Comments
Mute Math
Flesh and Bones Electric Fun (DVD)
1969 was an amazing and pivotal year for rock and roll. Woodstock shook the world, as did Hendrix. Black Sabbath’s self-titled debut album came out and a new super group called Led Zeppelin did the impossible -- they toured the United States twice and released their first two albums. Those that were lucky enough to see any of these shows were never the same after seeing this quartet twist and bend the blues in new catastrophic directions. Anyone that witnessed the 18 to 25 minute spectacle of “Dazed And Confused” live with Jimmy Page’s violin bow tricks on the electric guitar and his call and response tripping with Robert Plant had to be forever changed. Certainly they’d never forget what they witnessed. Rock and roll had a new, almost supernatural presence to reckon with for the next decade.
The band Mute Math should thank their lucky stars to be mentioned in the very same breath as these rock pioneers, but they are indeed unleashing something on their audiences night after night that none of them will forget. The band tears through their fairly standard set from the past year: “Typical,” “Chaos,” “Plan B,” “Stare At The Sun” and “Obsolete” without nary a rest. The band has not reinvented the musical wheel, but they’re playing their own tune and they seem to really enjoy it. Their confidence and attitude is contagious, and the audience is soon in their back pocket along for the ride. “Control,” “Stall Out” and “Noticed” each add something different to the mix as the band expresses many sides of itself: soft, progressive, experimental, rock, and soul. It’s when they break into their closing number that they forever change the perspective of everyone in the audience with eyes to see. “Break The Same” shows the band moving in one direction, but with the energy of four different voices standing tall on their own but cohesively side-by-side. When the song breaks down, bass player Roy Mitchell-Cardenas is banging on a spare kick drum that’s sitting atop a keyboard stand. Drummer Darren King has taken his sticks to anything solid: mic stands, an upside-down drum stool, the hard top of Paul Meany’s piano, or the floor. Meany is doing handstands on the piano keys, rolling over the instrument and jumping around the stage. Guitarist Greg Hill picks up his effects board at some point and starts coaxing wild and ethereal sounds out of it like a feedbacking electric instrument. It’s some of the craziest five to eight minutes in the current state of rock and roll. After leaving the audience breathless and mind-blown, they return for an encore of the instrumental “Reset,” which capitalizes on more frenzied activity, including the custom theremin-atar type instrument that Meany relinquishes to the audience midway through the song, effectively creating a new song every night.
Everyone that sees this is going to remember it the rest of their life. More than one person has surely thought, ‘They need to document this.’ Fortunately for us, cool heads have prevailed and the DVD Flesh And Bones Electric Fun was recorded in wonderful stereo by several moving cameras, including one mounted on the headstock of Meany’s key-tar. Those that haven’t witnessed this experience in a club or arena setting yet will now be able to preview it in color on this disc. Trust me on this one: people have to witness this while it’s happening. It’s that special. [Teleprompt / Warner Bros.] Doug Van Pelt
Spiritual Relevancy: 100
Obscenities: 0
Scenes Of Gore: 0
Nudity/Sexuality: 0
This DVD review was originally published in the July/August Issue (#126) of HM Magazine. You can order the Print Version of this issue online or find this issue on newsstands. You can NOW read this entire feature in the current FREE online edition of HM Magazine. Future digital issues can be purchased online for $1.99, and digital subscriptions will be only $6.
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