Concert Review: Unknown Mortal Orchestra Turn Brooklyn Steel Into Adult Swim
Unknown Mortal Orchestra (UMO) have serenaded several nights sitting on the sofa eating chips, putting on Adult Swim, and smoking away the night. They are a rock n’ roll equivalent of “Netflix And Chill”; where your mind is still stimulated while your body is laying out like a pancake. Thus, I was immensely excited to see how they translated their grooved vibes into a concert at Brooklyn Steel.
Looking around at people swaying with their eyes closed as if they had simply replaced their literal couch with a spiritual one at Brooklyn Steel, UMO went through their greatest hits catalogue. From “Multi-Love” to “So Good At Being In Trouble”, I realized how much of my life has been soundtracked by them. Yet, UMO do something interesting in concerts; they change their songs’ tempos, pitches, and prolong them to become an opportunity to show they are phenomenal musicians. It is obvious that Unknown Mortal Orchestra enjoy a trippy arrangement, which is not the easiest thing to display in a show, but they did it through amping up the splashiness of their guitar melodies.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Everyone Acts Crazy Nowadays (Official Video)
Blessed with a set-design that kind of looked like a weed-farm run by IKEA, the mood was apparent, the crowd was open, and UMO were willing to push the boundaries of our mindfulness. By playing their classics interspersed with tracks from their newest, excellent album, Sex & Food, the audience was to hear how much they have grown. Nowadays, it is not to spark people’s imagination; now you have to give them a vision. Hence, their newest work goes for the heartbreak of being a societal being as much as a romantic lover. “Ministry of Alienation”, “Major League Chemicals”, and “Chronos Feasts on His Children” definitely pertained to how modern politics infiltrates modern life. Yet, UMO can get political while getting crazy.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – American Guilt (Official Video)
From Ruban Nielson running around the entire Brooklyn Steel warehouse, even the second floor, to riff his guitar in the crowd, to his ability to simultaneously chew gum and hit a high note, UMO were impressive. It is something I noted with GUM; artists that take a concert opportunity to both entertain but also impress their crowd. It was already a given, by the sold-out sign, that people love Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Yet, their show was one that furthered respect for them as music geniuses. For More Information on Unknown Mortal Orchestra Click Here.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Not in Love We’re Just High (Official Video)
