A review of Mother Feather at Bowery Ballroom (1.25.14) and the new "Living Breathing" EP

I knew this was going to be good, but I didn't know how good until it happened to me.
Seeing pictures of a Mother Feather performance, one might think that they have an idea of how the show will play out, but, just as a picture of a sumptuous meal isn't the same as indulging in said meal...you get the idea.

Seeing Mother Feather live is like watching a bonfire; they smoulder and dance and explode and burn.
Along with heat, they emit a strange, aggressive, confrontational sexuality.
At times, lead singer, Ann Courtney, is a screaming, fist-pumping dynamo and, at other times, she appears as a chastened child...the kind who plays with matches, her voice is warm, impish, admonishing, dirty, flirty and often soaked in both sincerity and innuendo.

This might sound fractured, schizophrenic, but it all fits, it's all Mother Feather.

Ann and Lizzie (backing vocals and keyboards) work in perfect concert, like some ferocious, otherworldly clock, telling us to revolt and dance and live, rather than just what time it is. Their smirking, perfectly placed and executed interactions serve to expertly display their background in theater and how well they utilize it.

Highlights of the evening included the playful choreography of their opener, "Egyptology", the energetic sensuality of their infectiously catchy "Trampoline" and, as always, their massive, anthemic closer, "Mother Feather", which you really need to experience to understand. These ladies and their harem of talented instrumentalists are so much more than just what's on record, if you're just listening to the music, you're not getting all of Mother Feather.

And, speaking of the music...at their Bowery show on the 25th, Mother Feather debuted their new EP, Living Breathing.
This was a truly excellent birthday present.

Mother Feather's new Living Breathing EP

Like their first, self titled EP, Living Breathing contains four songs that range from fun to fiery and, also like their first EP, nothing here doesn't stand out. The drums aren't just keeping a beat, Gunnar Olsen uses every measure to do something to keep the listener present and engaged, and the interplay between Basile (bass) and Foley (guitar) is always riveting, never rote.  While it may not be as catchy or packed with instant hits as their debut, I was too caught up in reveling in new Mother Feather music to complain. One thing is does feature is a song called "Egyptology" (usually their set opener) and that's worth the price of admission alone. It's a blistering rocker centering around how funky the Egyptians were and containing the lyrics "I go where he go / follow my pharaoh / to the underworld disco / down in Old Cairo".

Yeah.
 Steve Martin and the Bangles wish they could write a song this awesome.
Someone find a song like this anywhere else, and I'll buy you a trampoline.
There's also "Mirror", which is as dark and intense as three plus minutes of uninterrupted eye contact with Ann herself, and the title track, another god damn awesome rock song with a fun, slinky, twisty climax that might be the sexiest suicide ever.

One aspect of Mother Feather I keep returning to is the fact that, after all the songs and all the music that have been, they have an originality and theatricality that doesn't seemed forced, we're hearing and seeing the real them; it's genuine and doesn't suffer from the pseudo-intellectual eye-rolling that plagues most of pop culture. They love and care about everything they create and that rings true in every facet of Mother Feather.

If you're interested, I interviewed the ladies of Mother Feather for my podcast a while back.
Check it out if you'd like to know about what makes these vixens tick.

digressive_obscenity - ep. 12 - mother_feather