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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 2016)
Somewhere in the psychedelic dance party th a t is the sound o f U nknow n Mortal Orchestra is a higher ideal than the hedonism you’d expect. On their last album “ M u lti-L o v e ,” songw riter and fro n tm an Ruban N eilso n used dance, disco and polyamory to create a collection o f am azing psychedelic rock songs. Their live show on Jan . 30 at Revolution H all expounded on those them es and proved < h a t U M O is n ’ t som e banal rehash o f 1970s lew dness; rather, it ’ s a b rillian t, en ergy-filled celebration o f w hat rock music is, and what life can be. Guitar wizard and songwriter Neilson took the stage with his band at 10:30, after the fine opening act Lower Dens. UMO set the standard at virtuoso level instantly with a 30-second jazz rock improvisation. From there, the band exploded into the second single and h it from last year’ s “ M u lti-L o ve,” the disco-inspired “ C an ’t Keep Checking My Phone. ” After charging through the pop track, N eilson took a five-m inute guitar solo as electrifying as any other m aster’ s. The crowd screamed -ecstasy at every m om en t o f suspense. W hen Neilson brought the solo up to the guitar’s highest fret and came to the edge o f the stage, the cheers got just as high 6 Clackamas Print FEBRUARY 3,2016 theclackamasprint.com as the notes he played. This kind o f cheer just kept coming back. Frontm an N eilso n ’s stage presence “We were one, then became three, Mama, what have you done to me? I’m half crazy.” - Lyrics from UMO’s Multi-Love is like an updated Prince. He dives and conducts the band with a guitar that’s only hung on his right shoulder, not over his body like m ost guitarists. His spins and turns launched the band through songs like the three players were choreographed to his m ovem ents. N eilso n played o n two guitars for the evening, notably a sitar-gu itar, an electric guitar with a set o f sym pathetic strings (sym pathetic strings are tuned to resonate w ith the vibrations o f the guitar) and a b u zzin g bridge on the in stru m en t. N eilso n used the sitar-guitar rarely, but its texture is reminiscent of early psychedelic a la “ Norwegian Wood” or “ Paint it Black.” Neilson joked on Twitter the day before the concert that “ the guys in my band play weirdly well sometim es its weird [sic]” . H is to n g u e -in -ch e e k tweet was barely a jo ke. D rum m er Riley Geare brought a d riving energy to the live show not present on U M O’ s recorded work. Quincy McCrary, the keyboardist, played with a jazz player’s knowledge of harmonies and theory. The players all seem jazz informed, w ith N eilson and McCrary playing jazz voicing o f chords far more often than the simple major or minor chords preferred by m ost rock musicians. In stru m en tal excellence asid e, the band found m om ents to jam w ith the crowd throughout the concert. Neilson p ut h is guitar down fo r a so ng and danced in the audience. H e waved his arm s enough to get the crowd fanning him down (Wayne’ s World’s “ We are not worthy!” ), then retreated to a different part of the crowd to do it again. The band spurred the audience on, clapping in time during each other solos and getting close enough for the concertgoers to reach out and grovel at their feet. Maybe com ing hom e to Portland just put the band in a good mood, but they were awesomely amicable to the audience. W ith beers in h an d , the audience cheered out at UM O, and that was pretty m uch th e only th in g they all had in com m on. A ll w alks m ade it out to the concert. There were young dudes in black with ripped dfenim jackets, middle-aged rockers, girls with hom -rim m ed glasses and the gentry of white suburbia. The rich suburbanites were confined to the balcony for everyone’s peace o f m ind, o f course. A n introverted album preluded this con cert. 2015’ s “ M u lti-L o v e ” fou nd Neilson tortured by dual lovers. At UMO’s concert at Revolution H all though, the only loves he seem ed to be concerned with were love o f m usic, and his love of performing. For Matt’s three song suggestions, visit TheClackamasPrint.com.
