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.