I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: April 6, 2022] Mogwai

Back in 1997, my friend Lar was living in Ireland and we would send each other CDs of songs we liked.  He even sent me a couple of UK (etc) only Mogwai singles.

I’m fairly certain he had seen them around this time.  Or at the very least he was aware of their live shows being raucous and loud with endless versions of songs like “Like Herod” where the feedback roared on for twenty minutes.

Well, here it is 25 years later and I still hadn’t seen them live, but they were still going strong.  Actually, I have a ticket stub for them in 2001, but I have no recollection of the show.  I was also supposed to see them in 2017, but a freak snowstorm kept me home.  It was probably the right decision, but I hadn’t forgotten it in five years.  [Either way according to setlist, at neither of those shows did they play “Like Herod”].

And the band did actually wait the 55 minutes to start at 10PM.  Good heavens.  It was so long that the guy next to me passed out (this is the fourth show that I’ve been to where someone has passed out).  He was fine and they walked over to the door to get him so air.

I was right up front (2nd from the fence) and had a perfect view of center stage.  Which was only a shame that Stuart Braithwaite, the defacto leader of the band set up shop on the side of the stage.  Between me and he was a very tall man with a lot of hair.   Bummer.

But a lot of Mogwai’s music is kind of droney, so there’s not a lot to see, I guess.  But I’d still like to see it.

Next to him was bassist Dominic Aitchison, who wore a mask for the whole show.  Then was drummer Martin Bulloch, all founding members of the band.

In the back, next to the drums were two keyboards facing each other.  Barry Burns and Alex MacKay sat at them.  I knew that there was keyboard work on these new albums, but I didn’t realize they needed to keyboards.

In the front of the stage to the far side and the center were two amplifiers.  Those would be used later.

Mogwai have a new album out (hence the tour) called As the Love Continues.  I’ve only listened to it a couple of times and I didn’t really know anything from it.  Indeed, I’m not sure that I know very many Mogwai songs  specifically.  I think the last album of theirs that I really listened to a lot was The Hawk is Howling, although I know I gave Rave Tapes a number of spins.

I just knew that I would enjoy everything they played.

They started with two songs from the new album, both with a lot of keyboard.  In fact it was kind of surprising to see Stuart calming playing chords while Barry was pretty intense on the keys.  It was after these songs that the person next to me said to their friend: “This is the loudest show I’ve ever heard.”  They hadn’t heard anything yet.

Both Barry and Alex came from behind the keys to stand up front for a wall of guitars that heralded two songs from Hardcore Wil Never Die, But You Will.  “Rano Pano” was followed by “How to Be a Werewolf” (Barry went back to the keys for it).

Then came the piano introduction that signified the start of “I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead.”  Things quieted down a bit for “Ritchie Sacramento,” in which Stuart sang vocals.

The band dug deep for the next three tracks.  Things stayed pretty quiet for the piano-based “Friend of the Night” with seemingly especially loud drums.  For “2 Rights Make 1 Wrong,” it was actually Barry who spoke the super-processed vocals.  It was a lovely couple of songs followed by the first of many super-loud, feedback drenched endings.

“Ex-Cowboy” was up next.  This one started with a bass line from Dominic–sometimes it seemed like Dominic didn’t have enough to do since the keys doubled as bass for a lot of the songs.  But this track goes back to their second album and it’s classic Mogwai–guitars and feedback slowly building and subsiding over 9 minutes.

They returned to the new album for the 7 minute “It’s What I Want to Do, Mum” and it was amazing to hear how quiet and respectful the audience was during these quieter moments (this is what you want from an audience people).  Stuart played some cool echoing whammy bar noises during the song, which was fun to see.

They stayed on the new album with the grungey, rocking “Ceiling Granny” and finished the set with the only song from their previous album, “Old Poisons.”  It was a noisy shambolic affair with screaming notes and a wall of feedback as the guys all left their guitars in front of their amps as they walked away.

For the encore, it was all guitars.  They began with the new track “Drive the Nail,”  It started slow and quiet but grew much louder and it was cool having Barry right in front playing the main riff.

They had one more song left in them.  I thought the show was going to 90 minutes exactly (that’s what reviews suggested) but at a couple minutes until 11:30, they started playing the opening notes of “Like Herod.”  And I braced myself for what was about to come.  As I said, I haven’t experienced this yet, but I knew what was coming.  And indeed, after a few minutes the song quieted down and after two minutes of that, there was a nod from everyone and they unleashed fury.

A wall of noise and feedback and flashing lights a drums and chaos.

And soon enough the chaos continued as Barry and Dominick put their guitars against their amps  and walked off.  Alex and Stuart continued to play with pedals and turned everything up to ten and Martins mashed everything in sight.

Eventually Martin left and Alex put his guitar on the floor and Stuart hung his on a hook in front of his amp.  Stuart continued to make all manner of sounds from his pedals and the unreal noise continued for a few minutes more.  Eventually Stuart stood up and waved and walked off.

And a full two minutes later, the crew came out and everything went quiet.

Wow.

Their new songs might not have the same hold on me as their earlier stuff, but that was a show I won’t forget.

1. To the Bin My Friend, Tonight We Vacate Earth ♥
2. Dry Fantasy ♥
3. Rano Pano ⊗
4. How to be a Werewolf ⊗
5. I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead ∞
6. Ritchie Sacramento ♥
7. Friend of the Night ß
8. 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong ⇔
9. Ex-Cowboy ©
10. It’s What I Want to Do, Mum ♥
11. Ceiling Granny ♥
12. Old Poisons €
    encore
13. Drive the Nail ♥
14. Like Herod ¥

♥ As the Love Continues (2021)
€ Every Country’s Sun (2017)
⊗ Hardcore Will Neve Die, But You Will (2011)
∞ The Hawk is Howling (2008)
ß Mr. Beast (2006)
⇔ Rock Action (2001)
© Come on You Die Young (1999)
¥ Young Team (1997)

 

 

 

 

had never heard of Mother Mother before a few months ago.  They have been around for over fifteen years, but recently a few songs from their 2008 album blew up on TikTok.  Because I have teenagers, I found out about them second hand.

And I fell in love with the frenetic guitar and lyrics of “Hayloft,” which led me to explore more of their music.

Way back on April 29 of last year, I bought four tickets to this show for me, my kids and a friend.  It seemed like it would never get here.  Then it seemed like it might get cancelled or postponed, but it did go on, although not exactly as planned.

When I bought the tickets, the band was playing The Foundry.  The Foundry is an amazing intimate venue that hold 450 people.  I was super excited that they were there because whenever I’ve seen a band there, I’ve practically gotten to high five them.  So I was a little bummed when in December it was announced that they’d moved the show to TLA.  TLA is bigger (and I usually have a hard time getting there, but it was great tonight).  Of course, this is great for the band, as TLA holds 1,000 people.  And it sold out, so they doubled their attendance.

It also turned out that Mother Mother puts on a BIG show.  Big lights, big sound.  They used the whole stage.  And The Foundry’s stage is like the size of a dining room table, so the show would have been nowhere near as amazing. So good for everyone.

The lights went down and Ryan Guldemond, Molly Guldemond (who we were in front of) and Jasmin Parkin came out. They stood on the monitors and sang a wordless opening as drummer Ali Siadat and bassist Mike Young came out.  And after the briefest pause, they launched into “Seven,” the opening song of their new album Inside.

And it sounded amazing.  I couldn’t believe how big the band sounded–Ryan’s guitar was massive and the low end was really pounding–it was great!

Then they jumped to the title track from O My Heart.  Their earlier songs are a bit odder than their newer songs, and they kept that oddness in these live versions.  The song sounded amazing.

I hadn’t listened to all of their records, so I didn’t know all the songs they played, but it was a great indicator that I liked everything. “Let’s Fall in Love” is witty as it references “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love)” but sounds nothing like it.

Love was a pretty big thing for Mother Mother, with that song, “I Got Love,” and “Pure Love,”  But each song sounds very different and yet distinctly Mother Mother.

Midway through the set they played the wonderful “Arms Tonite” and the crowd went berserk.  It’s always obvious when a crowd is excited about a particular song, but it felt like this crowd was more expressive and emotive than any I can recall.

Every song was a rocking blast of fun.  Then they mellowed things out for the really lovely “Pure Love.”  Molly Guldemond sings the refrain and the rest of the band gently sings around it.  By the final time around the refrain, everyone was singing along with her.

They jumped back to Heart for the really fun “Ghosting” (you don’t need….tricks, you don’t need…. treats).  Then after the riotous “Bit by Bit” Ali Siadat brought a floor tom to the front of the stage.  Ryan played acoustic guitar and Mike Young played the mandolin.  They slowed things down for a gorgeous acoustic version of “Wrecking Ball” which was followed by a song from their debut album “O Ana.”

Ryan said how much fun it was to play these old songs again–they had kind of forgotten them.  He asked how many people were at their first Mother Mother show and a huge number of hands went up.  He was genuinely pleased at all of the new fans that they’ve gotten in the last year or so.  He said they’d been coming to Philly for 15 years, sometimes playing to a dozen people.  But he knew that some of that dozen were there tonight (he pointed to the balcony).

Originally, Mother Mother was supposed to play two shows at The Foundry, the first one was earlier in the day (at like 5, maybe).  I assume that they merged the two shows together–was the earlier show crowd given upstairs seats?  I have so many questions.

Then Ryan said that they were going to play a song that they knew was weird when they recorded it.  But they had to put it out there.  And now, it sounds like the non-binary community has embraced “Verbatim” and made it their own.  In fact when they played it, someone in the front row was waving a pride flag and tossed it to him when the show ended.  It was quite touching.

But then it was the moment I’d been waiting for.  He started playing that wicked guitar lick from “Hayloft.” and the crowd went crazy.  I’ve felt the floor bounce at placed before, but this floor was pulsing up and down like crazy.  The song sounded great, the backing vocalists sounded amazing and then all of a sudden it was over.  It was a weird choice I felt, to break up the most popular song, but in the middle of the song, Ryan played some guitar crescendos and then the band slowed down for Jasmin Parker to sing a verse or two from “Girl Alone.”

Parker has a simply stunning voice–she can hit and sustain incredible notes.  I only wished she was a little closer because I never really got a good look at her most of the night.  After she hit a hugely powerful note, the band jumped back into “Hayloft” and we resumed our dancing.  They followed it with the song they had to write, the continuation of the story that is “Hayloft 2.”  It’s a risky proposition to write a sequel to a beloved song, but this one is really good.  It references the original in many very cool ways but it sounds very different–much darker.

And that was the end of the set.

A fair question at this point would be “what do you do for an encore?”  They’ve played all of the big hits!  In fact a lot of people left which was great because we got to get even closer for the encores:  The twisted country rock of “Dirty Town” and the twisted rock of “Burning Pile.”

The morning of the show, I got an email from Mother Mother asking if I wanted to buy tickets to their upcoming show.  Because, indeed, they are heading back to Philly in October.  This time, they’ve scored The Fillmore, a 2,500 person venue.  And I hope they sell it out too, because they were super nice and warm and friendly and they deserve the success that they have worked for.

I told the kids, that it’s awesome we got to see them in this small club because when they come back in October and we see them (I already got tickets), I don’t think we’ll be able to get all that close again.  But we’ll be able to enjoy them being even bigger.

1. Seven ⇔
2. O My Heart ♥
3. Let’s Fall in Love ≠
4. The Stand ∇
5. I Got Love ⇔
6. Problems ∇
7. Body ♥
8. It’s Alright §
9. Sick of the Silence ⇔
10. Arms Tonite ♥
11. Life ⇔
12. Pure Love ⇔
13. Ghosting ♥
14. Bit by Bit ≠
15. Wrecking Ball ♥
16. Oh Ana ⊗
17. Verbatim ⊗
18. Hayloft ♥ / Girl Alone ⇔
19. Hayloft II ⇔
    encore
20. Dirty Town ⊗
21. Burning Pile ♥

⇔ Inside (2021)
§ Dance and Cry (2018)
≠ The Sticks (2012)
∇ Eureka (2011)
♥ O My Heart (2008)
⊗ Touch Up (2007)