Hundreds of Montreal music fans pushed their way up the stairs into Theatre Fairmount on Wednesday night, eager to see MorMor (a.k.a. Seth Nyquist), Toronto's smoothest alt-pop phenomenon. The 31-year-old's layered, plush music has been gaining more and more notoriety with the release of last year's Semblance, and this show was all the more anticipated for the fact that the original date had been rescheduled due to a power outage.
Now, fans had to brave intense whiteout conditions to reach the venue — you can't call them anything but loyal. Their loyalties seemed to extend exclusively to MorMor (the snow might've slowed them down too), as the crowd was sparse for Arima Ederra, with attendees streaming into the venue just as she finished up her set of laidback, stripped-down soul songs.
MorMor himself was a little more punctual than his fans — uninterested in wasting time, he took the stage 30 minutes before the set schedule called for, sporting a faded brown jacket and one of his Semblance tour t-shirts.
"How you doing Montreal?" he asked. "I think the last time I was here was in 2019, so it's amazing to play for a packed room." He commanded the Theatre Fairmount stage, starting his set with Semblance opener "Dawn." Behind him was his two-piece band — a drummer and a bass/sample/keyboards player. The two looked like twins in the fractured stage lighting, adding to the strange, dreamlike atmosphere that MorMor's music casts.
The keyboardist threw some static between each song, bathing the venue in a constant hum that never settled into full silence. For the most part, MorMor's live renditions struck a pretty similar vibe to his recorded music — these are the kinds of tunes that could be played with a computer and backing track, but MorMor's decision for a live band made the show all the sweeter.
The biggest takeaway from a MorMor performance is in his shifting vocal style and range. This guy can sing and he knows it, hitting some impressive falsetto notes on "Crawl" and constantly grooving with a huge grin on his face; you get the sense that he really loves the music he creates. At times he sounded like Prince, and at others the Black Pumas or even Childish Gambino's foray into funk on Awaken My Love! For a few songs, he pulled out a gorgeous cherry red Fender Jaguar, laying down some chords as he sang about heartbreak and the overall confusion of living in the 2020s.
For most of the set, MorMor's music called for some slow swaying or light head-bobbing, but for the last few tracks he invited the crowd to "really dance for this one." "Some Place Else" is easy to get lost in, riding an amazing distorted bass line, while "Waiting on the Warmth," is his poppiest and most fast-paced number. The chorus "I'll be waiting on the warmth / Each time it comes," really had the crowd moving and singing along, perhaps because they knew what was in store for them outside.
I'll admit that I wasn't entirely familiar with MorMor before arriving to the Theatre Fairmount, but I can now say I'm a fan. In this musical landscape, it's easy for names to get lost in the shuffle, but MorMor is one you'll want to pay close attention to.
Now, fans had to brave intense whiteout conditions to reach the venue — you can't call them anything but loyal. Their loyalties seemed to extend exclusively to MorMor (the snow might've slowed them down too), as the crowd was sparse for Arima Ederra, with attendees streaming into the venue just as she finished up her set of laidback, stripped-down soul songs.
MorMor himself was a little more punctual than his fans — uninterested in wasting time, he took the stage 30 minutes before the set schedule called for, sporting a faded brown jacket and one of his Semblance tour t-shirts.
"How you doing Montreal?" he asked. "I think the last time I was here was in 2019, so it's amazing to play for a packed room." He commanded the Theatre Fairmount stage, starting his set with Semblance opener "Dawn." Behind him was his two-piece band — a drummer and a bass/sample/keyboards player. The two looked like twins in the fractured stage lighting, adding to the strange, dreamlike atmosphere that MorMor's music casts.
The keyboardist threw some static between each song, bathing the venue in a constant hum that never settled into full silence. For the most part, MorMor's live renditions struck a pretty similar vibe to his recorded music — these are the kinds of tunes that could be played with a computer and backing track, but MorMor's decision for a live band made the show all the sweeter.
The biggest takeaway from a MorMor performance is in his shifting vocal style and range. This guy can sing and he knows it, hitting some impressive falsetto notes on "Crawl" and constantly grooving with a huge grin on his face; you get the sense that he really loves the music he creates. At times he sounded like Prince, and at others the Black Pumas or even Childish Gambino's foray into funk on Awaken My Love! For a few songs, he pulled out a gorgeous cherry red Fender Jaguar, laying down some chords as he sang about heartbreak and the overall confusion of living in the 2020s.
For most of the set, MorMor's music called for some slow swaying or light head-bobbing, but for the last few tracks he invited the crowd to "really dance for this one." "Some Place Else" is easy to get lost in, riding an amazing distorted bass line, while "Waiting on the Warmth," is his poppiest and most fast-paced number. The chorus "I'll be waiting on the warmth / Each time it comes," really had the crowd moving and singing along, perhaps because they knew what was in store for them outside.
I'll admit that I wasn't entirely familiar with MorMor before arriving to the Theatre Fairmount, but I can now say I'm a fan. In this musical landscape, it's easy for names to get lost in the shuffle, but MorMor is one you'll want to pay close attention to.
