I read somewhere the Jon said that he thought rock music should be played in small sweaty back alley nightclubs, well that pretty much what he got. Water Street Music Hall, is this small rustic place that looks as if it has been half rebuilt 20 or so times. This place didn't even have a sign, if it weren't for those two girls at the front of the line wearing Switchfoot t-shirts, I don't know how I would have found the place.
Mute Math opened up with their song Chaos, which is the only song of theirs that I knew going in, and thought it was a bit odd that they started off with their best know song (especially as Switchfoot saved their most famous song for last). Now as Paul Meany is the lead singer, plays both the keytar and something that he calls "the atari" you would think that you would be pretty cool. However compared to MuteMath's drummer (Darren King) Paul's got nothing. I knew from a video I had seen of the band that Darren King wore headphones while he played, which I found a little odd (but they way he pounds the drums, likely necessary), so I was watching him as he came out and he then proceeded to grab a full roll of duct tape and wrap the headphones onto his head with them. Crazy Go Nuts, doesn't even begin to describe this guy, he was totally insane. By the end of the first song he had managed to break the snare drum (so he threw it into the pit), the whole show this guy never stopped.
Despite the appearance that this is a high intensity band, the two guitarists seemed to be pretty mellow, but the other two more then made up for that. Although I talked to their drummer after the show and he had slowed down a bit, (I'm guessing that it had something to do with some tranquilizer darts). Anyhow the crowd didn't rally start to get into it until they played Control of the Atmosphere (or what ever that song is called).
Switchfoot came on later, Jon was actually wearing a Mute Math shirt (probably something having to do with the fact that this was their last show together). I've tried to replicate the setlist on the side, but besides the first three and the last three I am a little uncertain about the order, (and actually think that I have totally left out at least one song).
Being a concert they played everything a little differently, so whenever they started to play a song I recognized it, but couldn't immediately tell which song it was, (at least for the openings). The best beginning to the songs was definitely This Is Your Life where it went from being totally dark to all the lights going on Tim, as he played out those few notes at the beginning. Usually I'll say that Meant To Live has the best opening of any song ever, but This Is Your Life was way cooler this night.
At one point in the show (I think it was right before Dare You To Move), Jon said that he need to clarify something. I quote "this is not my mic, this is our mic..." he then turned the mike around for about half of the next song, which was a little odd because it then required him to try and wrap his face around the mike to sing into it. Company Car he said was "for the fans that have supported the band" probably indicating their older fans. I was pleasantly surprised that people were still singing along with their more obscure songs like that, as they are not nearly as popular on the east coast, but I guess that it was a just a good crowd.
Switchfoot's newest song "Awakening" is good, and despite how much I hate to use this as a way to evaluate songs, it has huge radio potential. If they made three different versions of it they could release it on the rock, pop, and country stations. Of course, that is still a few years away as there is no album to put it on (a small problem that Jon actually mentioned during the show). Regardless it is still a good song (but that can be said about all of their stuff). They played almost as many songs from The Beautiful Letdown, as from Nothing Is Sound (although they really built up that part of Yuppie Is A Happy Word during that song), but again only two (three if you count Dare You To Move) songs off of their older albums.
Highlights of the show included the opening to More Then Fine where Jon recorded the audience and then a rhythm by Drew and some of Chad's parts to build up a base to the song, like Howie Day does to all of his songs at his shows. Also I'm likeing the new ending to Gone they simply consists of yelling out the word "gone" a bunch of times, I think it does a much better job of finishing up that song (especially live).
I've heard that Jon likes to take advantage of seated venues to run through the crowd. Well he tried that here as well, during the end of Meant To Live, despite the fact that it wasn't a seated venue. One security guy tried (unsuccessfully) to follow him through the crowd, and seemed a little annoyed with Jon for doing this. Being the last song Jon looked pretty beat at this point and was almost in a daze like (I'm sure he was having fun) carrying the mic before him the whole time.
I got to talk to the guys (except Chad) after the show, so it was really cool. I would have to say that the best song of the concert was Dare You To Move.
I have most of the pics up here. thanks
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