This Week in Mutaytions

The Mutaytor

A A A Comments By MATT COKER Wednesday, Jan 18 2006

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Orange County is about to mutate or, more accurately, mutayte, as we get treated to a visit from that aural-visual mutaytion known as the Mutaytor. Basically, you take a dash of STOMP and add a serving of Cirque du Soleil, a heaping helping of Blue Man Group (the non-Tobias Fünke variation, please) and shapely chicks in bikini tops—woo-hoo! Let it simmer onstage while you toss in fireworks, tribal dances and audience antics, and you've got an experience even your hangover won't let you forget. Just ask those who've seen the high-energy shows at AT40 (the 40th Anniversary of the Acid Tests) this past Halloween in Vegas with Zane Kesey, New Riders of the Purple Sage and Michael Kang from String Cheese Incident; the Long Beach-to-Ensenada Xingolati Groove Cruise of the Pacific with the Flaming Lips, Medeski Martin & Wood, and Banyan; the 2005 Love Parade in San Francisco; and PETA's 25th Anniversary Gala in September with Polyphonic Spree, Pamela Anderson, Alec Baldwin and Mr. Johnny Cash-Come-Lately, Joaquin Phoenix! For their Orange County debut, the Mutaytor—a 30-member troupe that dispatches touring groups with 10 to 20 members, depending on the gig—unveils their newest artist: former Oingo Boingo bass player John Avila. Can Boingo drummer Johnny Vatos be far behind? We hope not—because if Mutaytor displays even an inkling of the mayhem those two used to bring to these parts every Halloween and New Year's Eve with their fellow Mystic Knights, it'd be well worth the low admission price.

Mutaytor at the Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana, (714) 957-0600; www.galaxytheatre.com; www.mutaytor.com. Fri., 8 p.m. $12.50.

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