Last night, rocked a nearly two-hour-long set for a sold-out crowd at the in Englewood, Colo. It really took me back. The last time I saw them was Oct. 4, 2007 at the very same venue.
Back then, the New Orleans quartet seemed unstoppable. It had just released a breakout, self-titled debut and was packing theaters across the nation with its mix of sweeping indie rock anthems and captivating stage antics. Even the group s unique reversed video for its single Typical, which had each member , was gathering tons of buzz via fledgling social media sites like MySpace and Facebook. (God, I m old.)
Mutemath hasn t really broken the internet since then, but it s never slowed down. Judging by how many people were singing along yesterday, the band has garnered a strong following of devoted math-heads. It has also traded physical stage shenanigans for high-tech props.
Whereas frontman Pat Meany used to do , he now relies on futuristic gadgets to wow onlookers. For “Noticed,” he went totally ’80s and pulled out a super kool keytar. During Composed,” he turned into a glorified raver and swung a glowing lightrope around his head. Then, at the end of the show s befitting closer, Typical, he rode a light-covered inflatable pad into the outstretched arms of his elated audience.
The most impressive trick came during an extended instrumental jam after Safe if We Don t Look Down, when drummer Darren King hopped off stage and handed out four black, light-up sampler gloves to some lucky concertgoers. The crowd watched in awe as King high fived along to a groovy beat laid down by bassist Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas.
A video posted by Ian Gassman (@iangassman) on Apr 8, 2016 at 10:19pm PDT
Upgraded theatrics weren’t the only thing that had changed since Mutemath’s 2007 gig. At that show, no one fainted.
That’s right. It was so hot inside the packed theatre last night that one dude lost consciousness right in front of me and had to be escorted out by security. At first, I couldn t tell if he was actually sick or just really pumped to see Mutemath.
Although the band didn t witness this unnerving incident, it stopped playing later in the set to draw attention to what Meany called a medical emergency. A young girl had passed out in the pit and required help. One song later, Meany gave a progress report and let everyone know the teen was okay, she just needed some air.
When a band s shows are so at capacity that people are suffering heat stroke, rockstar status has been achieved. Still, Mutemath remained as humble and gracious as they were nearly 10 years ago; plus charming, entertaining and hilarious, to boot. Even the band’s printed setlists, which got passed out to the crowd, featured a cute reference to Colorado: The characters from were superimposed in the background. That s heartwarming stuff, people.
Missed Mutemath this time? See them again with 21 Pilots at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
