Bonnaroo Standout: Unknown Mortal Orchestra

FUSE TV - Bonnaroo Standout: Unknown Mortal Orchestra

The mark of a great band is not just being able to play through adversity, but to make it appear like there's no adversity in the first place. At the end of the fourth song, Multi-Love standout "Ur Life One Night" (but let's be honest, all those songs are standouts), Unknown Mortal Orchestra frontman and songwriter Ruban Nielson was apologizing for his guitar amp acting up. An illuminating yet unnecessary gesture - he had Friday afternoon's crowd in the palm of his hand by the opening refrain of set opener "Like Acid Rain."

Not too long ago, UMO was touring behind their excellent 2011 debut. It was an album filled with Zappa-indebted, delectably trippy psych rock. Nielson had assembled a three-piece then and was singing through a heavily distorted microphone. He would extend songs well beyond their run time on the album to take wild, mind-bending guitar solos. 

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