The Animal Liberation Orchestra (ALO) might have been one of the busiest bands at Bonnaroo this year, playing at least three sets at the Manchester, T.N. music and arts festival.
"It was a nice warm up," explained ALO drummer Dave Brogan of their radio and graffiti art music early on in the Bonnaroo weekend.
The band had pretty much been there from the start of the weekend, playing smaller stages and discussing their music in interviews with various different publications.
[Sunday] we kind of considered our big set day," Brogan said after walking me through the busy schedule the California band kept. "They were all good. I'm kind of impartial to the smaller stages. It feels more informal and more relaxed."
On Saturday ALO played a 45 minute set at the Solar Stage where they not only performed, but engaged in a discussion on social change through music. During the Solar Stage Q & A, the band talked about what inspired some of their songs, along with some of the charity work they do. Music is obviously close to the foursome's heart, and the band has been donating to Music in Schools Today from the start.
One question in particular stood out at to Brogan at the Q & A though: What can everyone here do to make the world a better place?
"I said to try to resist the urge to take more than you need because it's a natural urge in all of us. Everyone was kind of like, 'What is he talking about?'" Brogan said laughing. "I kind of got a weird reaction from the crowd. I just thought it was kind of obvious."
Brogan's explanation seemed simple. Today we live in a world where people are used to saying "supersize me."
"You don't need as much as you need. Scale down," he continued. "That was kind of interesting. Sometimes people ask soft questions and don't expect to get a harder answer."
Besides the Saturday Solar Stage set, ALO also played a 30 minute set at the Sonic Stage with a 30 minute signing and an hour set at This Tent.
Their This Tent performance was one of the best sets I saw at Bonnaroo that weekend. Playing "Walls of Jericho," "I Love Music," and of course "Welcome To Your Barbeque" (with a little "Eye Of The Tiger" mixed in). The crowd was happy, dancing and clapping along, oblivious to the clouds that had plagued the last day of the weekend.
Besides their older music, the band also broke out some new ones from their album "Sounds Like This" which was released this past May.
"I'm not finding that we have to really sell it that hard," Brogan said of the new album. "The songs really sell themselves on first listen which feels great."Judging how the crowd let our excited yelps with new song "Dead Still Dance," I'd have to agree with Brogan.
"But you know normally we would be shying away from newer stuff because the crowds not familiar and we don't want to confuse people...but so far the new stuff is going over great."
ALO are Bonnaroo pros, having performed the festival back in 2005.
"It's a much more permanent infrastructure," says Brogan of 2012 Bonnaroo compared to 2005.
"The crowd looks a little saner," he says laughing. "I think when we were here in '05 it was a more typical jam band festival, which we see a lot. Those people tend to go a little more dramatic with their partying."
Thinking about it, Brogan ads, "I haven't seen as much passed out people, just face down in the mud...not as many this year. It's the same in the sense that this you really feel that this is the biggest music festival in the country. There is so much going on here around the music, and it just feels like a real centralized place to be."
The band has a little break in their schedule, which works out great for Brogan who not only has a new house, but a six month old daughter he gets to hang out with.
ALO is hitting the road again when they play at the High Sierra Music Festival in Quincy, C.A. with Ben Harper, Toots & The Maytals and Built to Spill.
To check out the Animal Liberation Orchestra's tour dates click here.
