has a resemblance to the graphic designer at my job...and he agrees they'd look alike if he changed his hair to a faux-hawk like Paul's.
What can I say about their "sound" except that I LOVE IT! I guess I could say they have an electronic flavor like Radiohead, with an intesity similar to Muse, a hint of Jimmy Eat World and vocals reminiscent of an early Sting...if that makes any sense whatsoever. Thus, they are my favorite new band to come out of 2006 -- hands down. Apparently I was a little behind because they came to Austin twice before I even heard about them via Spin mag and iTunes free single of the week in the fall...and then I shared my new love for them with my ski trip crew. Of course my brother randomly ended up at one of their earlier gigs in town but didn't share with me how bad ass they were! Now we're on the same page and went to this show together...we both agree that Mute Math has the potential to make it big if their new album this fall is half as good as their first.
Apparently they've been labeled as a Christian-rock band, but I wouldn't categorize them that way. Thats like saying U2 is in the Christian genre. The religious tone of the lyrics is subtle on some songs, but I wouldn't say that is their main focus at all...spiritual thoughts just happened to be what they were thinking about at the time. The crowd tended to be kinda nerdy college kids who probably are fans of Christian rock...my borther's girlfriend and I made that observation by the way they were a bit socially awkward until they felt comfortable enough to hold their hands up and sway like they were at a Godflight show or something.
Usually after seeing a band live, I have a new appreciation for certain songs....in this case those songs would be "Noticed" and "Reset". Again the energy was insane and there was a great sing along to the chorus of Noticed. It was ringing in my head two days later so I made it my myspace profile song. "Reset" was basically their encore which works perfectly because that song pretty much can stand alone -- plus they trashed the stage so not much else could be done after that!
If you cant tell by my praise, I highly recommend you check out this promising group. The best first taste that I would suggest is "Chaos." Lemme know what you think!
