"Can I break the spell / Of the typical?" That question was answered and then some by Mute Math at the band’s performance at Warehouse Live on Sunday night.
With a venue packed wall to wall, Mute Math should have no reservations about the success of its self-titled debut album and the band itself. Alternative Press nailed it by listing MM as the No. 1 band to see live before you die.
"We’re very overwhelmed," lead singer Paul Meany said between signing autographs and taking pictures after the show. "When we released the album in 2006 we thought we were going to go out on tour for two months and that would be it. And here we are a year later."
The show was a cascade of ethereal energy connected by a lighting show of such grandeur it seemed to outshine the overly packed venue. Visions of 1950s-era video shimmered on a screen mixed with various images of the band performing in sync.
"Collapse" created a smooth intro for the band as they moved into position on stage, with drummer Darren King positioned at the front of stage right. How else do you break the spell of the typical? Open the show with the single, "Typical," that catapulted the band to the forefront of about 500 screaming fans at Warehouse.
The hour-long performance blared album anthems one after another, with highlights of new music that alludes to the next amazing release from Mute Math. The show was a virtual rollercoaster from high-synergy hits like "Chaos" and "Plan B," to ethereal vibes moving the crowd in smooth waves with "You are mine."
†The climactic performance of the evening, though, was "Stare at the Sun/Obsolete." If you listen to these two bleeding tracks on the album, you can get an idea of what the track was like live by adding 2 million volts to it. Bassist Roy Mitchell-C’aacute;rdenas is the essential component of this song with the smooth upright bass line.
The crowd was a wild mix of everything; mothers were dancing with their daughters, drinkers were mingled among the high school crowd and mild wafts of the stoner vibe filled the air.
If there was room, the crowd would have made the venue look like a giant mass of pop rocks exploding rampantly on cue. The connection between the audience and the band was tangible. At moments, the music became lost in the mix as the crowd soaked every bit of perfection into their ears.
It’s hard to peg any band with Mute Math. They have been likened to U2 and The Police, but it is obvious that the band is a smash all their own.
There is not a single drop of wasted talent in the band; they are an intricate network of artisan performers spreading an infectiously positive vibe around the world. Darren King is the best drummer to come out in the past decade. His simplicity behind a reserved set dwarfs the intricate setups of the Neal Pearts of the world.
King has a fluidity that transfers from drum kit to mike stand; it doesn’t matter if it’s a dismantled kick drum on a piano, King makes everything a viable medium.
The performance seemed to elevate the crowd into the outer reaches of the universe, leaving everyone weightless and elated. Mute Math was maniacal, with acrobatics over pianos, climbing on kick drums held by the audience and hanging from rafters.
The band takes a holiday break now to work on new music and ideally enter the studio soon. If you missed your chance this time around, you’re going to have to work twice as hard next time to catch Mute Math, who are hands down better than Radiohead or Coldplay.
