It seems a great tragedy that Mother Mother has suddenly been labeled a viral TikTok Sensation. It’s true, of course. In 2024 they’ve found an enormous following on the app. But it’s not their legacy. Mother Mother has been a power house for almost two decades, since the release of their first song “Intro” in 2005. To put it bluntly, they were making sweet Canadian rock ’n’ roll when TikTok was just a glimmer in Instagram’s eye.
Mother Mother’s 2024 North American tour is a co-headliner with British indie singer songwriter Cavetown. Cavetown’s optimistic “bedroom pop” seemed an awkward pairing with the heavy rock stylings of Mother Mother, at first. But the bands share a wide intersection of fandom. Cavetown performed atop an inflatable tree stump surrounded by giant mushrooms, the kind from Alice in Wonderland with big white spots and cartoonishly large caps. Lighting for his set was an atmospheric kaleidoscope of gem tones and pastels. All together the scene felt distinctly like we were being given a tour around the singer’s fantastical mind.
Queer visibility was an important facet of the “Boys Will Be Bugs” singer’s performance. He draped a pride flag over his mic stand early on in the set and, before long, was wearing a transgender flag, gifted from the audience, on his back like a cape. He performed all the hits including “Devil Town”, “Boys Will Be Bugs”, and “Lemon Boy” to an enthusiastic crowd.
Mother Mother walked onto a dimly lit stage. Gone were the inflatable props from Cavetown’s fantasy world. Now the stage was dressed in deep orange light with various platforms for the singers to perform on. Molly Guldemond and Jasmin Parkin walked onto the stage and began singing a cult-like elegy to which Ryan Guldemond entered stage right.
Mother Mother is a band that commands every inch of a venue like 713 Music Hall. It’s clear that they were born for it. Watching Molly Guldemond and Jasmin Parkin sing in harmony, the tulle of their dresses flowing in the stage fog, Ryan Guldemond in front singing declarations of epiphany—you can’t help feel like you’ve joined a (really fun) cult. The music is divine, Ryan the prophet, and the audience his loyal disciples.
The group played through many of their newest hits from their latest album Grief Chapter including “Explode!”, “Nobody Escapes”, “Grief Chapter”, and “Goddamn Staying Power” as well as old hits (newly viral thanks to social media) “Hayloft” and “Verbatim”. Towards the end of the show, fans were treated to a cover of Lana Del Rey’s “Video Games”.
Cavetown and Mother Mother will continue touring throughout the U.S. and Canada through the end of July, picking back up in Mexico City in November. For more tour dates check out https://cave.town/pages/shows.
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