“HE SAVED MY LIFE!” This is what one of the audience members screamed with their heart in their throat from the back of the House of Blues venue in between songs. While Mother Mother’s songs predominately fall under the indie rock genre, their lyrics have a heavier hold with topics ranging from angst, to loneliness, to comfort - that one audience member who felt “saved” by Mother Mother spoke what most other individuals were feeling, since their songs capture emotions that everyone feels at some point or another in life and transforms it into music.
Mother Mother doesn’t just sing lyrics that people from all walks of life can relate to, but they perform with such invitation that it feels like they were singing personally to you. Ryan Guldemond, the band’s guitarist and lead vocalist, sang from the very edge of the stage, often atop the black wooden platform box so everyone could see, regardless of how far back in the crowd one was. He danced his way towards the far left and right of the stage, and audience members reached out their arms and vigorously shook their hands in the air in hopes of touching their idol. At one point he even commented, “I can really see you, your beautiful, beautiful faces,” before thanking the crowd for selling out the House of Blues in Orlando. The two female members in the band who also do vocals and play keyboard, Molly Guldemond and Jasmin Parkin, would be on either side of Ryan Guldemond, framing him with their feminine touch in tune. Although Ali Siadat (drummer) and Mike Young (bassist) were playing in the back for a majority of the evening, they joined the other three in the front of the stage at the end of the show, giving a clearer image of the faces behind the night’s booming beats.
But it wasn’t just the beat of the music in your chest that made the night so memorable - it was the genuineness from the down-to-earth band that radiated the whole night. Mother Mother performed one rock song after another, letting the hype and amped-upness build up. In between songs, however, they would preface the next song they were about to play, explaining their motivations and intended purposes for a particular piece. Before playing their more melodic work It’s Alright, Ryan Guldemond warmed and validated the crowd of red, blue, green hair-dyed heads, saying, “Bravo for getting out of the house and doing something, you did the right thing - don’t stay home and isolate, come be with your family, your fan family. Keep fighting because we need you, we love you, we’re gonna play this song for you.” Immediately after was the collective gasp of excitement when the beginning notes commenced, followed by the crowd singing along to each and every lyric of the band’s most comforting song.
Of course, almost every one of their songs, if not all, had the crowd singing and screaming the lyrics back to the band - with so much passion and angst there in the air, it was difficult to not attempt to shout along, even if one didn’t know all of the words to their mainly fast-paced songs. The band was encouraging, enthusiastically congratulating the crowd saying, “Hey, you did it!” at the end of their second-most popular song, Hayloft. This song was so beloved that the band’s number-one song was based off of the former, but with an even faster paced and progression in the lyrics’ storyline entitled Hayloft II. With songs like those two and other amped works like Back in School and Oh Ana, Mother Mother contrasts them with acoustic versions of their songs: Arms Tonite, Body, and Wrecking Ball. But their setlist wouldn’t be complete with the song that fits the October fall season best of all, Ghosting, their final work performed during encore after fans begged for “one more”.
Although, throughout all of their songs, the energy the band carried radiated out to the audience as well - Ryan Guldemond would play with his guitar like he’s invincibly slicing through air with it, and Molly Guldemond and Jasmin Parkin rocked their heads back and forth so passionately that it makes one wish they had pigtails like the singers’ just to whoosh the pigtails with similar fervor too. This rock act could almost mask their soft compassionate side, but when one girl in the audience wasn’t feeling well and had to exit, the concerned band checked on her saying, “Sending love to that person who got pulled out, may they be alright, may they be okay - everyone else doing okay?” after their performance of It’s Alright and quoting their own lyrics. Mother Mother’s strong connection with the audience became even more apparent when they were tossing out signature guitar picks at the end of the show. The band was generous with this free souvenir, and the House of Blues crew members even continued to toss these mementos out after Mother Mother already walked off the stage. Fans could still purchase concert T-shirts, long-sleeves, tote bags, hats, and sound-activated bracelets ($5) between $40-$70 on average, but the guitar picks gave a special touch of uniqueness to this show.
With fast music that gets the audience’s feet dancing, arms swinging, and hearts pouring out into screaming all of Mother Mother’s lyrics, the band achieved their goal for the night: Ryan Guldemond had started off the show saying, “All we wanna do is give you a good memory to keep in your heart…so we’ll do our very best to accomplish that memory.” The memories Mother Mother made at this concert were more than just memorable; they are the memories one turns to to remind themselves that things will be more than just alright.
Brianna Guinigundo
Mother Mother doesn’t just sing lyrics that people from all walks of life can relate to, but they perform with such invitation that it feels like they were singing personally to you. Ryan Guldemond, the band’s guitarist and lead vocalist, sang from the very edge of the stage, often atop the black wooden platform box so everyone could see, regardless of how far back in the crowd one was. He danced his way towards the far left and right of the stage, and audience members reached out their arms and vigorously shook their hands in the air in hopes of touching their idol. At one point he even commented, “I can really see you, your beautiful, beautiful faces,” before thanking the crowd for selling out the House of Blues in Orlando. The two female members in the band who also do vocals and play keyboard, Molly Guldemond and Jasmin Parkin, would be on either side of Ryan Guldemond, framing him with their feminine touch in tune. Although Ali Siadat (drummer) and Mike Young (bassist) were playing in the back for a majority of the evening, they joined the other three in the front of the stage at the end of the show, giving a clearer image of the faces behind the night’s booming beats.
But it wasn’t just the beat of the music in your chest that made the night so memorable - it was the genuineness from the down-to-earth band that radiated the whole night. Mother Mother performed one rock song after another, letting the hype and amped-upness build up. In between songs, however, they would preface the next song they were about to play, explaining their motivations and intended purposes for a particular piece. Before playing their more melodic work It’s Alright, Ryan Guldemond warmed and validated the crowd of red, blue, green hair-dyed heads, saying, “Bravo for getting out of the house and doing something, you did the right thing - don’t stay home and isolate, come be with your family, your fan family. Keep fighting because we need you, we love you, we’re gonna play this song for you.” Immediately after was the collective gasp of excitement when the beginning notes commenced, followed by the crowd singing along to each and every lyric of the band’s most comforting song.
Of course, almost every one of their songs, if not all, had the crowd singing and screaming the lyrics back to the band - with so much passion and angst there in the air, it was difficult to not attempt to shout along, even if one didn’t know all of the words to their mainly fast-paced songs. The band was encouraging, enthusiastically congratulating the crowd saying, “Hey, you did it!” at the end of their second-most popular song, Hayloft. This song was so beloved that the band’s number-one song was based off of the former, but with an even faster paced and progression in the lyrics’ storyline entitled Hayloft II. With songs like those two and other amped works like Back in School and Oh Ana, Mother Mother contrasts them with acoustic versions of their songs: Arms Tonite, Body, and Wrecking Ball. But their setlist wouldn’t be complete with the song that fits the October fall season best of all, Ghosting, their final work performed during encore after fans begged for “one more”.
Although, throughout all of their songs, the energy the band carried radiated out to the audience as well - Ryan Guldemond would play with his guitar like he’s invincibly slicing through air with it, and Molly Guldemond and Jasmin Parkin rocked their heads back and forth so passionately that it makes one wish they had pigtails like the singers’ just to whoosh the pigtails with similar fervor too. This rock act could almost mask their soft compassionate side, but when one girl in the audience wasn’t feeling well and had to exit, the concerned band checked on her saying, “Sending love to that person who got pulled out, may they be alright, may they be okay - everyone else doing okay?” after their performance of It’s Alright and quoting their own lyrics. Mother Mother’s strong connection with the audience became even more apparent when they were tossing out signature guitar picks at the end of the show. The band was generous with this free souvenir, and the House of Blues crew members even continued to toss these mementos out after Mother Mother already walked off the stage. Fans could still purchase concert T-shirts, long-sleeves, tote bags, hats, and sound-activated bracelets ($5) between $40-$70 on average, but the guitar picks gave a special touch of uniqueness to this show.
With fast music that gets the audience’s feet dancing, arms swinging, and hearts pouring out into screaming all of Mother Mother’s lyrics, the band achieved their goal for the night: Ryan Guldemond had started off the show saying, “All we wanna do is give you a good memory to keep in your heart…so we’ll do our very best to accomplish that memory.” The memories Mother Mother made at this concert were more than just memorable; they are the memories one turns to to remind themselves that things will be more than just alright.
Brianna Guinigundo
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