Crates loaded onto the stage, light rack lowered to hoist their banner, Unknown Mortal Orchestra snapped this pic of them setting up at Terminal West in Atlanta.
By the time I arrived at around 9:30 pm, everything was set up and ready to go. Asheville's Jackson Scott took the stage first, fronting a young trio.
They were a fun band to listen to, playing effect-drenched, psychedelic rock. Scott often pitch-shifts his voice as he sings, strangling it into a high-pitch whine, not unlike Athens' Reptar. Despite their youth - I don't think the trio's ages added together exceed mine by very much - they still played a cover of Pink Floyd's 1967 Interstellar Overdrive. In interviews, Scott has cited Syd Barrett as a major influence, but the bass in particular match the original recorded version from Piper at the Gates of Dawn note for note, while Scott occupied himself more with his effects pedals than with his guitar. I think they may also have covered a Nirvana song, or at least part of one, but I'm not sure.
They were a new one to me, but they apparently have at least one album out, have been favorably reviewed by Pitchfork, and have toured with Deerhunter and now Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Should Scott continue with his music, it will be fun to see what directions his artistic trajectory decides to take him.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra took the stage a little after 11:00 pm and proceeded to ignite the theater with Ruban Nielson's incendiary guitar playing.
This is my fourth time seeing UMO, having caught them twice in their native Portland, once at the Doug Fir (2011) and last month at a very special performance at Branx, and earlier this year at Atlanta's 529 (with Foxygen opening).
Above, Ruben sitting and adding some guitar effects while working his extensive pedal board during Riley Geare's drum solo. Below, crouching while tearing off some riffs during a song. While he got off several earth-scorching guitar passeges during last night's set, there weren't nearly as many as at his triumphant MFNW set at Branx last month, reminding me of how lucky I was to have caught that special set.
Bassist Jake Portrait holding down an amp while playing. Earlier in the set, a cinder block that was supposed to keep the amp in place came tumbling off. Tragically, a beer was also spilled in the accident. The band didn't miss a beat.
Geare not only got in a drum solo, but he also wore a Mary's Club t-shirt. Mary's Club is Portland's oldest and probably seediest, as well as most beloved, strip club, more or less the Portland equivalent to Atlanta's Clermont Lounge.
Set highlights included From the Sun, Thought Balune, and How Can U Love Me, and they ended their set with a great version of So Good At Being In Trouble. For their encore, Ruban took the stage alone for an acoustic rendition of Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark) before the rest of the band joined him, eventually ending the evening with Ffunny Ffriends.
Speaking of acoustic, UMO has a new 12-inch EP out, Blue Record, consisting of all-acoustic versions of songs from II, as well as a cover of Dirty Projector's Swing Lo Magellan. The EP's cover photo, and also the banner behind the band during last night's performance, is of a nearly nude Janet Farrar, the Wiccan teacher and author, who also appeared on the cover of II. On II, she's holding a sword forward in a pose suggesting power or victory, and UMO had a banner with that picture behind them during their performance at 529. But on the cover of Blue Record and on last night's banner, she's resting her hands on the handle of the sword, arms crossed, the pointy side touching the ground. The latter is a more relaxed (and less revealing) pose, befitting the acoustic nature of the songs on Blue Record.
Leaving the performance, I was glad once again to have a music venue as nice as Terminal West only a couple miles from my home. Terminal West has a terrific string of dates lined up for the month, including Junip next Monday (tomorrow!) and The Helio Sequence and Menomena on Thursday.
Rocktober lives!
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