Cruising up the West Coast on their 18th Tour d’Amour, ALO stopped by Portland, Oregon’s The Get Down on Thursday, February 27th before heading to Seattle to close out this short tour with two shows at the Nectar Lounge.
ALO treated their Portland fans to a mix of long-time favorites and newer material. Guitarist Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz, bassist Steve Adams, keyboardists Zach Gill, and drummer Ezra Lipp, opened the show with “Girl I Wanna Lay You Down,” from 2005’s Fly Between Falls. The was followed up with “Blank Canvas,” the lead track on the upcoming album Frames, set for release on April 4th. A pair of tunes from 2007’s Roses & Clover came next, “Plastic Bubble,” and the Lebo-led “Try.” The first guest of the evening was invited onstage for the following “Sugar On Your Tongue,” when Everyone Orchestra conductor and founder Matt Butler added percussion alongside Lipp’s drum set. The end of the first set saw all of Portland’s up-and-coming power pop quartet Glitterfox, who has opened for ALO on this tour, join in for a run through Janis Joplin’s “Piece Of My Heart.”
The second set continued with more old favorites, new tunes, and more guests musicians. Gill led the band through “Dead Still Dance,” then the band offered up “Space Between Frames,” another track from the upcoming album. “I Love Music” saw Laz Blakeman briefly join Gill at the keyboards, and then Sean McLean joined the band to play saxophone on “Roses & Clover.” McLean, who plays in the band World’s Finest, and his own Sean McLean & The Vibetenders, is a sort of Portland musical superhero, showing up to lend his saxophone talents with a wide array of bands on stages large and small across the city. ALO ended the second set with “Walls of Jericho,” and came back to encore with a newer tune, “Hot Damn.”
ALO has been making feel-good, danceable rock n’ roll for decades now, and this show proved that not only does their older material still easily hold its own, the band is still expanding and creating new music that only adds to their extensive catalog.
ALO, 2/27/2025, The Get Down, Portland, OR
Set 1:
Girl I Wanna Lay Your Down, Blank Canvas, Plastic Bubble, Try, You May Not Get It All, Sugar On Your Tongue (With Matt Butler), Country Electro, Piece Of My Heart (with Glitterfox)
Set 2:
Dead Still Dance, Space Between Frames, Waiting For Jaden -> Love Music (With Laz Blakeman), Roses And Clover (With Sean McClean), Devine Fall, Walls of Jericho
Encore: Hot Damn
