MuteMath Never Lets Me Down

Hey,
Before I dive into my review on the MuteMath concert I attended on Tuesday, I just wanted to mention how incredible it is that, at 6:30 Central Time, I am 2 views away from having 800 views on this blog. While that doesn't seem like much, it means the world to me. I created this blog with the intention of writing music reviews, rants, and raves, hoping someone else might stumble upon it. I most certainly did not expect 800 views within the first year. In the past, I had another blog, but I shut it down after two years, and it definitely never reached 800 views. Thank you so much for reading this blog. It means everything to me. Really.

Alright, now that you understand exactly how much I appreciate y'all, we'll get right to it. On Tuesday night, I went to the MuteMath concert at Wooly's in Downtown Des Moines. It's the same venue where I saw Graffiti6/Eric Hutchinson last spring; it also happens to be my favorite venue. (People's Court isn't bad...just not a favorite, Val Air Ballroom has limited visibility, and Vaudeville Mews is cramped and it is ridiculously difficult to see anything unless you're at least 6 foot {However, at VM last year, when I saw MuteMath, I got to stand next to the sound board dude--who happens to be Nathaniel Motte's twin--which was really cool...the fact that I got to see exactly what he did, not who he looked like...though it did throw me off at first.}so I prefer Wooly's) The venue was packed, but not as bad as the last time I saw them when I was elbow to elbow with a complete stranger; that's always awkward.
Civil Twilight was the opening act. I had listened to their stuff before, but wasn't "wowed." The concert was no exception. They are what I like to call a hit-and-miss band. Some of their songs are great, some of their songs are just awful. If they would keep their songs in the "hit" territory, I could see myself listening to these guys. The hits of the night were: Fire Escape, Letters From the Sky, and Holy Weather.  The misses of the night were everything else they played. It's kind of disheartening to see a band that so much potential becoming so repetitious, boring, and honestly, painful to listen to.
After a half hour break--in which I played a successful game of Solitare on my iPod...I've finally learned how to kill time at concerts--MuteMath started. In order to get to the stage, the band walked through the middle of the crowd and all of the members were just a couple of feet away from me. It was so cool to see them up-close like that. I was so deep in shock that I completely forgot to pull out my iPod and take pictures, but I had another opportunity later in the concert. (I'll talk about that later). They opened up with "Odd Soul" and transitioned beautifully into my personal favorite from their newest album "Prytania." They went down the list, playing all of their best songs, including two of their instrumental songs, which I thought was kind a cool touch. "Sun Ray" is one of the only instrumental songs I actually enjoy as much as a "regular" song, with vocals. I love how they played songs from their newest album, but also played songs from "Armistice" and their first album. It's amazing to hear how very different each album is, but when played back-to-back they all flow very nicely. They ended the concert with their best-known song "Typical," which was a very good choice, as it's high energy right to the end, just like their show. I had a fairly good view of the band, considering it was standing room only and I'm only 5'3. As always, I got stuck behind some guy with at least 6 inches on me, but thankfully, he was swaying quite a bit, so I had a fairly decent view. I got to see Darren go nuts on his drums, Roy look ridiculously awesome on bass, Paul pouring his heart into each song, and Todd doing a fantastic job on guitar, making me wonder "Greg, who?" The guys always put on a good show, with their musicianship and energy.
The best thing about the concert was Paul Meany--the lead singer--and his interactions with the crowd. Perhaps it was the cramped venue from last time, or the fact that the other concert was just an introductory tour--they hadn't released Odd Soul yet--but Paul did not really interact with the crowd very much, which was okay, considering the other venue was split on two levels and I was on the top, so it wouldn't have mattered. :) But, this time, Paul really got out there. During the "Armistice Outro" and "Equals," he was pushed out on a cart of some sort and sang. he was right in front of me!!! It was incredible. I realize I sound like a Belieber, but, I mean, come on! It was so cool. I got a ton of amazing pictures of him, and I will cherish them forever. Truly. :) Then, during Quarantine, he crowd-surfed on a mattress (here's a video, even though it's not the exact concert I was at) and he came close to me, but not close enough. It was okay with me, though, because I already had my pictures. And that's the best memento ever. Absolutely amazing show!

Next week, I will be talking about a new band I found.
Much love,
Bella