Photo Credit: Jay Blakesberg

Last night, March 16, Animal Liberation Orchestra, or ALO, brought their current tour to SoHo Restaurant & Music Club in Santa Barbara, Calif. The Thursday night gig in The Golden State brought forth choice covers, ranging from Britney Spears’ “Hit Me Baby One More Time” to the Looking Glass fan favorite, “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl).” Also included were originals, including numbers off the group’s recent drop, Silver Saturdays, which arrived on March 3.

The March 16 gig heated up with “Hot Damn,” off the group’s 2023 collection. Next, they moved into their Sounds Like This track, “Blew Out the Walls,” before going further into their archive and landing on “Wasting Time.” “Keep on Giving Jane” arrived prior to the night’s take on “Ridin,” which included elements of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Born on the Bayou.” As the main frame of music stretched on, the band–Zach Gill, Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz, Steve Adams and Ezra Lipp–tossed in “The Party” and “Cowboys and Chorus Girls.” The latter included a taste of John Williams’ “Cantina Band.” 

As ALO reached the halfway point of their musical presentation, they welcomed the night’s openers, Rainbow Girls, to the stage to assist on a cover of Spears’ “Hit Me Baby One More Time.” Then, the billed band paired “Walls of Jericho” with Taj Mahal’s “Further on Down the Road” before warping their jam back into “Walls of Jericho.” Next, ALO delivered “Kolomana” before digging into a rousing take on Looking Glass’ 1972 classic, “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl),” to the amusement of the audience, who dug the yacht rock qualifier. 

ALO landed on “Get to Do it Again” for the set’s final song before the evening encore arrived. Then, during the farewell frame, the foursome cut into another 2023 track, “Divine Fall,” placed beside a fitting send-off with “Goodnight Song.” After last night’s gig, ALO will return to the stage tonight as a part of their 25th-anniversary tour. The March 17 sold-out show will occur at The Venice West in Venice, Calif. 

To learn more about upcoming performances, visit the band’s official website. 

ALO

SoHo – Santa Barbara, Calif.

March 16, 2023

Set: Hot Damn, Blew Out the Walls, Wasting Time, Keep on Giving Jane, 

Ridin^, The Party, Cowboys and Chorus Girls*, Hit Me Baby One More Time+, Walls of Jericho > Further on Down the Road% > Walls of Jericho, Kolomana, Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)€, Get to Do it Again

Enc.: Divine Fall > Goodnight Song

Notes:

^contained elements of Born on the Bayou (CCR)

* contained elements of Cantina Band (John Williams)

+ Britney Spears cover, with Rainbow Girls

% Taj Mahal cover

€ Looking Glass cover