Mommy Mommy stands for prodigious queer chaos

I didn’t realize that the second time I would be listening to Mommy Mommy play would be my death.

On a Thursday night, Mommy Mommy came in with the intention of setting the UC Theatre’s “Friends of Friends” stage on hellfire. An eclectic group of Cal music majors, Mommy Mommy is composed of B-side’s very own managing editor, Lily Ramus on the guitar, Ray Sunshyne on keys, guitar, and vocals, Ian Watson on bass, and Chard Masulis on drums. The group was decked in style; fishnets, thigh-highs, and of course, the greatest accessories known to a queer rock band— 3 cool guitars and a drum set. 

With the first strums of “Tied Up,” I knew my death was incoming. “Tied Up” was written by Lily, with help from Ray, in a class they took at Berkeley. It was their first released single; “Oh, girl you really got me so…tied up from the get-go,” their mellifluous voice sings, and my descent into hell has begun. If queer people can’t go to heaven, I might as well go to hell. 

Soon after, they performed a personal favorite of mine, and always a crowd favorite, “St. Cecilia,” their latest release (both “Tied Up” and “St. Cecelia” are available on their Spotify and SoundCloud); that distinctive Hendrix-esque guitar riff at the beginning stayed in my mind for hours after- the immaculate solo that Lily proceeded to play seemed like the background music to my descent into chaos.

But the chaos had not even begun. 

Classifying Mommy Mommy as a rock band would be a little restrictive because their genres, and genders, know nothing but fluidity. Ray continued the show with “With You,” stating how they “wrote it about dating men.” The crowd chuckles. Their voice has a way of feeling like an organ, woody yet windy- like a breeze that caresses you. They play a barrage of songs next— “Lana,” (which has the most hypnotizing guitar riff that makes Lily sway like a reed whilst playing it), “51/50,” and then “Mother” which they preface by saying, “We’re going to get a little heavy.” Heavy they did get with the crowd being riled up in the best possible way, making a frenzy of the soul. They then switch it up with “Moonlight Samba,” another jazz number that transported the audience to insert a cool jazzy location of your choice.

The  showstopper of the night had to be “Borderline,” a song that Ray punctuates sardonically with “It’s about my personality disorder.” The crowd chuckles yet again. Ray’s voice really shone through hauntingly with the first line— “Today I saw your sign in San Francisco,” accompanied by themselves on the keys. And soon the guitars came screaming in, welcoming the chaos. Putting into words just how powerful that particular strum of the electric guitar was would not do it justice so I won’t try. Instead, I’ll put into words Chard’s frenzied yet purely crazy-genius way of playing the drums when she did her solo. And the way Ray, Lily, and Ian switched guitars like a throuple of multi-talented guitar heroes. 

What really haunted me, when I heard them strike the chords that cut my heartstrings, is how Ray ends the set with, “Real life, were they ever really mine?// Real life, they were never really mine.”

All I can say is Mommy Mommy stands for the chaos that ensued the moment they began.

Article by Anoushka Ghosh

Photography by Pratham Gill (@gilliam.poto on Instagram, portfolio here)