Pontiac, MI Show Thoughts
Definitely, this show was less “glitchy” than last night. The Pontiac crowd energized me. They were amazing, following us the entire journey of the show; this was the fourth show in a row, and being that we haven't toured this hard in a while, we were a bit on the slow side before we hit the stage, but our incredible fans turned it around with their excitement and love, giving us a huge jolt of what we needed to perform. We changed some songs around in the set, which I think helped the overall flow. The Pontiac set was as follows:
“The Nerve” (hitting it as hard, loud, and quickly as possible right off the bat feels great)
“Backfire” (settling into a nice more laid back groove but still within the high dynamic and same arrangement as Letterman)
“Chaos” (first oldie with an almost punk tempo and energy behind it)
“Clipping” (taking it down to 6/8 feel, but within the higher dynamic with soaring vocals & thick synth bass and special upright outro, which by the way, to answer some questions about my set up: for this tour, I’m playing mainly my Mocha 1976 Fender Precision Bass, my 1950s Kay Blonde Upright, and for “Burden” I’ve been working in my Purple Sparkle 1973 Fender Mustang Bass; for synth bass: I use Logic running various different and totally original sampler instruments I created; more importantly, I run them all through a Roland 201 Space Echo.
“No Response” (an electro/sampler interpretation on this one with special lighting effects)
“Plan B”(high energy from the second oldie but goodie)
“Stare/Obsolete” (abridged version with full outro)
“Electrify” (new arrangement for live, landing the one, two punch-especially last night: thank you MI)
“Armistice” (some new exciting electro elements with some nasty funk and drum ending; got to kick it into higher gear here mentally and physically or my hand will fall off ; 0)
“Odds” (nice original dynamic in this one with cool vibes, lots of marching drum, & synth bass)
“Noticed” (oldie you can sing along to)
“Typical” (oldie you can scream along to)
“Burden” (taking it to a new place with some Motown influence and special improvised outro section)
*** (Intermission/set change/can I get some water?)
“Pins & Needles” (DK on cocktail kit, G on drums, P on Rhodes, RMC on upright)
“Spotlight” (new extended arrangement for probably one of the best times in the set for me)
“Reset/Break The Same” (oldie but hard hitting grooves linked together for big finale)
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Vintage cab used on MM debut (two 15" Jensen speakers).
13 comments:
Heya my old friend - I'm currently living in San Diego, pretty stoked you guys are playing a show out that way soon.
Hoping to see it! Radness.
Wow, sounds like a great set! :)
Just about two weeks until I get to see it for myself. :)
Thanks for answering my questions! :)
I was at this show and it was absolutely INCREDIBLE. It was my birthday, too! I wish I could've got Paul to dedicate something to me.
I (and everyone, I'm sure) LOVED what Darren did for No Response. So cool. When he handed the bass drum to the crowd I recalled your thoughts about that in an earlier post and when he actually got up on it, that was quite a feat!
You played masterfully, Roy. Also, when Paul was playing some insanely low frequency bass part on the keytar, that blew my mind and my ear drums! Of course, Greg was fantastic throughout as well. Was there a problem with his delay pedal timing on Reset? It kind of sounded like something maybe wasn't right but I don't know.
The only real complaint I have is that you didn't play Goodbye or Lost Year, two of my favourite tracks on the new album.
I've seen you 4 or 5 times before and can confidently say you guys have taken your show to a new level (who knew it was possible) and I can't wait to see you again! Hope the tour is an amazing time for you guys in every way!
To start - sorry about the previous comment deletions - technical difficulty! :)
I was again blown away by the show - thanks for bringing such high energy time and time again!
As a side note - my buddy commented that he thinks the drum opening to No Response was one of the "Most innovative and creative things" he's ever seen at a concert - he's comparing this to U2's Popmart tour, Genesis's most recent tour, and many more large-scale shows. I agree, visually stunning all around!
I've had the pleasure of talking with you after the shows at St. Andrews Hall (March 2007 and October 2007) and was bummed I wasn't able to stick around and chat again after the show the other night (Had to get to sleep so I wouldn't fall asleep at my desk the next day)! Last time we talked, I mentioned that is was my personal goal to try and make as many people aware of your music as possible. This show was a success in my mind - I was able to bring 5 newbies to this show, along with the usual 3 that I go with to most shows. Although many of the people I present MUETMATH's music to are stuffy office folk (and they're not interested in going to gigs), they have bought your CD's nonetheless.
Note about the venue - I was bummed that the upper balcony wasn't open - I wasn't able to make it to the line early because I had a couple photo shoots earlier that day and a water heater replacement at my place that I had to do, so I was stuck by the soundboard the whole show. The balcony is such a great place to take it all in and get a great aerial view of all of MUTEMATH's antics on stage! I was also bummed (not MUTEMATH's fault) with the camera policy and they wouldn't let me bring my Nikon D-SLR in. Oh well - hopefully I can bribe someone next time.
Hey, I'm not sure I can swap some things around and make it, but is there any chance of getting a press pass so I could get some really nice, up-close photos for the Grand Rapids, Orbit Room show on 10/20? Hey, it can't hurt to ask right! :) It would be way too cool to have access to MUTEMATH - what's odd is that I've had more trouble getting into small clubs recently with my camera than larger shows. You can check out some of my work at www.darkroomvisuals.com as a reference. Either way, thanks for great music, great shows and for being so kind during the meet and greets from the past!
I hope getting into the groove of touring again goes smoothly for you guys!
Take care,
T.J.
November at the Tabernacle is gonna be great. :)
Hey i noticed on a taping of your latest performance on Letterman, that you mentioned, that you appear to be using an Ampeg SVT head? is that correct? Thanks
T.J. Ask Jordan.
So, I'd have to say that if you play this set list in Chicago on this tour, I would be extremely happy. "Burden" is definitely my favorite on this new album and it would be really too bad to not hear it live.
Well, to start, this was one of the best nights of my adult life! I was excited from start to end. You guys really took concerts to another level for my sister and I, especially my sister, whom Darren fell on. I don't think she'll recover from that even if she wanted to. Great show, and can't wait for the next! We'll be sprinkled in the crowd in Grand Rapids......probably screaming.
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