Let’s address the elephant in the room right from the get go – Mute Math is the only rock band I can think of currently that rocks the keytar. Sure, there are a bunch of new wave post-punk bands that use the guitar-shaped keyboard, but none of them sound like an amalgamation of The Police/U2/Ken Andrews the way Mute Math does.
The New Orleans-based band hasn’t had the benefit of massive radio play or heavy MTV exposure and yet they’ve built up an amazing following. A few years ago, I stood outside a club in Austin during SXSW where Mute Math was playing. The line to get in was ridiculously long and even though the band was midway through their set, nobody was getting out of line. There were a few monitors above the bar that you could see from the windows outside the club and people were lined up 4 deep to catch a glimpse of the live Mute Math performance on TV that was happening even deeper in the club.
Mute Math and As Tall As Lions play at the Newport tonight. Tickets are $23 at the door.