There’s one thing that I can appreciate about a show that purports not much more than really good music… it’s that everyone and anyone can have a really good time! That’s exactly what Ottawa got Friday night when Mother Mother’s The Sticks Tour came to the Bronson Centre.
At no more than a maximum of approximately 2,000 attendees, this was definitely a mix of friends and acquaintances, boyfriends and girlfriends, mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and partners sharing bathroom duty for their young children. Neither Labatt nor Molson had a stand in the back making a killing, just a cute little boy with some chilled bottles of water on sale for a buck. Now that I think about it, I don’t even recall smelling any party incense. No, this was the kind of show you could bring your kids to and be sure that they were being exposed to an unadulterated good time.
When Hannah Georgas and her band opened up the show, it was stripped down to a few accentuating lights, no smoke and just as much emotion as one songstress and crew could muster. Despite all the songs being heartfelt, sometimes it’s the moments of interaction with the crowd before the songs that are most revealing. For example, when introducing a song “about a friend I loved… that didn’t love me back,” an audience member comforted Hannah by hollering out something to the effect of ‘he’s a loser.’ To which she replied “yeah, what a douche!” And all of sudden, the connection between the band, the audience and the music becomes intimate and noticeably palpable, even amongst two-thousand people.
For me, Hannah’s stand-out song was Ode to Mom. She speaks to her father’s passing away a few years ago, and how she wishes something could be said or done to help her mom get past this broken moment in their lives. I’m not sure what she’s referring to in the lyrics (“If there is magic on this planets it’s in the water”) but they’re amongst the most beautifully put together words I’ve heard in music in a long time.
Admittedly, Mother Mother was a bit glossier. The audience was totally cool with that though, as the band took to a stage decked out with smoke and lights befitting the Justin Bieber concert taking place across town at Scotiabank Place. Still, I think after Georgas’ sentimental set, the crowd wanted the sonic boom that would put them on their feet. Indeed, from the moment the music began, asses lifted from their seats and the crowd invested themselves headfirst. The selection of songs from their past to their latest offering, The Sticks, kept the energy up and the entire audience on their feet for the better part of the approximately two-hour set.
In the tradition of many west coast bands, in this case Vancouver vis-a-vis L.A., the sound was totally original. The performances kept apace with the unique melodies that in most cases were tailored to live touring. The smoke, the lights, the sound, the look, they all contributed to the otherworldliness that Mother Mother is channelling in getting as far out of ‘the sticks’ as possible. What can I say, except a unique crowd with a unique band made for a unique experience.
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
.gif)
