Progressive rock band Mutemath powered through its set at the 40 Watt in Athens like a nuclear blast exploding
Review and photos by Chris Eason
(Full gallery at bottom of page)
On a beautiful Autumn night in Athens Georgia, Mutemath packed the legendary 40 Watt club with an audience of lucky music fans. The combination of being in Athens GA, in the beautiful fall weather, at the 40 Watt, and Mutemath playing there, should tell you that this show was history in the making.
The band made its dramatic entrance to the stage by waltzing through the crowd marching band style, beating drums and clashing cymbals together. As soon as they were on stage, drummer Darren King took a roll of duct tape and began to tape his headphones to his head and chin. After completing his signature headgear modification technique, he blasted into the set with the rest of the band determined to work the crowd into a frenzy.
As the crowd went crazy, I was snapping away and trying to maintain my balance since there was no luxury of a “photo pit” in this venue. The crowd was actually respectful in helping me attain my goal of getting photographs and documenting history. A couple of times when I almost lost my balance there was a nice person there to help lift me back up and get me into a stable position. Thank you for that….
Mutemath powered through its set with a confidence only seasoned musicians can execute. They are such great musicians and experts of their craft. It definitely shows in each and every one of them. The real chemistry, though, comes when these fine musicians are all together as a band. These guys really know how to play and perform. Together, they are like a nuclear bomb going off. Vocalist Paul Meany is an amazing showman. Not only can he sing and play piano but he can also entertain the crowd by disco air mattress crowd surfing. He balanced on his light up reflector pimped out air mattress, all while belting out the lyrics to “quarantine” and singing to the crowd. Now that’s entertainment!
Confetti guns rained down during the song “Equals,” like a crazy spaceman-like instrument that Paul held into the crowd. And did I mention musicianship? Tons of that here. Drummer Darren King is one of the most energetic drummers I have ever seen. Not only did he go through three snare drum heads and two kick drum pedals during his set, but he also poured bottled water over his entire drumset. When he started to pound the drums it sprayed water up into the air and misted the crowd in front of him. You can see this effect in the photo above-left.
Describing Mutemath in concert is like describing a volcano erupting. It is really more something that you should see in person to get the full effect. This is the type of amazing show you imagine telling people about 20 years from now. When the topic of “the best shows you have ever seen” comes up, you just say “I was there.” I highly recommend seeing Mutemath when they come your way again. It was definitely an experience I will never forget. For info and tour dates with progressive rock Mutemath, check http://mutemath.com.
Mutemath’s powerful progressive set
the 40 Watt in Athens 10-11-12
Photos by Chris Eason for Target Audience Magazine
