september (con.)

after entering the venue with del, we realized we were the first 2 people in the entire place. henceforth, we got to stand at the very front of the stage right where the action was. and, we didn’t pay a nickel. the first band to play was the working title. they were very entertaining with great vocals and some awesome guitar runs. next came circa survive. to say i was not impressed would be an understatement. the lead singer was totally infatuated with himself and tried to mask over his inability to sing by adding screaming to the vocals. it didn’t work. but, what was about to take place next was something i could have never prepared myself for. this band from new orleans, louisiana called mute math began to set up on stage. paul meany, the lead vocalist, had a very peculiar haircut and darren king, the drummer, was wearing red and white striped dress pants with a white button up shirt and a bow tie. not typical of most bands. so, as we waited for their show to start, del informed me that their live show was nothing short of incredible. then, after making small talk with two beautiful coeds from purdue university, the show began…………

to say that mute math completely changed my view of music would be a total understatement. they changed my view of life in general. never before had i even come close to hearing the kind of beats and rhythms that mute math put together. as they played the songs from their debut album, the reset ep, i became totally fixated on darren. this guy, before every show, ductapes massive ear phones to his head. i guess it’s to cut down on drum noise (and also liven the crowd). as he played, i was completely fascinated by how fast his hands were. when they finally got to the song “reset”, a complete instrumental, i was already impressed. then, i became dumbfounded. the beats on “reset” are so incredibly fast, i find it almost impossible to believe (had i not seen it with my own two eyes) that a man’s hands were capable of moving that quickly. after mute math rapped up, mae came on to the delight of everyone (they were the headline show) and rocked the place out. not to take anything away from mae, they are a great band and i enjoy their music, but it was mute math’s show. needless to say, del and i spent the last 30 minutes or so we were there talking to paul at their merch table. paul is an incredibly nice guy with the most incredible sense of music i’ve ever known.

after the great conversation, del and i loaded back up and made the two hour trek back to louisville. we arrived at approximately 3:30 AM, only to have to wake up at 7:30 AM for a 3 hour systematic theology III class. you can imagine, del and i both caught up on sleep throughout the entire lecture.

i write all that to say, mute math has completely changed the way i view music. i don’t even like to call mute math a “band” because i feel like that’s just placing a label on them, and mute math doesn’t have labels. they are not indie, pop, or rock music. they are mute math. they make beautiful sounds that capture the heart and please the mind. since 2005, mute math has released a self titled album filled with 13 incredible tracks. while i will never grow weary of listening to the self titled album, they are set to release a new album this september. which is why mute math has replaced football as being my most anticipated september event.