Animal Liberation Orchestra (ALO) high stepped into the Fillmore in San Francisco this past Saturday, March 25th, not only because this night was chosen as the celebration of their 25th anniversary as a band, and not just because the vaunted room was completely sold out. Where this combination would give any band cause to celebrate, there was also the added fact that their annual Tour d’Amor had been plagued by several massive weather systems, and the band and its management and crew were able to lithely adjust and readjust over and again with minimal gig cancellations and some inventive venue shifts.
Through the adversity, no one lost sight of the vibe and this night’s performance at the Fillmore would prove an exclamation point of the tour. The incomparable Ron Artis warmed up the expectant crowd with his own brand of funk, rock, and blues. The uninitiated were immediate converts to the Artis’ sound and the trio surely gained a number of new fans out of his power-charged hour-long performance.
ALO took the stage with their signature positivity and the first song of the set, “Make It Back Home” from their new release Silver Saturdays hit the spot just right. Everything was on point, tight, and practiced as ever and the band’s attack was heightened by the magic that only a storied stage like the Fillmore can elicit. They moved through a sweet version of “Blew Out The Walls” that had the crowd singing louder than PA volume and then came the first cover of the evening. It’s weird as a music writer to focus on the covers a band plays but imaginative covers is a very appreciated arrow in ALO’s quiver. When they dropped INXS’ “Need You Tonight”, the Fillmore came unglued: high fives, shouts of surprise, and spirited boogies ensued. When the song wrapped, Zach Gill (keyboards/lead vocals) spoke up, “Good right?” Yeah, it was good. It was better than good.
The set continued with Ezra Lipp (drums/lead vocals) crooning out another new one from Silver Saturdays entitled “Keep On Giving, Jane” followed by Dan Lebowitz’s (guitar/lead vocals) “Try” which dissolved into a segue that slid into the night’s second cover, Journey’s “Lights”. The band’s version of “Lights” was slow and syncopated, the chorus was an expected singalong between the band and crowd before they segued back into “Try”.
Steve Adams (bass/lead vocals) took the next turn with a fairly straightforward rendition of his new one, “Rare Air”. For those of you who have never seen this band, are you keeping track of lead vocal duties? One of the really incredible things about ALO is that each of these guys are great lead singers and when one takes lead the others pick up inspired harmonies. Vocally, this band may be one of the best on the scene. The set only built from there as the one-two punch of “Cowboys and Chorus Girls” and an absolutely massive jam in the middle of a fantastic “Maria,” had one thinking of a really ripping Phish “Piper” jam replete with all the soaring highs.
Set two slinked up with a killer version of “Hot Damn”, another from Silver Saturdays; this one is a solid choice to refocus the crowd and call fans back from the bar areas and poster room upstairs. People flocked to the floor and reengaged. Speaking of engagement, one thing that was particularly classy about the night’s performance was how band members engaged with the audience. Throughout the night they walked to the lip of the stage and sat down to play their instruments just feet from the front row. Zach literally straddled the photo pit with one foot on the stage and the other on the fence that tacitly held back the adoring crowd. And this is not specific to this night as this band has a very tight relationship with its fans, and constantly connects to make the show a truly collective experience.
There’s no way that every song in the set can be covered here – brevity simply cannot allow for it. Set two was punctuated by two more fantastic covers, a first time played “I Wish” from Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life with Ron Artis crushing Stevie’s vocals and the band keeping things super funky behind him. Lebo’s “Rewind” followed after he spoke to the crowd for what was the understood theme of the evening.
“It’s really appropriate we’re playing this song right now. This song is all about how you can’t go back, you can only go forward. And I think you don’t want to mistake it for a somber tone because I don’t know about you all, but if I could go back and change things I’d be stuck in the past fixing all these trivial things that don’t matter anyway. So all we can ever do is move forward . . . And more importantly, the fact that you can’t rewind is a real blessing because what it means is that you only have what’s ahead of you and what’s ahead of you is hope, and what’s ahead of you is an opportunity, and what’s ahead of you is infinite possibility.”
It goes without saying that more than a few people in the crowd needed to hear those words at that moment, maybe the band needed to hear those words at that moment? What came to the fore right then was that though the dress theme for the night was silver sparkle, the musical theme was one of hope and a happier tomorrow. This is what makes ALO special. They work to lift people up through their shows, their records, and their words. A lot of bands lift people up through their music yet don’t address that openly. ALO, however, works explicitly to do so.
It made sense, then, that when the band was joined by compadres Bo Carper (New Monsoon) on guitar, Nat Keefe and Eric Yates (Hot Buttered Rum) on guitar and dobro respectively, and Mookie Seigel (David Nelson Band) on keys, this sudden super group chose to cover The Grateful Dead’s “Touch Of Grey” which became the next huge singalong in the room. Everyone on stage took a turn on vocals and again the crowd was given a dose of hope, a few minutes to realize, “you know what? We WILL get by, we WILL make it through all this stuff.” A few moments of familiar lyrics and the wholesome message widened smiles and got everyone ready for the final songs of the evening.
Gill’s sexy, “Girl I Wanna Lay You Down” elicited a couples dance and probably some post-show hanky panky when some folks got home. The familiar notes of “Barbeque” followed another song of not trying to reclaim your old dreams but rather burning them and cooking up some new ones. “Barbeque” segued into “Room For Bloomin’” which finished the second set and bore witness to fans seeking out what they knew were the closing tones of the evening. The floor was a little more open as some fans rushed to claim their posters and walk into the chilly San Francisco night. But the show was not over.
A three-song encore that had “Suspended” segueing into “Divine Fall” proved a beautifully jammy couplet. Then Ezra took vocals for the last song of the night, and the final song from Silver Saturdays, “Goodnight Song”. After being lifted to the ceiling to party there for every bit of three hours of music, “Goodnight Song” gently lowered the crowd back to the dancefloor and softly brought everyone back to earth and back out into the real world. After twenty-five years of ALO, We should all hope that there’s another thirty ahead because, and at the risk of sounding hackneyed, this band is just getting started and putting out some of their best music yet.
Photos by Susan J Weiand
2 Responses
Nice job, Andrew!
I’m so happy that the Animal Liberation Orchestra was able to perform at the Fillmore this past Saturday despite all of the weather challenges they faced. Their music is so soulful and groove-based, and they always put on a great show. I look forward to their upcoming tour d’amour!