“Odd Soul was better than Armistice”, “I hope they play ‘Allies’ this time”, and “Their best song hands down is ‘Typical’” – just a few of the comments overheard as the crowd begins to line up outside Sydney’s Hi Fi for New Orleans soul rockers Mutemath.
It’s immediately apparent that those queued up early have been with the band since their inception; the diehard fans who know every lyric of every song.
As the doors open and the always present scramble for the best spot in the house takes place, fans are treated to a pleasant set from Melbourne duo Big Scary.
With a unique brand of garage rock, the crowd is well entertained by the smooth vocals of both guitarist Tom Iansek and drummer Joanna Syme.
Iansek’s harmonising and Syme’s wild, off-beat drum fills give the pair a different flavour to the typical Australian indie-garage scene. A special shout out to their touring bassist “Gus” for his all too brief appearance on stage.
As Big Scary depart, the anticipation of the crowd reaches new heights as an unusually long wait begins as the roadies set up – understandable given the plethora of instruments on stage. But as the lights dim and the audience screams out, it is time to rock and roll.
Everyone spins around as the four band members enter from the back of the venue, the crowd parting like the red sea before them as they make their way to the stage, a percussion beat building up in the background as they take their spots on stage.
Lead singer Paul Meany is sharply dressed in a jacket and tie but somehow still looks relaxed and comfortable. Drummer Darren King tapes his headset to his head and it’s time to kick off what will be an amazing, soulful two-hour set.
‘Odd Soul’ starts up and the venue goes nuts, singing along to the off-beat rock ballad.
‘Prytania’ follows and guitarist Todd Gummerman, sporting a classy, rocks out, making full use of the multitude of pedals in front of him.
Things don’t slow down as the insanely popular ‘Blood Pressure’ begins with its highly recognisable guitar intro. It’s here that the first casualties of the night appear – King’s drumsticks.
Shards and splinters are flying everywhere as King smashes out beats on his kit; he’s in the zone, eyes closed, a faint smile on his lips, occasionally tossing a stick out to the crowd, which creates an almost-riot as fans reach for the sliver of wood. Local drum shops must triple in business whenever Mutemath are in town.
‘Spotlight’ and ‘Tell Your Heart Heads Up’ keep the crowd on their toes, jumping and dancing around – it’s impossible to stand still to these songs.
A welcome change of pace appears with the first instrumental of the night, in the form of ‘Sun Ray’. It’s a quirky little jam session on stage and bassist Roy Mitchell-Cardenas shines here, slapping out a nice bass line, looking very chilled and at home on stage.
Meany announces that they’re going to try out a few new songs and the audience screams in delight. The new numbers are typical Mutemath – insane drum beats, deep bass riffs, overlapping soulful organ and guitar, all topped off with an electronica feel that the fans have come to know and love since 2004’s Reset EP.
Back to the familiar songs,and Mutemath pump out ‘Noticed’, then another instrumental in the form of ‘Obsolete’ and ‘Control’.
Meany beams at the crowd with a face-wide grin as he jumps down on the barrier and is immediately mobbed by the fans – at one point he is almost lifted off his feet into the mosh, triggering the security guards rushing forward to grab hold of him.
Fan favourite ‘Allies’ makes its appearance much to the delight of punters, a song that was noticeably absent from the set list on their Odd Soul tour last year.
New song ‘Hit Parade’ gets a good reaction from the crowd and is one that should definitely make an appearance on their next release if the screams and applause of the crowd is anything to go by.
Meany mounts his organ with his keytar and any true fan of Mutemath would know that ‘Typical’ is about to grace the Hi Fi, mimicking the creative and widely popular music video for a small, fleeting instant.
The band departs, waving goodbye and taking a few bows, but they’re not gone for long as the stomping, clapping, cheers and chants summon them back.
‘Reset’, ‘Break The Same’ and ‘Quarantine’ are all effectively, effortlessly, and flawlessly mashed into seemingly one single performance and the band give it everything they’ve got. Gummerman and Mitchell-Cardenas let loose with distorted riffs and synth sounds that create a wave that washes over the screaming crowd.
King goes wild, splashing water over the drum kit, sending a fountain up every time he strikes. Then he mounts the kit and even transfers a few of his drums over to the organ and plays on top of it for a while as Mitchell-Cardenas sits down at the kit to keep the beat going.
Where’s Meany during all this? Oh, there he is – crowd surfing on an inflatable mattress complete with flashing lights while still singing!
Meany is in complete control as he soars above concertgoers’ heads, screaming out into the microphone and the fans join in, all reaching up for him like some sort of deity.
As the night comes to a close, the audience can only be described as satisfied. It’s only the second time Mutemath have graced our shores and hopefully they’ll be back before long.
Watching Mutemath’s spellbinding performance is a pleasure, and can be summed up nicely in a line from ‘Control’. “It’s such a beautiful surrender.”
