Wolfmother does not disappoint in SLC

Mute Math and the Cinematics also spectacular

Australian rockers, Wolfmother, played a packed house at In The Venue Wednesday night, April 17, bringing Mute Math and The Cinematics along on their current headlining tour.

Before the show began fans lined the sidewalk of In The Venue, some waiting hours to get inside. Once inside it wasn't long before the floor was packed with a swirling sea of music goers of all ages and the evening kicked off with a wonderful set by Scottish indie band The Cinematics.

Primarily a group of shoe gazers, their actions and energy onstage were nothing to get too excited over, but the amazing quality of the sound, especially on "Break," of their live performance excelled. It made their brief set, covering most of the songs from their debut, A Strange Education, on a stage covered in equipment not their own, seem to come to a close all to soon. But the crowd, a majority of whom couldn't care less about the opening numbers, swirled on anxiously awaiting their retro rock heroes.

The evening ensued as Mute Math stunned a crowd of familiar and unfamiliar faces alike as they took the stage with a power and presence all their own. Those seeing the band for the first time stood confused as drummer Darren King began taping his headphones around his head as the band got situated to begin their show of lights, sound and intense stage presence.

After starting out with the likes of "Chaos" and "Typical" from their self-titled full length release, they delved into powerful and, at times, extended versions of the rest of the LP as well as some tracks from their first EP Reset.

Paul Meany's sweeping, Sting-like vocals completed the in-motion landscape of light and sound that extended from the stage throughout the venue. Their strong performance was full of surprising stage antics, mostly by Meany who was constantly in motion, dancing, jumping off of his Rhodes piano and tossing microphone stands every which way.

But the highlight of this chaotic, symphonic performance was when every member of the band took out drumsticks and began a purely percussion jam, hitting everything they could get their hands on to add to the pounding beat of the bass drum. It was a phenomenal display of musicianship and everyone who was paying attention was filled with a new-found respect for Mute Math's abilities as live performers.

This display made Wolfmother's duties to follow up and create an even more ambient, intense atmosphere more difficult. But the Aussie psychedelic rockers were up to the challenge as they exploded onto the stage, pouring through their, though limited, excellent discography, as well as covering some '70s rock classics, with short jams thrown into each song.

Though short on conversation and direct crowd interaction, Andrew Stockdale (vocals, guitar) still had an excellent stage presence, and definitely cares for his fans and it showed through in his performance. Chris Ross also brought it with his catchy bass and keyboard hooks, wheeling both instruments all over the stage with him as he played. And drummer Myles Heskett kept the beat alive as he nailed each song.

The one and only thing that broke up the hypnosis of the over-an-hour power rock fest was, toward the end of the evening when one young, slippery fan, who had crowd surfed to the front of the stage, slipped by security and up onto the stage. Once up, he pumped his fists and jumped around until security came up after him as he dove back into the crowd and quickly became lost in the swirling mass of bodies.

Overall it was an excellent, though at times lengthy, performance. All three bands played excellent, and the music was as superb as the antics that took place.