MOTHER MOTHER + DEAD PONY @ the O2 FORUM , Kentish Town.

Indie-rock band Mother Mother recently played two days sold out gig in London, O2 Kentish Town – after rescheduling during Covid season – and I was there to review and record the event with my photo camera.

Mother Mother is a band I had not heard much of before my 15 years old niece introduced them to me a short while ago, so I took the opportunity offered by Frame Music to watch them live.

Before I get into the nitty-gritty of the event, let me give you a quick intro to the band. Mother Mother is a five-piece Canadian rock band, fronted by siblings Ryan and Molly Guldemond. They have great vocal harmony, especially the softness of Molly and Jasmin (Parkin). Their lyrics well resonate with any open-minded individual – touching themes such as human rights, mental health, being different and freedom – and they have a very clever mix of beats.

For those who do not know the band, they formed in 2005 but only gained success in 2020 by going viral on TikTok. I feel this was because their sound was ‘too new’, and the themes they proposed were not a topical issue at the time. I assure you will not be disappointed listening to them. They gained kudos from me by being innovative and ahead of time.

It was 8:30 pm, and the venue was full of teenagers and young adults waiting for an unforgettable evening to start. The supporting act gets on stage, Dead Pony. They are a four pieces Glasgow based band, fronted by a very vibrant Anna Shields (vocals and guitar), with Blair Crichton (lead guitar), Liam Adams (bass) and Aidan McAllister (drummer).

Dead Pony is a promising band, the style is a heavier version of pop punk, more rebellious (think about a mix between Avril and Blink 182) and crowd-captivating. The band played tracks from their new EP ‘War Boys’, which was very well received by the audience. Anna did not shy away and worked the crowd well, warming them up to an exciting night. The singles ‘War Boys’ and ’23 Never me’ (also tattooed on Anna’s arm) were probably their best-executed songs, showing strong interest from the crowd.

After Dead Pony’s performance, it was time for Mother Mother. The music started straight as they entered the stage, with a kick and the beat of ‘Verbatim’. The band played the first few songs one straight after the other, with little breathing room in between. ‘Verbatim’ was followed by ‘O My Heart’, ’Bit by Bit’, ‘Infinitesimal’ and ‘Body of Year’ – most songs were released some years back, and yet it seemed like the audience had been following them since the beginning.

There were plenty of interactions between the brothers and the rest of the band, as well as wide stares and call for participation from the crowd – Ryan’s stares at the audience, and frenetic stage presence, reminded me of Doc from Back to The Future. Anyway, after ‘Body of Years’, a little surprise I did not expect, a well-executed cover of Creep (Radiohead) – judging by the excitement, the audience knew this epic tune.

From this point onward, the band slowed down the pace a little bit, taking small chitty-chat breaks from the songs that followed. It was heartwarming seeing Ryan giving a little speech to each song, deeply and emotionally engaging the audience. At each break, he made sure to remind everyone to:

be who we are, unique and authentic, and be happy with our own body and style
listen to who is around us
not to discriminate
always be considerate of each other
never give up, and always follow our dreams (even when failing at first).

This last statement was a big thank you to those joining/rejoining them on a two-night sold-out London show. Ryan nicely mentioned the years of struggling before being a recognised band, from playing in small pubs and venues, like the London 100Club, to venues with thousands of people.

The songs played in between made the crowd cheer, dance and scream all along, starting with ‘The Stand’, which saw the high-pitch ability of Jasmin. It then followed ‘Back in School’, which saw, from the first chord, a big uproar of screams and phone screens, and ‘Burning Pile’, with everyone joining the chorus ‘Oh, oh-oh-oh Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, all your woe bygones be gone, I said all your troubles, you don’t need a thing‘.

‘Problems’ and ‘Sick of Silence’ followed, as two antipodes, the first a bit slower and jazzier, the second faster and with a slightly darker sound. It was great to see, up to that point, both Molly and Jasmin enjoying singing, playing and dancing behind the keyboards.

It was time for a light mid-session, and the ballad ’It’s Alright’ was played. This song was dedicated to those who struggle with their life, and who were courageous to be there that night. The audience warmly cheered Ryan’s words ‘we root for you, keep fighting, keep living, we’ll be playing this song for you‘.

Ryan then decided to play some other best hits just with his guitar, inviting the audience to join in with ‘Arms Tonite’, ’Body’ and ‘Wrecking Ball’ – people did not mind this ‘nostalgic moment’, the how it all started, ‘with a guitar in the bedroom’.

Back to each own instrument, ‘Oh Ana’ followed with everyone singing ‘I’ll be God / I’ll be God / I’ll be God / I’ll be God, today’ as the song started.

We were approaching the end, as the guitar solo of ‘Hayloft’ hinted, another great uproar of screams and screens followed, with the audience singing ‘my daddy’s got a gun’. ‘Hayloft’ blended into ‘Girl Alone’ (with a strongly welcomed solo by Jasmin) and ‘Hayloft II’ so smoothly, like one long song. During ‘Hayloft II’ it was nice to see base player, Mike Young, finally joining the front.

The band ended by throwing free goodies to the audience as a thank-you for the great evening.

At this point, the crowd was waiting for an encore. Ryan came back on stage with a little intro guitar solo of ‘Ghosting’, before getting the rest of the band on. However, something was a little off when Ryan stopped, after playing just a few bars, saying ‘well, this is the first time in 18yrs that I have f*****d up the beginning of Ghosting’, the crowd did not mind and went on cheering him. Right at the end, Ryan came off the stage to high-five all of his fans at the front.

All in all, I think was a very interactive night, great fun and most definitely enjoyable. Now I fully understand the appeal of Mother Mother.

SET LIST