Sunday night on 7/7, I had the amazing opportunity to capture the thrilling performances of Mother Mother and Cavetown on their co-headlining 2024 summer tour with opening pop-punk power trio Meet Meet Me At The Altar. Even as the opener kicked off, there was something different about the audience, as many concert-goers shuffled in early to hear the opening act. Early on, the venue felt full, and at a capacity of just over 5000, max occupancy at doors is no easy feat.
Meet Me At The Altar was power-driven pop punk at its finest, reminding me of the sounds of the late 2000’s emo wave. Formed in 2015, the group developed their sound remotely through the internet and were signed to Fueled by Ramen in 2020. Their performance was a great way to kick off the night, interacting with audience members and paving the way for excitement to build for Mother Mother.
In between sets, the audience sang along boisterously to the house mix while a handful of fans gave out bracelets to the photographers and bouncers working the pit, a first for me and a testament to the community and positivity in the air throughout the show.
Mother Mother’s set was a dynamic masterclass in live musicianship. Started in 2005, the band has been playing for just shy of 20 years and has become ever more popular after a resurgence on social media in 2020. Ryan Guldemond, their guitarist and frontman recalled the band playing at TT’s The Bears, a former hotspot venue for smaller acts in Boston, for 10 years consecutively and never being able to fill up the venue. This performance was quite the contrast and the band’s gratuity was afoot as they played like it was their last night as a band. Mother Mother opened with Nobody Escapes, their latest release from the album Grief Chapter. The entire lineup moved around and explored the stage, with countless dramatic expression. Their set continued countless evolutions, proving the band’s sound to be truly indie. The crowd roared in reception to their performance and the energy continued to build throughout their performance until it was time for Cavetown.
Cavetown was a great act to wrap up the night. Robin Daniel Skinner’s project is the perfect blend of introspective and compassion that we need more of in the world right now. The harmonious blend of bedroom pop and gentle ballads brought the audience together and was a powerful thing to witness. Throughout his lyricism and transgender identity, Cavetown’s fanbase has found sanctuary and comfort through his art. Robbie took a moment during their set to address this, acknowledging the dark place they were in when they wrote This is Home.
stating they were once in a really dark place when they wrote the song they were about to perform and that things do get better and continue to get better. A sort of reminder to stay strong and persevere through any challenges that may stand in your way in relationships, intrapersonally, in life. Towards the end of the show, some amazing things happened. Someone got engaged, and as Robbie came to a close in playing through the last tunes of the night, they incorporated a trans flag from the audience and tied it around their neck as a cape.
The show was captivating, memorable and electric. In every sense it’s what a good concert should be, where there is variety, great music and most importantly an audience that enjoys themselves.
Check out all of Donovan’s photos from the show below.
