It's been almost 5 years since New Orleans rock band, Mutemath stepped on Canuck soil. Many
of the die-hard fans didn't have a choice but to travel to the U.S to witness
their mind-blowing live performance. I have been to NYC and Lollapalooza to see
them twice in the last 5 years. But it's not the same when your favorite band
comes to your town, right? At last, after 3 albums and some member changes,
Mutemath came back to Toronto and delivered a vivacious live performance
at Phoenix Theatre on September 25th, 2012.
Once the recorded music
commenced from out of nowhere and the stage lit up, the members crawled
through the audience from the back of the venue to the stage. They made it
on the stage and once the drummer, Darren King, greeted and put his well-worn
headphone and duck-taped it around his head, it meant it was the time to start
of their set... The guitar intro of Typical provoked screams from the
long-awaiting fans and sing-along session started in the entire venue.
The set included tunes from the
last three albums, yet, more skued toward the self-titled debut album,
including Beautiful, Plan B, Control, Chaos, and Break the Same. (Perhaps it was carved
out for the Toronto audience who'd waited for them to come back for the last 5
years)These songs focused more on the melodic integration with catchy tunes and
guitar riffs rather than the peculiar yet captivating rhythm lines, which you
can enjoy in songs from the latest album, Odd Soul. Songs like Blood
Pressure and Prytania caused me quite the dilemma
trying to decide who to keep my eyes on. The superb drum technic by King
was an absolute pleasure to watch. Behind the simplest drum kit, King brought
the mesmerizing drum beats. I've been calling him as one of the best drummers
alive, and I don't think I overstate by saying that. Paul Meany's vibrant stage
performance with his various keys and high-pitched raspy voice were hard to
miss. Meany was very engaging with the audience while indulging himself in
walking on the crowd. The new addition of the band, Todd Gummerman fit right in
the band with his musical talent of multitasking on various instruments,
including his guitar and keys. Last, but not at least, the bassist, Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas's spectacular
bass lines may have been hidden in the shade of others, but the uniqueness in
Mutemath's sound can be only completed with his mind-blasting rhythm line.
As I am one of the biggest
Mutemath fans in Toronto, I sang along with all the tunes and danced my butt
off. The ending of the song was nothing but outrageous. Spotlights triggered the loudest and
fastest hand crapping by the audience. The tempo was so fast that my hands got
so tired after a while. As Meany stretched his arms up in the air along with
the chorus of the song, the confetti bazooka fired up. When the members came
back on the stage with the last tune of the night, Quarantine, I knew something breathtaking would happen. Meany
jumped in the crowed and sang off the stage, while migrating from one spot to
another. Once I thought he came back on the stage, he crowd-surfed with a big black boat on the
crowd. Then King brought a snare drum on the top of keyboard and
started jamming on the
keyboard. Once he
came back to his drum set, Meany, King, and Cardenas started banging on the
drum, while Gummerman picked up his guitar pedals and crafted electronic beams
along with the jam. “Oh My God”, was the only words that I was able to speak
after witnessing such a creative and lively show. Mutemath- Please don't take
another 5 years to be back in Toronto. Come back soon.
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