ALO (a.k.a. Animal Liberation Orchestra) brought their 12th annual Tour d’Amour to Portland, Oregon’s Wonder Ballroom last Friday, February 9th, as they spread the love up the West Coast from their Bay Area home.
For this swing, they brought along the Monophonics to get the crowd limbered up. Built around the powerful, soulful vocals of Kelly Finnigan, the Monophonics deliver their psychedelic soul with the help of keyboards, a horn section, drums, bass and electric guitar. Finnigan is an animated performer, leading the band from behind his piano, which, in Portland, was situated front and center on the stage. They played the title track from 2015 album Sound of Sinning and after expressing some love for Oregon, played “Promises,” from the same album. 2012’s In Your Brain was also represented with tracks “Foolish Love” and “Bang Bang” standing out in particular, with driving funk and soul, and some tasty guitar work by Ian McDonald.
ALO opened their set with what is perhaps the perfect song for the Tour d’Amour. “I Love Music”, from 2009’s Man Of The World, with its lyrics “I love music, and you love to dance. When we’re together, it’s the perfect romance,” set the mood for an evening of dance floor camaraderie.
Keyboardist Zach Gill led the band through “Cowboys and Chorus Girls” and then bassist Steve Adams sang lead vocals and held down the mellow groove on “Not Old Yet” from 2015’s Tangle of Time. Drummer Dave Brogan was absent from this tour, and the talented Ezra Lipp filled in on the kit. Gill explained that Brogan was spending time with family in Utah and said that the next song was dedicated to him, then entered into an expansive version of “Shapeshifter.”
“Shapeshifter” was followed up with a fun cover of Elton John’s “Benny and The Jets.” Tangle of Time track “Undertow” came next, then a trio of songs from 2007 album Roses & Clover closed out the set. The popular “Plastic Bubble” had the crowd singing along, then the uplifting “Maria” and a fun “Lady Loop” kept the audience in full-on dance mode right up until the end. For an encore, the band played “Girl, I Wanna Lay You Down,” a song from Fly Between Falls that Gill put together with Jack Johnson. Then the ever-popular “BBQ,” which included a section of Prince’s “1999” in the middle of the jam, closed out the show.
It’s so obvious that ALO has fun doing what they do. They approach each song with a sense of exploration that keeps them and their fans on their toes. Gill has no qualms putting forth his quirky self up there on stage, whether he’s tickling the keys, singing through his miniature toy bullhorn, or wielding his laser-laden ukulele. Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz plays guitar like a man possessed. He might start a section innocently enough, upright in stature, an innocuous grin spread across his face. But as a song progresses, he leans back, his knees bend, and he and his electrified acoustic guitar engage in a mad dance that produce of plethora of crisp, heart-rending notes. Joyful vibes spread throughout the audience and soon the venue becomes a temple of celebration.
What becomes clear after seeing ALO a few times, is that every tour is a Tour d’Amour, every show an expression of love. If going out to see live music offers a short reprieve from the everyday anxieties of life, going to see ALO is like a weekend spa retreat.
