Too bad theres no Olympic gold to be won for writing songs with crazy complex time signatures or TTNG (This Town Needs Guns) would probably be taking it home.

Currently on tour to promote their new album Disappointment Island, I finally got to bear witness to the mathematical genius at The Foundry in Philadelphia this past Sunday.

On said island of disappointment was the drop of Giraffes? Giraffes! from the line-up, as they played only select shows and had just played with them in NY the night before. On the bright side, we got to experience LITE, a 4 piece instrumental band with lots of stamina and great collaboration. It was definitely something watching Jun Izawa slapping away at that bass. Very groovy vibe and worth a listen.

Lots of laughs and crowd interaction during TTNGs set. Beginning with Henry, bass/guitarist, telling us that Bush had been unknowingly touring with them, since he’d heard them playing at the same venue for 2 consecutive nights, with gratitude that we chose them of course.

Great choice of setlist and much excitement with the performance of +3 Awesomeness Repels Water, which they were able to play with help from a fill in (Henry of Mylets) since TTNG lost a member. Another oh sh*t moment during I’ll Take the Minute Snake, when Henry doubled up with a guitar and bass at the same time all while singing.

The infamous quote of the night sparked when Chris Collis (drummer) couldn’t get the timing right and their unanimous confusion on where to jump back in caused them to start from the top. Understandable seeing as how their signatures bounce around within songs, it was evident to blame it on the genre.

“Don’t do math rock kids, it’s dangerous” – Henry Tremain

The crowd completely unaltered by the mishap was fully engaged in the comeback, once they were all on the same page. They ended with the perfect song 26 is Dancier than 4 to show just how clever math rock can be, 26 really is Dancier than 4/4.

Overall great show with valuable lesson learned.