I have a recording and you should listen to it…so have a pleasant day…..and enjoy Mom And Dad at Cervantes!
Mom & Dad sounds kind of like the guys from Ween circa 1990 if they got punched in the face by the members of Mr. Bungle while riding on a motorcycle driven by Josh Homme. A wall of aggressive garage rock tones tinted with elements of psychedelia and experimental stoner metal bundled together in a package that contains two parts Dopapod, with Neal “Fro” Evans on drums and Chuck Jones on bass, and then around three parts front-man Ben Larroquette.
Their set started off with “Video Games,” a tune that mashes a stoner rock riff over a surf groove, peppered with random samples before erupting into a fervent chant of “VIDEO GAMES!” Their songs have an evil-zaniness, kinda like a crack-head with a knife. There is an air of funny but don’t get too comfortable, you might get stabbed. Songs like “Sworn Enemies” will lull you into a psychedelic garage rock jam before crashing back into the off-beat chorus. Next up was the operatively titled “I Had A Balloon And You Popped It So Fuck You,” a fuzz-laden instrumental that attacks the senses with a hypnotizing alarm-like guitar loop. If there was an award for best song name, this probably wouldn’t win, but it’s because the game is fixed.
Bringing things down a bit, the band then performed an ironically bluesy ode to modern socialization, “21st Century Blues.” As Ben begrudges in the chorus, “21st Century Blues…social status out the fucking wazoo. Have you been to that new juice place? its fucking AM-AY-ZING. I could die…give me a gun for which I can try,” you can’t help but commiserate, laughing at the beast we all invariably take part in. Paralleling the tongue-in-cheek characterization of socializing, “To Go” shows a more sincere reflection on what someone’s presence means. The song had a dreamlike quality until the end when Ben’s growl ushered in the heavy riffing guitars, elevating the song to an intense apex.
The band cycles attitudes quickly, from the brash guitars of “Video Games,” “Sworn Enemies Now” and “Hawk,” to the dawdling swagger and quirky lyrics of songs like “This Goblin,” “Give It A Rest” and “Surreptitious Dollars Bills,” or even the synth tones in “It Only Happens Once” or the humdrum riffs in “Caffeine,” the band’s personality is scattered, like a carnival of experimental metal. They even found space for a delightfully weird cover of Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher.”
The set closed with what started as an ironically upbeat swamp-rock tune about a missile launch, ending, probably appropriately so, with the explosion of heavy metal riffs and the commanding lyrics “Burn your guns, we have 50 million megatons!” – a bleak way to end the set, but sometimes the truth hurts and maybe it should: Mom & Dad aren’t here to coddle you, they’re here to kick your ass and make you dance.
Mom & Dad | 2019-01-18 | Cervantes’ Other Side, Denver, CO
-= One Set =-
01. (Intro)
02. Video Games
03. Sworn Enemies Now
04. I Had A Balloon And You Popped It So Fuck You
05. 21st Century Blues
06. To Go
07. Hawk
08. This Goblin
09. It Only Happens Once
10. Hot For Teacher (Van Halen cover)
11. Give It A Rest
12. Caffeine
13. Surreptitious Dollar Bills
14. Silent Song
15. Nice Missile
Show Notes: This set was performed in support of lespecial who was headlining. Turtleneck opened the show, followed by Mom & Dad then lespecial.
Thanks to Mom And Dad and Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom for being cool with taping live shows. Go see live music and tip your bartenders! #spacetapes
LINK: https://archive.org/…/MomAndDad2019-01-18.AKG.P170.AUD.SBD.…
