Unknown Mortal Orchestra: Tiny Desk Concert

Bobby Carter | June 2, 2023
Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Tiny Desk concert was more of a family affair than lead singer, Ruban Nielson, revealed during his band introductions. His father, jazz musician Chris Nielson, has been on tour with them to support the band's latest album, V. During the band's live show back in April at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., he casually drifted on stage, played the saxophone for a song or two, then drifted back off. Following that performance, Chris had travel plans that would've prevented him from making it to NPR. I begged them to reconsider the routing and they obliged. Chris, sax in tow, stayed put for the entire set along with Kody Nielson on drums rounding out the Nielson trio. Keyboard player Christian Li and longtime UMO member Jacob Portrait on bass make up the current roster.

The setlist leaned right into UMO's incalculability. The band decided to forgo material from V to play songs from the first couple of albums, a rare move at the Desk that speaks to the strength of UMO's catalog. The opening number, "From the Sun," lacked the density of the recorded version but punched way harder. Ruban and the gang then shifted into a clever medley of oldies from II, Multi-Love and their self-titled debut.

SET LIST
"From the Sun"
"Thought Ballune"
"Little Blu House"
"Necessary Evil"
"Monki"

MUSICIANS
Ruban Nielson: vocals, guitar
Christian Li: keys, vocals
Jacob Portrait: vocals, bass
Kody Nielson: vocals, drums
Chris Nielson: saxophone

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Bobby Carter
Director/Editor: Maia Stern
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Creative Director: Bob Boilen
Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Sofia Seidel, Estefania Mitre
Audio Assistant: Neil Tevault
Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
Photographer: Elizabeth Gillis
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Kara Frame, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

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