The charm of live music lies in the feeling of ecstasy and belonging that leaves the venue with concert-goers. Mother Mother’s performance at O2 Victoria Warehouse on February 18 delivered this serotonin with a perpetual certainty.
Having begun in 2005, Mother Mother’s music has beaten the test of time with flying colours. Their performance was an ode to their journey, sampling songs from all nine albums (or, ‘chapters’ as they think of them) to an audience made up of fans old and new. Dipping between these eras on the setlist, the blend of mellowed nostalgia with the maturing sounds of their newer albums created a refined palette of Mother Mother’s music.
Great music can fall flat without great energy – but that’s not something Mother Mother have to worry about. The band’s devotion to their deliverance produced an impassioned reception that radiated through the warehouse, and created an embracing, warming atmosphere to be in. Playing to each other as much as the audience, there was a tangible unity that harmonised with the synchronised vocals between members Ryan Guldemond, Molly Guldemond, and Jasmin Parkin.
Frontman Ryan Guldemond had told me, not a month before, that Manchester had felt alive with passion when they played here last, and was “almost primal in its appreciation”. I had the privilege of witnessing the source of his statement first-hand upon their return to Manchester, and he certainly hadn’t been exaggerating.
Having released their ninth album Grief Chapter only two days earlier, Mother Mother took to the stage displaying an exuberance and confidence that was immediately matched by the vehement Manc crowd. They opened with their first track from the new album, ‘Nobody Escapes’, performing with an energy that set the tone for the rest of the night.
Mother Mother seamlessly launched into an array of songs from their extensive discography, pausing in between tracks to express appreciation for the thousands in front of them. “We missed you too,” the group responded to the palpable energy and enthusiasm in the room. “Manchester last time was fire… tonight is an inferno.”
No more apparent was the inferno than when bassist Mike Young kicked off ‘Hayloft II’ with the iconic notes halfway into their setlist, only for the bass line to be immediately drowned out by the crowd’s fervent singing: “Whatever happened to the young, young lovers?”
The band met the fervour of the crowd with an unbridled appreciation for performing in this city, Guldemond declaring that although they’ve only played twice in Manchester, “each time it’s spirited, it’s alive, and it’s infectious.”
Mother Mother were brilliant at cultivating an exhilarating atmosphere to perform in, but their ability to really connect with the audience emotionally solidified the sense of community in the venue. They dedicated ‘Body’ to anyone who doesn’t feel right in theirs, and encouraged a sense of self-belief and confidence among the crowd with ‘Wrecking Ball’. It lent the concert a rawness and tenderness woven intermittently through the liveliness, resembling the very journey their music projects on the ups and downs of life.
The introduction to the penultimate song proved especially emblematic of this. Ryan’s heart-to-heart with the audience revealed the feelings of grief and anticipatory mourning that championed ‘Grief Chapter’ – the song and the album. He opened up about the lyricism of the song, many of the lines being transcribed from a phone call he had with a friend who had lost his father, which gave “It’s just the old grief chapter / Everything is different now” a new weight.
Even despite these more tender moments which lent an erraticism to the performance’s spirit, Mother Mother’s audience left the warehouse feeling euphoric.
