Mother Soki haunts Schubas Tavern’s Stage
Lincoln Hall and Schubas Tavern’s Tomorrow Never Knows Fest celebrates 20 years of Chicago music fans braving four weeks of cold in January. Mother Soki was one of the headliners to kick off the first weekend at Schubas’, alongside openers Meg Elsier and Frances Softheart.
Minneapolis-based artist Mother Soki, born Annie Tammearu, is paving her way with an eerie sound, credited to synths and airy vocals, paired with midwestern gothic aesthetics. Her single “Rivet Gun,” released April of last year gained traction on Tiktok. She proclaims her influences to be the likes of The Sundays, Imogen Heap, and Cocteau Twins. After her set, an older concert goer in the sea of young fans, referred to her sound as “Innocence Mission meets Enya.” Arguably, she’s a part of the wave of artists, such as Mk.gee, spirit blue, and Chanel Beads, who want to invoke this sense of supernatural wonder and space in their works. There’s no doubt Mother Soki transported the audience into a foggy Evergreen forest as she sang on stage.
Before Mother Soki’s presence was felt, two openers energetically hit the stage. Chicago local Frances Softheart played a short, but lovely indie folk set, where she danced around the stage. The beauty of local openers is seeing and hearing the support in the crowd, and that was for sure felt. Nashville’s Meg Elsier played soon after with an increasingly energetic set. She sang with her whole body, moving around the stage at any given moment, jumping, and expressing every word through her facial expressions. While she not only had such a strong stage presence, she was absolutely hilarious. Notably, in between songs, she talked about how she’s never had “market price guac” until recently, which led to the crowd erupting in chatter.
The build up of energy abruptly shifted when Mother Soki ascended onto the stage. The bright, multicolored lights from the openers’ sets were replaced with moody blue and red lights, casting Mother Soki and her four piece band into the shadows. Glimpses of her face showed as she swayed on stage. Her vocals were sultry, with her slight use of autotone working beautifully with the live instrumentation. The intimacy of the venue served her well, reaching out to the crowd that most likely appeared to be a wash of black from her vantage point–an act reminiscent of her sound.
Mid-set, she played her aforementioned single “Rivet Gun” noticeably got the most love, which she poked fun at after she. Her set list also featured songs from Fantasy - EP released December of last year alongside previous singles from the years. As she wrapped up her set, the only thing the crowd was left wanting was more music. The beauty of these smaller shows is getting to be a part of a growing artist's journey, like Mother Soki, but one can only wait for new music and the next show as her popularity is imminent.
