Portland native and multi-instrumentalist Ruban Neilson brought his experimental pop project Unknown Mortal Orchestra to the Bluebird Nightblub on Monday.
With support from vintage Krautrock duo Klaus Johann Grobe and post-punk group White Lung, it was an evening of varying styles and edgy performances.
For Neilson, what started out as psychedelic basement demos has molded in to R&B infused synth-pop dance tunes. Throughout the course of three albums, he has expanded his sound from dusty lo-fi to electric soul.
“When I first started listening to their first couple albums, it didn’t click to me that they were funky,” UMO fan Stephen Norman said. “And during this show it just clicked: he wants to be a funk artist.”
Neilson didn’t shy away from these funakdelic influences during his performance. During his opening song, “From the Sun,” Neilson ducked down to the ground for an extended, jazzy guitar solo. The audience erupted in to screams and howls as red lights pulsed behind him.
But Neilson wasn’t the only soloist of the evening. In fact, the entire performance seemed like a showcase to each artist’s proficiency.
During a drum solo and later a progressive piano interlude, all the other artists on stage bent down to the ground and turned to the instrument that was playing — letting them take the spotlight.
Audience members Samantha Wilson and Dustin Demoret saw the group perform two years ago at Bonnaroo, but both said they were excited to see them perform in a more intimate setting like the Bluebird.
“It’s fun to see bands at festivals but at the same time I think it’s better to see them in smaller venues,” Demoret said. “It’s more fun that way.”
Neilson and the band used the space to get up close and personal with the audience during their performance. In the middle of his song “Stage or Screen” off his newest album, Neilson hopped down from the stage and into the crowd. He maneuvered his way up on the railings and hung from the rafters as he sang.
“Every cell of hers more alive and bright than mine / Did she want me or want to be me?”
“They really amped it up,” Demoret said. “I love it when bands add a twist to their live stuff. It’s like adding a whole other dimension.”
The crowd was filled with old and new fans alike. Phil Neumann, drummer for the local band Early Life, said he decided to come to the show after hearing an Unknown Mortal Orchestra song for the first time on the radio earlier that day.
“It wasn’t as off-kilter as I thought it was going to be,” Neumann said. “I thought it was going to be a bit weirder, but they did a good job. I really liked their rhythm section.”
The group’s mix of jazzy breakdowns, flourishes of synth and overall soul made the show an infectiously joyous journey for their audience.
Neilson called out to the audience as the plucky sounds of a sitar came from his guitar: “thanks for coming along with us.”
