Okay, here’s the scenario: You’re in a moderately sized room in the back of the building, along with a crowd of about 40 people. Standing room only. There are three guys in the front of the room dressed as stereotypical nerds: Dewi Decimal in black pants, a short-sleeved white button down shirt, and a thin black tie; Pete Pythagoras in a plaid suit; and Albert Gorithm IV (Al Gorithm for short) in a red sweater vest and grey pants.
They’re dishing out a combination of alternative rock and techno with enough reverb to vibrate the cinderblock walls and half the crowd is jumping up and down as the performers throw themselves around the pounding rhythms with an almost manic intensity. Where are you? Why, the Mathematicians concert Friday night at the Chapel and Cultural Center, of course.
This trio of arithmetically-themed rockers has made a name for themselves in the Capital Region, with frequent concerts at local venues, often performing with other local bands. This time, the Sixfifteens opened for the Mathematicians.
The Sixfifteens were good, but nothing special. Their standard rock sound had strong beats and rhythms, but most of the vocals were inaudible, and the ones that were won’t win any Pulitzers. But, as an opening band, The Sixfifteens did their job: warming up the crowd.
The energy the Mathematicians induced in the crowd was astounding. Their first number, “Binary Girl,” was a ripping techno piece that instantly revved the crowd, and it only increased from there. Dewi Decimal in particular distinguished himself in this respect by almost literally bouncing off the walls as he sang, even pushing himself into the crowd.
Songs with names like “Weapons of Math Instruction,” “Malfunction,” “Input/Output,” and “4 Eyes” followed. Some were weirder, like “Child of Satan,” which counted up through one woman, one man, one child, one robot dog, Pete Pythagoras’ eyeball, and one spawn of Satan, until reaching that special number, six. But every single song had the crowd—which was mostly college age—jumping up and down.
It was clear that the Mathematicians had some longtime fans in the front of the crowd. At one point, Dewi Decimal even gave one fan his mic while the Mathematician tended to the digital rhythms spewing from his keyboard and G4 laptop.
As if the Mathematicians weren’t strange enough, one further element of their mystique is their denial that they are anything but their Mathematician personas. If you walk up to Dewi Decimal and ask him, “Okay, seriously, what’s your real name?” He would answer, “Dewi Decimal,” and the other two would do likewise.
Maintaining their identities is a critical part of the atmosphere that the band brings to the stage. Their motto is “Calculating the equation of rhythm plus melody equals bringing the pulse to the people.” And that they do, with a precision that can only be called mathematical.
The Mathematicians will be continuing to perform in and around the Albany area this fall; their schedule can be found at http://themathematicians.net/. If you haven’t before, go to one of their concerts. You’ll leave with a newfound respect for the aesthetics of mathematics.
