Moor Mother Goddess, Hot Tears and Callowhill jangled and crunched at Boot and Saddle

Callowhill | Photo by Chris Sikich | sikichphotography.com

The unusual warmth of Wednesday gave way to waves of music insight at Boot & Saddle. Three Philly artists graced the stage — Callowhill, Hot Tears and Moor Mother Goddess (with the latter joining the bill after Brooklyn-based The Shondes could not make it) — and gifted art to the ears of the midsized and enthusiastic crowd.

Moor Mother Goddess (MMGz), aka Camae Defstar, sat before her computer and unleashed a poetic set of electro rap. Her visions of Philly’s pains intertwined with intricate backing beats and prerecorded words to make a powerful statement.

Hot Tears, which is just the singular force of Molly Fischer, played next. Spine-tingling guitar was matched with personal introspection. Each song went deeper into a well of emotion and passion, leaving the wet listener wanting more.

The final musical concoction was Callowhill. The foursome of Julia Gaylord, John Robert Pettit, Nikki Karam and Katy Otto blasted through a set of rock that jangled and crunched with precision and looseness in all the right places. After lyrical setups by Gaylord and Pettit, the band would jam out some punk chords. Oftentimes they would crisscross with Gaylord and Karam or Gaylord and Pettit intersecting while Pettit would face master drummer Otto in an all too brief set.