I can't in good conscience recommend paying for this show, as that would mean supporting two acts whose masses-pleasing mediocrity helped define the reprehensible and irreversible plummet in quality that "alternative rock" radio took during the mid-'90s.
But if you somehow end up with free tickets to this perfect storm of boredom, it would be worth at least the cost of parking to witness Mute Math's live show. Their music isn't anything memorable, an unthreatening blend of spacey keytar sounds, neutered guitar and vaguely inspirational lyrics that would fit right in at a Christian youth rally; they usually sound like Sting covering Bends-era Radiohead, occasionally spicing things up with interesting drum machine loops and sound effects. But the band's live show is something else entirely. Propelled by a monstrously powerful and precise drummer, Mute Math performs some truly amazing acrobatic stunts. Singer Paul Meany does handstands and somersaults on his Rhodes keys, leaps into the crowd and off the drum kit without missing a beat, adding a vital sense of danger and spontaneity that the recorded versions of this act's songs sorely lack.
