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Momma at Fine Line (May 19, 2025)
Tour Dates Previously: Momma at Azura Amphitheater (June 11, 2023) [ Continue Reading Momma at Azura Amphitheater (June 11, 2023) ] Read More
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The rain started and came with some lightening. Just down the road, the Minnesota Twins had just taken a 2-1 lead, when the tarp came down and the game was delayed. Over at Fine Line, the doors were just about to open for a show with indie band Momma, and thankfully security was very efficient getting people in before they got too wet.
Getting things going was Wishy. The Indianapolis-based band is an indie rock / shoegaze band, founded by Kevin Krauter and Nina Pitchkites. They have had several EP releases, as well as their debut album Triple Seven from 2023. The quintet (three guitars, bass, and drums) came out with dual vocals from Krauter & Pitchkites, with that full reverb effect closing it out. I hadn’t realized from my listen to the album how much these two share lead vocals, to the point of trading lines in the second song. Considering his slightly higher tenor and her lower alto, there’s some real overlap in ranges there.
As they got going on the next song, Love on the Outside, the bassist actually opened and consumed an entire Uncrustable just before he needed to come in with the riff. The nonchalance of it was pretty hysterical, but an odd moment for sure. Some technical difficulties led to a guitar change for Pitchkites, but interestingly, they had some music piped in during the fix. Back to the act, Wishy powered on, with dual vocals throughout. There’s a bit of pop sound in a lot of these songs and definitely some 90’s indie call back. Our third (non-singing) guitarist got a brief, solid solo and it felt like a very no-nonsense band doing their thing. A little programmed music helped fill out the sound on a late number with Pitchkites on vocal duties. It was Krauter’s turn to struggle through issues with his equipment, but the band carried on to finish the song. It was definitely the most time I had seen lost to technical difficulties in a long time, which was too bad as Wishy had been building a definite positive vibe. When things finally got fixed, we were told it was the last song, which held more than little irony. Still, Wishy threw in, with full reverb vocals, some distorted guitar and inclusion of tambourine. An appreciative audience cheered them off despite all the issues.
The headliner, Momma, is a Californian band now located in New York. Formed by friends Ella Friedman and Allegra Weingarten ten years ago, the band’s first album, Interloper, came out in 2018 and their newest, Welcome to My Blue Sky, was released in April, 2025 and the name of this tour supporting it. The quartet (guitars, bass, and drums) They came flying on stage exactly at nine, and got right into it. The second song (Fever) was straight rock energy and had the front half of the audience already jumping. There were a number of planned instrument changes in the early going and maybe the first time I have seen a bassist switching between songs.
Medicine was all driving, dark guitars and crashing cymbals. Pedals were being deployed in rapid succession, we got a somewhat disdainful note that someone had left “their Whole Foods and purse on stage”, followed by a “they sure did”. I loved the dry humor, but the band was nonplussed as they moved into Ohio All the Time. There’s a playfulness to the two leads for Momma, even as they edge into almost rock anthem style music, such as on Stay All Summer. It’s also contrasted by the newly emotionless bass player, whose facial expressions hardly changed (Was that a small grin? Who would know?).
A change in both lead guitars, including an acoustic was next. This was a dizzying pace of changing instruments, and special props to the crew member (Jack) who quickly and effectively helped those exchanges. Bottle Blonde may have been the most effective use of the dual vocals, overlapping harmonies closely. (Side note: We had some very odd and rambunctious audience members, but the band handled it all very well.) No Stage had its guitar solo intro to then turn the distortion on high and got great cheers to its vocal (“So put me on the big screen”).
The band noted what the audience had known for the last hour, “It’s f-ing hot up here”. We got another older song, Lucky, with a change in lead singer. With the assault of the guitars (and make no mistake, this was a loud show), Momma almost sounded like a hard rock band at several points. But just as quickly, they veered back to the lighter indie sound. A later song had a solid guitar interlude that once again had the center audience close to moshing. Motorbike hit the top of that energy for both band and audience. The title track from the new album was next, and was slightly slower, but had plenty of the pedal effects and intricate vocals. Krauter brought out shots for the band, and it was the downhill part of the roller coaster to the end.
A near fainting in the audience was averted and crowd and staff worked well to get them off to the bar for water. That led to a “stay hydrated, and oh yeah, this is our last song!”. Back on for an encore, we got a guest (Samantha) playing along on the first song, which was yet another delay as they got her going. But they finally moved forward to finish the night strong. As the crowd poured out of Fine Line, it was to a suspended Twins game as it was now raining cats and dogs. The cold weather was a welcome relief to the hot temperatures inside, but Momma had certainly pleased the Minneapolis crowd with a top notch performance.
| thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com |
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