Mother Mother delivers artful indie rock performance at Kelowna Community Theatre

by Miles Overn

Hot on the heels of a bunch of shows up the west coast of the United States, Mother Mother rolled into Kelowna to continue their Dance And Cry tour to a sold out crowd of fans from all over the Okanagan Valley.

The crowd had pressed up against the KCT stage as soon as the house lights went out. Mother Mother took the stage in near total darkness, and used mostly back lighting with some side wash to paint moving silhouettes of Ryan Guldemond as he moved through the opening numbers.

"I Must Cry Out Loud," "Dance And Cry," and "O My Heart" got things going on a night that would see the band play a lot of songs off their latest release "Dance And Cry" as well as many from their past albums. Seven albums over the past decade and a bit afford a band that luxury.

The band lineup has stayed mostly unchanged and that was evident as the band delivered tight arrangements that grooved well with transitions between songs that just plain worked. Mother Mother is one well-oiled indie rock machine.

There was a unique energy about this whole concert. The show established a rhythm and an energy level along with a soundscape that band and audience both locked into and stayed there as if it had somehow been agreed on. Feels weird to say, but it felt good.

Said The Whale were excellent in their role as opener. Clearly a band that could easily headline this venue with their own book of songs and performance concept. A rock solid choice to open for this headliner.

Mother Mother gave their fans everything they came for. Great songs, new and old. A visual experience tightly tied to the sonic happenings. A great performance by a band out of Vancouver that has built a world wide audience doing the indie rock thing very well indeed.