06/08/2015
Fairy Bones
©MAD Pics Photography
MAD Pics Photography covering for Valley Hype. Read the full story here: http://www.valleyhype.com/mother-mother-raises-crowd-at-the-pressroom-fairy-bones-enchants-them/
MOTHER MOTHER RAISES CROWD, FAIRY BONES ENCHANTS THEM
June 3, 2015 - Canada’s Mother Mother may have been sweltering coming to Phoenix in June, but they continued to turn the heat up on the (sold out) crowd, and delivered a ‘Very Good Bad Thing’ to The Pressoom.
What exactly is a Very Good Bad Thing? It’s the duality of man, the battle between technology and nature’s effects on the human condition. And in Mother Mother’s case, it’s the name of their latest, studio album, and the current tour which brought them to the Valley. According to frontman Ryan Guldemond, “the ‘very good bad thing’ is the person itself. We are this terrifying, yet beautiful juxtaposition of creative intelligence and self-degeneration.”
The quintet’s style certainly reflects this contradiction, with both large, melodic harmonies as well as edgy synth-heavy lines and guitar driven hooks. Phoenix’s alt fans ate it up, and even the band recognized the Valley’s appreciation, as Guldemond revelled half-way through the set… “Phoenix, you’re setting the bar of this tour very, very high. Thank you, this is amazing.”
Thank you, Mother Mother… you’re bad thing is very good indeed.
Catch Mother Mother on their 2015 USA VGBT tour.
But the surprise of the night (at least for the Mother Mother fans) was the Valley’s own Fairy Bones, who opened the show. As a photographer, I get the opportunity to be in the “pit” (right in front of the stage), and also to catch the interactions and conversations of the fans in the front row. And oh, what a very good bad thing it was….
As heard from someone in the crowd piled against the front rail: “Who the F*** is Fairy Bones? And why do they have to have opening bands at all?” These fans were obviously not enthralled with sitting through another “local” band to get to the headliner.
But as soon as Phoenix’s own local Banshee and the Bones crew hit the stage, the tone in the front row changed. By the second song, heads were nodding. By the middle of their set, hands were in the air. And when they left the stage, the crowd exploded in cheers… including the front row critics. “Wow, what was that?” “I don’t know, but I liked it.” As a personal fan of Fairy Bones, I couldn’t help but to smile.
Fairy Bones, it’s safe to say that you’ve gained new fans. And it’s not surprising. With the endless energy and wicked drama they bring to every set, it’s impossible to leave without (at minimum) respect for their talent, and “Like Like” stuck in your head. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating…. this psychadelic-punk-grunge-pop-metal-synth-wave-alt-rock group is impossible to put in a box, and that’s what’s so very cool about them.
Fairy Bones will be on a tour of the west coast beginning June 21.