Mutemath’s fifth album Play Dead was released in early September and the band’s tour in support of the new release made a stop at Philadelphia’s Fillmore on 9/19/17. It is actually amazing that the tour even got off the ground. With the new album in the can, Jonathan Allen was already replacing longtime bassist Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas who was not joining the tour, when founding member, drummer/producer Darren King abruptly left Mutemath. This left Mutemath frontman Paul Meany in full-on crisis mode. The tour was booked and with three weeks before their first show in England, Meany enlisted former Earthsuit bandmate David “Hutch” Hutchison to play drums for the tour.
With everything stripped away from opening acts Colony House and Romes, a minimalist stage set up was revealed for the Mutemath portion. Keyboards and amps were covered in white in front of a large screen that covered the backstage area. With the band dressed in white as they entered the stage, large projectors turned everything on the stage, including the performers, into part of the screen that resembled a live art installation.
The energy level inside the Fillmore erupted as Mutemath began the show with “War” from Play Dead, that had Paul Meany bounding around the stage as he switched from keyboards to keytar and unleashed searing vocals. The new lineup sounded excellent, especially given the short time they had to prepare as Meany guided the group through a mix of old and new songs. “Noticed” from the band’s self-titled debut album was peppered with snippets from “Spotlight”, “Odd Soul”, and “Monument”.
The rhythmic guitar and haunting vocal harmonies of the title track from 2015’s Vitals triggered an enthusiastic response from the crowd. Meany brought out his young daughter to dance during “Pixie Oaks” from Play Dead. After another new song, “Break the Fever,” the band broke out the full version of “Spotlight”. The band left the stage while piped in music accompanied a series of visual projections before Meany returned alone to begin “Stallout”.
The band broke up “Quarantine” from 2011’s Odd Soul into two parts sandwiching two new songs, “Achilles Heel” and “Hit Parade” with “Reset” that had Meany busting out a homemade looking instrument resembling a keytar which he fed into the crowd, allowing fans to contribute music to the performance.
Many bands have survived the turmoil that big personal changes bring and continue to flourish with new members. It would seem that, at least for this tour, Mutemath is still providing eyes and ears with an exceptional experience that combines visual artistry with the high energy and danceable signature Mutemath sound.
