So there's this title given by another publication that will remain nameless (AP) called: "The #1 band to see live before you die." It's a pretty big deal; it's a title that puts you above awesome live bands and great shows. If you're selected, you've pretty much made it into the big leagues. Past artists that have been given this honor have been The Flaming Lips and U2. But most recently the band to catch before you croak came from a younger bunch, a group by the name of Mute Math.

Recently the four guys selected Kansas City as a stop on their U.S. tour with As Tall As Lions, and there was absolutely no way I was going to miss them. With a band like ATAL opening, the night was already off to a great start. Just like the headliners, the Long Island boys are fresh off a new release. You Can't Take It With You was released this past August. As a follow up to their self-titled album in 2006, it's got a lot of amazing hits, however probably no stand-alone singles yet. In tradition they started their set with "Stab City," which is an absolute favorite of mine, as Dan's vocals are probably one of the most beautiful to date. The rest of the set moved through mostly new material, naturally.

With only a two band line up, there wasn't much wait for the main event. Paul (lead vocals) and the boys took the stage at about 9pm and didn't leave for 2 hours. When the set first started with "The Nerve" and its high-octane dose of body grooves, the pulses started to quicken. Next came - as it does on the new album - "Backfire." This is one of those songs that until you see it performed live you never really understand exactly how many elements there are. But there were definitely important contributions from each member. This was also about the time when Paul started to get his dance moves in motion. Amidst the new album numbers were a few prominent songs from previous albums. One of which was "Plan B" from the Reset EP. This is a classic MM representation; using a mixture of guitars and keys to make some kind of magically infectious chord progressions. This is where the energy of the band originates, I'm sure of it.

Some of the other tasty parts of the night included: "Stare At The Sun," "Noticed," "Chaos" and their major hit (and arguably their first official introduction) "Typical." Not to mention the jaw-dropping display of musicianship that came from behind the drum kit. Never before had I seen the precision or energy of just pure talent that was seen in Darren that night. He must have some page from Stewart Copeland (Police). There was one point when he jumped out from behind the kit, to head to the backdrop where other drums appeared. He then proceeded to keep the beat on the wall. That apparently wasn't enough, as a few songs later you found him standing on his drum, which was being held by the crowd, and literally played the rafters (yes, you heard me right). You'd be hard pressed to find another drummer that even compares to Darren.

One thing that was quite refreshing was when the night didn't end with "Typical," or "Spotlight" for that matter. They just had too many amazing songs to leave without an encore. For this encore, they ended with a song that had been chanted by the crowd for a good half hour. For whatever reason, this particular crowd had a huge hankering for "Reset" and the band was absolutely happy to oblige. After they finished, I understood why. It was obvious the chanters were people who had already been lucky enough to catch this set and they knew the intensity and basically awesome nature that is "Reset." Imagine 6 min (well actually more like 10) of just pure instrumental creations from the minds of Paul, Darren, Roy, and Greg. If they can infiltrate the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot Singles with "Spotlight," imagine what they would sound like if left to their own devices, i.e. keyboards, guitar, programming, drums and bass. It was an uberly impressive way to end the evening.

Is it considered a major life accomplishment to have seen them? No. Is my life now complete? Not really. But was it one of the most enjoyable and absolute best shows I've seen so far in my life? Absolutely. For a show that's put on at probably ¼ of the cost of an average U2 or FLIPS show, Mute Math has put themselves in the big pond and as not too small of fish.

-Rachel Fredrickson

Mute Math
w/ As Tall As Lions
October 16th, 2009
Beaumont Club
Kansas City, MO

Photographs by Chris Mullins Photography

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