Mommy Mommy, comprised of four UC Berkeley students, is all about spreading sad gurl rock: They’re queer, they’re loud, they’re sad, and they want you to know that’s alright.
“Your guitar sounds great!” a woman yelled to Ray Sunshine as the band tuned up on stage at the Golden Bull in downtown Oakland. “I have the same one! And OMG! Your tarot strap!”
As Sunshine stood behind a keyboard sporting an open button down shirt, flaming Doc Martens, and the aforementioned tarot guitar strap, the getup was in line with queer Gen Z fashions.
The lineup at the show, which took place Aug. 18, boasted four bands, three of whom were touring from out of town, along with Mommy Mommy.
The members of Mommy Mommy exuded the youthful sense of discomfort but desire for self-knowledge, of queerness, of nerds who also want to be seen.
The four made for a visually odd grouping in a fun way: Drummer Chard Masulis was decked out in shiny red knee-high boots and a matching spider-printed slip dress. Guitarist Lily Ramus wore a more classic rock get-up of screen-printed tank, skinny jeans, and chain accessories, but topped, or bottomed, off with the cushy platform sneakers of the last few years. Bassist Ian Watson, partially hidden in the back for the whole show, was dressed unremarkably, but I could not help but wonder how those thin limbs could caress the bass with such exactitude. An Adrien Brody cartoon in miniature, a background actor to the theatrics of their band mates.
Both Sunshine and Ramus spoke with the crowd, and as the set moved along they warmed up vocally and the crowd loosened as well. During a water and tuning break for the other members of the band, Chard continued to wail on the drum, tongue working torturously as they kept time frantically.
With the introduction of their song “St. Cecelia,” several women in front of me shrieked, jumping and dancing to the psych-rock. The band’s guitars undulated, wavy, occasionally shrieking, piercing, screaming.
The vocals got stronger as the set progressed, particularly during “Lana” — an ode to, you guessed it, queen of the mentally less stable worldwide and cigarette-sugar crooner herself, Lana Del Rey, opening and weaving throughout chord’s from Rey’s “Salvatore”.
The theme of mental instability and struggle pervaded throughout in songs like “51 50” and “Borderline” and, with Sunshine pleading in “With You”:
Baby tell me I’m good like here, tell me I’m good …
Alone when I’m with you…
Baby it’s easy crashing into your bed
That said, the band rocked hard their whole set, reminding us that no matter how low your iron count, you can still take to the stage and spread doom, gloom, and some sizzling cheer too.
The Golden Bull Is located at 412 14th St, Oakland, and hosts events most nights of the week.
