Live Review: Mutemath - Amplifier

22 May 2012 | 6:56 pm | Andy Snelling

"Right from the get-go it was apparent that the quartet meant business with skinsman Darren King securing his headphones to his head with a roll of duct-tape before ripping into his kit like an animal."

More Mutemath More Mutemath

“How about Sam Perry? I'm speechless. Support and buy everything he does, or we'll take him from you.” So says Mutemath frontman Paul Meany midway through their set, and Perry had certainly done his usual job of enthralling new crowds with his one-man show. Squeezing in amongst the Mu's mountains of gear, Perry had very little wiggle room, but it did nothing to hamper his energy as he created cavernous soundscapes that washed over a crowd happy to be entertained by a support.

A 40-minute wait in which no one budged from their position eventuated in the ominous dimming of lights and a procession of fairy lights through the crowd with the band in tow. What followed was probably the biggest show of a weekend jam-packed with musical goodness as Mutemath delivered a well-overdue flogging to Perth ears. Right from the get-go it was apparent that the quartet meant business with skinsman Darren King securing his headphones to his head with a roll of duct-tape before ripping into his kit like an animal – the symbiosis between King and bassist Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas providing an absolute monster of a rhythm section. The smattering of old and new material received a warm welcome from a fan-base long deprived of their heroes, and the band certainly reflected it in their two-hour set. Three-way percussion jams, masses of confetti, a blow-up mattress complete with flashing lights, and a frontman who knows no boundaries – easily the best show this reviewer has seen at Amps.