A concert that could be described as “experimental” doesn’t exactly insinuate a sold-out venue, but Portugal. The Man‘s show at the 9:30 Club this past Tuesday was exactly that. Complete with psychedelic rock music, fog machines, strobe lights, giant balls of light, and a crazy, enthusiastic–and completely packed–crowd, many people took it upon themselves to do a little experimenting of their own. To avoid going into graphic details, I will focus on how the progressive rock group from Wasilla, Alaska portrayed their creative musical talent through their experimental rock instrumentals and unique vocals paired with an incredible light show that I will not soon forget.

I would rank Portugal. The Man as one of my top five favorite bands, so I had been eagerly anticipating seeing them live since I bought my ticket over the summer. Having listened to them for a couple of years, I thought it would be worth arriving early to snag my great spot in the center of the floor in the second row. The club filled up slowly at first, but by the time the opening band, Alberta Cross, came on stage, about two-thirds of the floor and the front of the balcony were filled.

The name Alberta Cross is slightly misleading. I first heard of them when they played at the Virgin Mobile Free Fest, but I had assumed it was just a female rocker named Alberta. In reality, it is a six-piece all-male band out of London that just released a new EP, The Rolling Thunder. They played about a five song set, including “Song Three Blues” and “Money for the Weekend,” and towards the end of the set, two members of Portugal. The Man, Ryan Neighbors, the keyboardist, and Noah Gersh, the backup guitarist, came on and played accompanying instrumentals. Their sound is relatively similar to that of Portugal, so they were an appropriate opener that got the crowd dancing and head-bobbing. It felt like a short set, and I would have loved to hear more, but I could not complain after they finished because it meant Portugal. The Man would soon be taking the stage.

With the dimming of the lights, the fog machines spouted out several thick clouds of fog that quickly cloaked the stage and clouded the giant blue balls of light that were draped around the back and sides of the stage. As the members of the four-piece band emerged and picked up their instruments, they went straight into their first song, “So American,” without saying a word to the audience. This song is probably the most recognizable track off their newest album, In the Mountain In The Cloud, and it showed when everyone around me sang along for the entire song. Some were singing so loud that I could barely make out lead singer/guitarist John Gourley’s easily identifiable crooning. The band ended the song with a jam filled with guitar riffs and blended this into the beginning of their second song of the night, “Work All Day” off one of their older albums, The Satanic Satanist.

As they played through their set of songs primarily taken from In the Mountain In the Cloud and The Satanic Satanist, the crowd never failed to amaze me with how well they knew the songs. I consider myself knowledgeable of Portugal. The Man’s work, but the group of people behind me knew the all the words to all the songs, even the obscure covers they played (see the setlist below). Given Portugal. The Man’s wide repertoire of albums (they have released 5 EPs and 6 studio albums since their start in 2005), it was surprising that the crowd recognized all the songs, and even more impressive that they sang along throughout the set, but I am glad this band is getting the recognition they deserve.

Portugal. The Man’s performance was interlaced with so many jams and fluid combinations of songs that no one can doubt their psychedelic creativity (if you are wondering what I mean by this, check out some of John Gourley’s original artwork and their album covers). Their set was centered on their music, with John and Zach Carothers talking to the audience only a couple of times, and it was so crowded by the end that everyone barely had enough room to dance. Most people around me resorted to swaying to the rhythm and singing along while being entranced by the music and flashing lights. A couple of stand-out songs that excited the crowd the most were All Your Light (Times Like These), 1989, The Sun, and People Say. I could not only feel the vibrations from the music, but I could also feel the floor shaking as people stamped their feet to the beat.

Seeing Portugal. The Man live is an experience you cannot get from listening to their studio albums, so if you have the time to explore their massive discography in time for their next tour, I would recommend going. My only reservation on their show at the 9:30 Club is that their set became a bit repetitive. Their setlist was composed of practically the entirety of the albums ITMITC and TSS, which both feature a similar progressive rock sound in contrast to some more electronic and synth songs that they did not play which would have been a welcome addition to their setlist. Had they played more songs from their other albums, like Church Mouth and my personal favorite, American Ghetto, I would have been even more enthusiastic.  

To understand why I love Portugal. The Man, check out their highly entertaining music video for “The Sun” which features Zach, the bassist, running around in a sheep costume:

Setlist for Portugal. The Man at the 9:30 Club

1. So American
2. Work All Day
3. The Devil—Helter Skelter (The Beatles cover)
4. AKA M80 The Wolf
5. The Woods
6. Head Is A Flame (Cool With It)
7. All The Young Dudes (David Bowie cover)
8. Elephants
9. Floating (Time Isn’t Working My Side)
10. All Your Light (Times Like These)
11. 1989
12. Reggae
13. Do You
14. Everyone Is Golden
15. Got It All (This Can’t Be Living Now)
16. Mornings
17. The Sun
18. Senseless
19. Sleep Forever

Encore:

1. People Say
2. Don’t Look Back in Anger (Oasis Cover)
3. Guns and Dogs
4. And I

 

-Jane Xie, host of Propaganda, Mondays 4-5 PM EST on WGTB

Tags: 9:30 Club, concert review, Jane Xie, Portugal. The Man