By the time I got to Soma, the crowd was already hyped. Jonezetta was already onstage tearing it up with their cool throwback rock style. The band was very together onstage with great timing and smooth build ups that went nicely into some hard rock breakdowns. Jonezetta got the party going early on and showed that they can really rock a crowd. The band definitely has some 80’s rock influence, but it’s more of a hard rock sound. The guitarist had some great energy onstage and kept the crowd in thrall. Their last song was a funky, dance worthy joint that built up the crowd and then took them down. Jonezetta was a perfect set-up for the rest of the night.

      Shiny Toy Guns was up next and the crowd was ready for them. Ready would actually be an understatement; hungry would be a better description of the crowd at that point. Shiny Toy Guns is a really cool fusion of punk rock and 80’s synth that the crowd really ate up. Instead of a lead singer, the band boasts an incredible vocal duo made up of Carah Faye and Chad Petree. The two singers are completely on point with their double lyrical attack and sounded completely amazing live. The band kicked it off with “You are the one,” an uplifting synth jam with great lyrics. The band does take you back to the 80’s a little and we all know 80’s jams have that touch of sadness. The band rocks out and makes you feel good without missing that little touch. You even want to believe the lyrics “You’ll never be alone again,” but should you? You cannot help but try. The band’s cool synth beats combined with ringing guitar and dual ringing voices were freakin’ sweet to say the least. The drummer bangs along with the synthesizer and creates a cool live effect with the cymbals along side the electronic beats. Next, in “Rainy Monday” you can hear a longing in the slow beat and ringing vocals that makes your skin tingle. The crowd was completely under a spell and I wanted to throw my lighter in the air. The fans loved the new stuff too, which was harder, had more guitar, and harder breakdowns. Singers Chad Petree and Carah Faye haunted the stage with their lingering voices and lyrics. The sound was so clear and the crowd really loved it. (No surprise there.) The crowd knew all the songs and went absolutely nuts when Shiny Toy Guns wrapped up their set. I cannot say enough about this band.

      Headlining the show was Mute Math, a rockin’ jam band with a truly original sound. When front man Paul Meany came onstage with his red keytar the crowd was already pumped. Mute Math instantly blazed into groovy, head nodding new-rock jams that got the whole crowd moving. The drummer Darren King wailed non-stop on the drums for the whole set and the crowd fell in love with his intense style. The band’s approach is truly unique and full of self reflection. The group is not afraid to change it up either, with each member running to another part of the stage to grab another instrument or bang on the drums along side King, the drummer. The guitarist Greg Cardenas played in perfect time with Meany’s keys and the two played extremely well around King’s furious drumming. Mute Math has a developed sound that goes really well under the low lights and you could light a candle to it until it would be blown out by a nice rock breakdown. One second you might think that they are just jamming and then Meany comes in with vocals to let you kwon that they really mean business. But it’s business casual, because these guys groove so well and are not afraid to take their instruments for a walk. The band is all feeling, as Meany showed when he was banging drum sticks on almost anything onstage. When the band played “Control,” the crowd was ecstatic. It was just damn good rock n’ roll that was original, daring, and always entertaining. The band really played to the crowd as well with Meany jumping into the crowd or flailing around on top of his electric piano. They’re not afraid to slow it down either, with cool interludes that have the keys sound like they’re falling down like raindrops. In this respect the band almost reminded me of The Doors in “Riders on the Storm.” The whole time the band had the audience in the palm of its hand because, let’s face it, these guys are just too damn cool. They had sounds coming from all directions and what seemed like out of nowhere. At one point, the band was just so groovy I had to put down the pen and pad and just dance. To put it mildly, the band put on an amazing live show. Mute Math is simply a great band, but let us not forget the handstands on top of the keyboard and the intensity getting so high that the drummer was playing with his hands. His hands I tell you! Mute Math is simply showmanship at its finest. To quote a fan when I asked him about the band, “Oh dude, they were awesome.” Enough said, check this band out.

Check out Bandvibe's photo coverage of this show at:
http://www.bandvibe.com/abdpicturegallery.asp?cityid=4&eventid=331&city=San%20Diego