Mute Math | The Fray Concert Review
Austin, TX – This one could be cataloged as one of many smartly packaged tours. Fitting the ever-popular Fray with Mute Math does a great job of co-mingling audiences. Though let no one be fooled – the vast majority of those girls in the 7,000+ audience are here because of the song “How To Save A Life,” which is possibly one of the most played songs from the last 6 to 8 months (from radio to television shows, it’s everywhere). Mute Math couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity.
Mute Math came on to an appreciative and curious crowd. With incessant touring the band has built quite a following in college towns. Their current set is fairly consistent, introducing new audiences to their songs on the self-titled full-length, the official release of which sprinkled selections from the Reset EP onto. Tunes like “Typical,” “Chaos,” “After We Have Left Our Homes” and “Control” all rocked the house with a sonic confidence and tightness that staying on the road forever brings. It was interesting to see how their unique sound fills out the expanse of the arena that is the Frank Erwin Special Events Center. Paul Meany was very friendly and polite between songs, saying a little bit here and there but mostly moving from piano to keyboard like a factory worker on an assembly line.
The band culminated its set with the zany and aptly titled “Break The Same,” where each band member seems to wander into the others’ territory, sometimes taking over, like drummer Darren King mounting Meany’s piano for an assault on his drum stool. This controlled chaos is part acid rock tripping a la Zeppelin’s “No Quarter” meets “Dazed And Confused” and part experimental performance art like the playing of that switchboard thing during Radiohead’s memorable SNL performance. Guitarist Greg Hill lifts his entire effects board and holds it aloft like an instrument, coaxing feedback, blips and other odd sounds. All the while bassist Roy Mitchell-Cardenas is wielding a big kick drum and banging it with a mallet and Meany is torturing some weird new theremin-sounding stick over his shoulder. For the first-time observer, this must really blow their minds. Having seen it and knowing what to expect still is a grin-inducing thrill. It’s certainly a heckuva way to leave a lasting impression.
The Fray strolled across a fairly barren stage after a good 20-minute break with little fanfare, but there was kind of a roar from the crowd – more akin to a shrill scream, as thousands of girls let loose all their pent-up estrogen-ergy in anticipation. They get down to business, with the melodic “Over My Head (Cable Car)” and then a new song, “Absolute.” For all the indie rock cred that the band does not have, they still seem somewhat self-indulgent live, letting their songs breathe and settle on the audience like mist. The whole live show is kind of a stripped-down affair, with minimal movement by the band and subtle but well-lit show with lots of moody blues and earth tones. During “Heaven Forbid” the colored spotlights wandered around the room, which was about as active as the light tech had to get during their whole set. Another new song was introduced, which had a very countrified and different feel to it, with guitarist Joe King singing in a high register not unlike Dwight Yokam. The band placed their songs in good order, often following a slow piano-driven song sung by Isaac Slade with one handled by King. During the second-to-last chorus of the swinging melody of “Look After You,” the crowd took over and sang the chorus, full and robust, on the silent cue of their own enthusiasm.
Frontman Slade asked the audience for a big “boo” for the arch-rival Texas A&M and then the band launched into what sounded an awfully lot like a cover of Weezer’s “Undone” (The Sweater Song), to which the members of Mute Math stormed the stage, clad in various costume (including an Elmo balloon-head and a Chicago Bears jersey), playing against cymbals, toting their big kick drum, and just causing a ruckus while singing along. For an encore Slade told a meandering story about eating a waffle made in the shape of Texas, to which he concluded, “So, at 10:30 this morning I ate the entire state of Texas.” After another solo acoustic song with just Slades’ vocals, the band extended a droning vibe that rolled into the very last encore, which of course was their biggest hit, “How To Save A Life.” At the very end the instruments dropped out and the crowd finished it up in perfect time and with a nice, tight ending. It’s like everyone knew the song or something…
[Review & Photos by Doug Van Pelt]
©2007 HM Magazine. All rights reserved.
Return to Internet Exclusives
Comments
holy cow - those are some nice pics taken by some magazine editor...did you get a new camera for Christmas? Nice job indeed! (nothing like a photo pass)
Mute Math rocks! Great review!
