Mute Math Doesn't Quite Add Up

Seattlest had heard nasty rumors from brother Austinist that New Orleans-based Mute Math was, in fact, a Christian rock band. At first, we didn't know whether or not to believe it. After all, there's nothing to the band's overproduced Police/early U2 sound that seems overtly religious, nor was there the requisite shout-out to the Man Upstairs in the CD liner notes or on their website. Plus, people from Texas lie.
However, when we got to the Crocodile on Saturday night, our worst fears were confirmed, as we found ourselves amidst the most fresh-faced crowd ever. "It's something about their hairdos," claimed our companion, "They're so clean-cut. They just have to be Christians." Starting to feel stifled by the overwhelming wholesomeness of the crowd, we figured we'd head to the back of the venue and get a drink from the cash bar. But wait---that bar was closed and the Croc bar proper had a horrendously long line. We'd have to endure the young Christian Coalition completely sober! Lord have mercy.
Fifteen minutes after the band's scheduled showtime, the well-coiffed quartet finally took the stage. The drummer duct-taped headphones to his skull, and Mute Math launched into the first track off their self-titled release "Collapse." Lead singer Paul Meany climbed atop his Rhodes keyboard and stood before the crowd, arms outstretched. "Like Jesus," we thought. And the crowd went wild. Seriously, the audience (all of which are assuredly their MySpace friends) loved this band. Seattlest was unfortunate enough to be behind a particularly obnoxious pack of wild kids who enjoyed knocking into each other. We're all for dancing when the music is dance-worthy, but Mute Math is more in the head-bobbing vein, which made these rabid fans that much more annoying. When a couple of them went spastic, pushing into us, we pushed back, leading one of them to ask, "Do you want to help me get this started?" No, we replied, no we did not.
Eventually, we made our way in front of those audience members, so we could better view the action onstage. Meany put everything into his performance, and it showed via the rivers of sweat cascading down his face. He played his keytar with gusto, crowdsurfed once, and jumped onto his keyboard a couple more times---including the encore "Reset," in which he played a homemade instrument known only as "the Atari." We can admit the band put on a solid show, even though their style of music isn't really our thing. Mute Math tends to stretch songs that should be three and a half minutes to the five minute mark, and many of those were even more drawn out live (the overlong "Stare at the Sun" being the prime example). But if this crowd is any indication, Mute Math is seriously going places. They've already got the arena sound. Now all they need is the arena.
Photo courtesy of Flickr / user: tymsnurmn04
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