Portishead @ Sound Academy, Toronto (October 10, 2011)

Beth Gibbons of Portishead @ Sound Academy: photo by Michael Ligon

There are bands I wish to see live who I have accepted will probably never reunite (The Smiths, New Order) and then there are the bands that I think I will never get to see live but then miraculously the band comes out of hiatus or retirement and goes on tour. Of the latter category, I've seen The Pixies, My Bloody Valentine, Pavement, and most recently, as well as more dear to my heart, Portishead. Along with fellow Bristolians Massive Attack, Portishead ignited the 'trip-hop' genre in 1990's propelling what was once an underground musical style towards the mainstream. Prior to their most recent full-length "Third" in 2008, they'd only released two albums, their seminal full-length debut "Dummy" in 1994 and their sinister self-titled follow-up in 1997. And for whatever reasons I'd not been motivated not check out the band live during the few times the band toured to promote their first two album, it was the band's 1998 live album / DVD "Pnyc Live" (a recording of the band's one-off show at NYC's Roseland Ballroom at which the band performed with an orchestra)which cemented my need to see this band live. At the time I could have not forseen the band going on hiatus from touring or recording a follow-up full-length until a decade later. When the band finally released their third album, entitled "Third", in 2008 I was ecstatic and was even more ecstatic that the band started to play live again, my hopes that the band would come back to Toronto. The band's first show in North America in 2008 was at the Coachella music festival and I remember being glued to my computer screen as I watched the live webcast of Portishead's phenomenal set. I'd never have guessed that it would have been more than three years later that Portishead would embark on a proper North American tour. Toronto made the cut fortunately, and even more fortunately the band booked two shows here for October 9 and 10. Too bad it had to be at the ghastly Sound Academy. But beggars can't be choosers, and as the dates grew closer, so did my excitement for the show. I was even more excited that within days of the show, I found out I got approved for a photo pass.

I was going to the second show of the two, which also was the same day as Thanksgiving here in Canada. After spending the day with family, I made my way down to the venue. It was just as well that I got there when I did because my arrival was only minutes before Portishead were to start. By the time I got my photo pass, then squeezed my way through the crowd to the front, then was let into the photo pit by Security, the stage lights dimmed and Portishead came on to the stage as I was still fumbling with my bag trying to get my camera and lenses out. Sweating profusely at this point, partly due to my excitement for the band and partly due to some nervous energy realizing I was almost late, I finally settled in for the three songs I'd be up there. When I wasn't snapping away, I stopped for a moment to realize I was mere feet away from the one and only Beth Gibbons!

Portishead's holy trinity of Geoff Barrows (drums, turntables), Beth Gibbons (vocals), and Adrian Utley (guitar) were joined onstage and for this tour by Jim Barr (bass), Clive Deamer(drums), and John Baggott (keyboards). The set kicked off with the rhythmically propulsive, pre-millenial tension of 'Silence', then one-eighty'd into the solemn quietness of 'Hunter' before working up the audience with the cinematic crowd-favourite 'Mysterons'. I felt fortunate to experience the band front-row centre for those three songs, to feel the immediacy of the band's different sensibilities. My three songs in the photo pit were over and I made my way back into the crowd when the band sunk into the desolate-sounding 'The Rip'(my personal favourite off "Third"), Beth Gibbons' voice trembling with every note. My view of the stage from stage left may have been less satisfying but with the remainder of the set just getting better and better, the visual element almost didn't matter.

The remainder of the main set had it's share of highlights. 'Wandering Star' was stripped down to a bare bones version with Beth and Geoff seated in the middle of the stage, Beth on vocals and Geoff on bass guitar. Audience sing-alongs could be heard on favourites like on 'Sour Times' and 'Glory Box'. It was on the latter that I realized how deeply connected I was to Beth's presence as even with such gender-specific lyrics like "Just give me a reason to love you, Give me a reason to be a woman, I just wanna be a woman", I felt like I was experiencing the female point-of-view without it being awkward. The descriptively titled 'Machine Gun' sliced it's propulsive rhythms through the air, Barrow's metallic drum sounds synched with the video projections behind them. The band's self-titled second album got the least representation during the show but thankfully included a few stunners, 'Over' featuring Barrow's exemplary turntablist skills and the sinister 'Cowboys'. I didn't realize it until they played it, but the band's Amnesty International charity single 'Chase The Tear' a song gussied up in electro-rhythms but grounded with simple drums and guitar, reminded me of Radiohead. By far the most eye-opening (or maybe that should be ear-opening) point of the night was the set-closer, the metal-ish 'Threads' on which three-quarters of the way through Gibbons' normally subdued vocals went through a transformation as the thrust and volume of her vocals achieved a level I was not entirely acquainted with. And it was exhilirating.

The encore, while only two songs, was near perfect with the Rhodes-accompanied 'Roads' which enthralled the crowd from its very first keyboard note and then with the urgent, industrial-sounding 'We Carry On' during which Gibbons, normally the introverted type, lept down to the floor to seemingly shake the hands and greet the entire front row of the crowd. Cameras and camera phones lept in to action before Gibbons jumped back onto the stage where she stood towards the right side of the stage sipping her beer as her band mates steamrolled to a conclusion.A concert on Thanksgiving could not get any better than this.

Photos: Portishead @ Sound Academy, Toronto (October 10, 2011)
MySpace: Portishead

Portishead and Doldrums Collaborate On New Single For Charity

As of the time of this posting, Bristol UK's Portishead are in the midst of their first show of a two-night stint at Sound Academy in Toronto. I'm super excited to see the group live tomorrow night, and even scored a photo pass for the show! And for Canadian Thanksgiving tomorrow, that photo pass will be one of those things I give thanks for, along with of course the important things like family and health.

Portishead stopped in recently with "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" to perform a few songs including their new Amnesty International benefit track "Chase the Tear" for television broadcast as well as their classic "Mysterons" as a web exclusive:

"Chase The Tear"


"Mysterons"


In recent news from XL Recordings, it was announced that "Chase the Tear" will be released on vinyl for the first time through XL on November 14. And if you thought there wasn't any Canadian content in this post well then you're wrong as the b-side of the vinyl will be a remix of "Chase The Tear" done by Toronto experimentalist eccentric Doldrums.

Check out Doldrums' cover of the Portishead track below. Doldrums posted this on YouTube back in December 2009 and it's definitely a cover. At this point I'm not sure of the track below will actually be the b-side of the new Portishead vinyl as the info from XL lists Doldrums' contribution to the vinyl as a remix. I guess we'll have to wait and hear:

Doldrums - "Chase The Tear" (Portishead Cover)

Magic Doors

Portishead at Coachella 2008


An an ounce of regret weighed on me as I watched Portishead's set at Coachella this past Saturday night through AT&T's Blue Room internet video feed. With a little motivation I might have just organized another trip back to Coachella, although thinking back to my trip to the festival in 2004, it was a lot of planning, within a short period of time. Cherish that trip as I do, I don't miss the heat, the sweat, the lineups, the overpriced water botteles and my aching body at the end of each day(and back then it was only two days, unlike the present's three day festival).

Whatever one's qualms might be about corporate sponsorship, AT&T's affiliation with Coachella was a positive one if only for them to have the foresight to broadcast Portishead's penultimate set of day two of the festival(no offense, Prince). Remember when internet video was choppy, grainy and just downright not worth it? Internet streaming video today is much better today and while that technical improvement is appreciated, it's still rare that I feel any sort of emotional connection to any live video streaming over the internet. That said, Portishead's Coachella set exceeded all my expectations. As crisp picture quality I've ever seen for internet streaming video, the multi-angled camera shots took full advantage in conveying the awesomeness of Portishead's stage production which cast the band and stage in varying degrees of light and shadow, and hues of black, white, blue and red against a giant video screen backdrop that revealed the subtlties in expression of the band members' faces and musicianship. Beth Gibbons was maybe never more exposed as the camera took the most intimate closeups of her face as she sang into and hung on her microphone for dear life.

Portishead's return to the tour circuit has been a selective one as so far they only have a select number of European dates lined up(and apparently won't be touring in the US[and presumably in Canada] until 2009).For North Americans, Coachella was to be their proving ground after a painful 11 year absence between their last album, the self-tited "Portishead" and the to-be-released-tomorrow new album "Third" and their first live show in North America in 10 years. I will say that Portishead rose to the task both in terms of the performance of the older material(changing things up a bit for example in an even more intimate version of "Wandering Star") and the newer material that bookended and sprinkled the set which displayed the evolution of Portishead from its trip-hop roots but still felt like Portishead in terms of rhythm, vocals, and dynamics(although the loud was louder than anything you'd have expected from them - a pleasant surprise). It was as thoroughly enjoyable and goosebump-inducing as one could expect. Portishead are back.

Watching a concert on the internet will perhaps never replace the live experience - the communal aspect and the sensory impressions - but from thousands of miles away, I made that intimate connection to Portishead. God, I wish I'd been there, but on the other hand, knowing my luck I'd probably have had some tall dude stand right in front of me.

Here's the setlist.

The L.A. Times and NME reviews Portishead's set.

Check out some awesome photos from Portishead's Coachella set over at Brooklyn Vegan(courtesy of Ryan Muir).

Deaf Indie Elephants has the whole set available for download in mp3 format. So does Mystic Chords Of Memory[via Brooklyn Vegan]

Photos galore of Portishead at Coachella over at Flickr.

Lots of spectator video of Portishead's Coachella set over at YouTube.

And a last reminder, Portishead's new album "Third" is in stores tomorrow. Or you can purchase the limited-edition box set over at the Portishead Online Store.

Road To Somewhere

Other than a few US tour dates coming up in the next few days(including an appearance at this weekend's Coachella festival), there's still yet no news of North American tourdates for Goldfrapp. She did recently precede her Coachella appearance with a session for KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic and a performance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno:

Video: Goldfrapp - Happiness" (live on The Tonight Show - April 22, 2008)
Audio/Video: Goldfrapp - live on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic - April 23, 2008

Goldfrapp's tour dates are almost solidly booked throughout the summer in Europe, so a better bet for North American tour dates might be this fall.

Another band on my tour-date radar(and also at this year's Coachella) is Portishead, although no news yet of a Toronto/other North American dates but in the meantime, watch Geoff and Adrian speak briefly(1 min and 36 secs) with The Herald Sun about Portishead's new album "Third", check out a cool live version of "Machine Gun" the band performed in Berlin at the end of March for Vertigo.tv, and check out their live performance on Later With Jools Holland on April 18:

Video: Portishead's Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley speak with The Herald Sun (1 min and 36 sec)
Video: Portishead - "Machine Gun" (live in Berlin - filmed for Vertigo.tv - end of March 2008)
Video: Portishead -"We Carry On" (live on Later... - April 18, 2008)
Video: Portishead -"The Rip" (live on Later... - April 18, 2008)
Video: Portishead -"Machine Gun" (live on Later... - April 18, 2008)

By the way, Portishead's new album "Third" (released in Canada on April 29) is streaming over at Last.fm for your enjoyment for a week(it started April 21).

Concert/festival announcements have been coming with full force this week including preliminary and or full lineups for the Toronto Jazz Festival(June 20-29) at various venues, Rogers Picnic(July 20) at Historic Fort York in Toronto, and Hillside(July 25-27) in Guelph. Check the respective websites for further info. There's also the 'Rock The Bells' tour coming to Molson Ampitheatre on July 20 featuring A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and a reunited Pharcyde among others - more details over at Billboard.

In my neck of the woods, the considerably more modest Mississauga Waterfront Festival(June 13-15) lineup has been announced, and I have to say that most years it doesn't appeal to me much but this year The Sadies are playing the evening of June 13, opening for Matthew Good. While I've never really been a fan of Matthew Good, his most recent album "Hospital Music" (inspired by Matthew's divorce, his battle with bipolar disorder and his eventual overdose) which I'd sampled recently was a more stripped-down affair and revealed moments of clarity and honesty that made me want to give him a second chance. I mean, he sells(did sell?) tonnes of records in Canada, and all those fans can't be wrong.

These New Puritans and French Kicks are at the Reverb on June 12 as part of an NME showcase for NXNE. [via The Windish Agency]

Up and coming indie act Times New Viking are at Horseshoe Tavern on Canada Day, July 1. [via Ground Control Touring]

The Black Keys are at the Phoenix on August 3 and the Osheaga Festival in Montreal the following day. More dates here.

Portishead In Portishead

Portishead performs 8 songs from their forthcoming album "Third" for Current TV. The video below has been up on current.com for several hours now but those of you lucky enough to get Current TV through your cable network can watch it now in better resolution(it started at 10 pm EST) and it will be repeated several times - check your local listings. Enjoy:

We Carry On

Coming up on April 11, Bristol trip-hop pioneers Portishead will be performing 8 songs from their third album "Third"(released in Canada April 29) for current.com [thanks to The Music Slut for the info]. It won't be the same as seeing them live like at this year's Coachella(no, I'm not going, btw). The band revealed to NME recently that they're divided about touring - Beth is nervous about playing live, Geoff Hates playing live and Adrian loves it - but given their scheduled Coachella and UK dates, North America can't be far off. I don't expect they'll be playing venues like Trinity St. Paul's in Toronto like they did way back when[the show I think I most regret not seeing] but I'm unsure how big of a venue they could fill. Kool Haus and Massey Hall for sure, maybe Ricoh Coliseum but I'm not sure if they could fill the Air Canada Centre. I hope that Portishead do come to Toronto and play their own headlining show but an appearance at this year's Virgin Festival at Toronto Islands this September might not be a bad thing either. The new album's out in Canada on April 29 and I've resisted downloading any leaks but I've noticed that all the songs on the new album are streaming over at YouTube. I've sampled but not completely absorbed everything but it's dark and haunting and a logical extension of where they left off. It's not trip-hop, mind you, and I'm glad of it, but the rhythm's are still there. You know you can't resist[photo above from MTV UK]:

YouTube: Portishead - "Silence"
YouTube: Portishead - "Hunter"
YouTube: Portishead - "Nylon Smile"
YouTube: Portishead - "The Rip"
YouTube: Portishead - "Plastic"
YouTube: Portishead - "We Carry On"
YouTube: Portishead - "Deep Water"
YouTube: Portishead - "Machine Gun" (music video)
YouTube: Portishead - "Small"
YouTube: Portishead - "Magic Doors"
YouTube: Portishead - "Threads"
MySpace: Portishead

Pitchfork has an interview with Portishead which I have to catch up on.

Toronto's InsideAMind are releasing their debut 12"(highlighting two tracks off their forthcoming Scatterpopia LP and they'll be hosting a record release party at The Boat on May 1[via Stille Post]. I caught them live during the Nuit Blanche festival at The Music Gallery last year and thought their turntablism sounds were very reminiscent of Portishead's Geoff Barrow.

Not as influential to Portishead, but perhaps more to Bristol's Massive Attack, legendary dub reggae artist Lee "Scratch" Perry will be at Harbourfront on June 30, according to Pollstar.

Any having nothing whatsover to do with Portishead, UK pop duo The Ting Tings will be at The Mod Club on June 16, tickets $13.50.

Family Day

Ontarians(like myself) celebrate our inaugural new statutory holiday today entitled Family Day. Read - a day off from work(with pay!).

Pitchfork brings further updates on the upcoming long-time-coming 3rd full-length from Portishead including the tracklisting, cover art and new release dates. Follow the link for the first two items, but to save you the trouble, the UK release date is April 28 while the US date is the following day.

Other than some UK touring and an appearance at this year's SXSW, Montreal's Land of Talk continues to keep us in the dark about it's debut full-length(although here's a vague update from Liz). Hey, but that do have a new song streaming at their MySpace - ok, it's a cover, but it's a nifty cover of Wintersleep's "Weighty Ghost".

Toronto dance-electro-pop group Woodhands are Paper Bag Records newest signees. The duo's debut album "Heart Attack" is due out on April 1 in Canada.

And now on to the concert info:

If you were perusing the Canadian Music Week schedule(which btw, is shaping up interestingly) over the last few days and realized the absence of UK's The Duke Spirit on the sched(who I recall were to play Lee's Palace on March 8), it's unfortunately not a mistake. According to Filter, they've cancelled their Toronto shows and added a few more dates on the West Coast(which I guess makes more sense since they'll be in Los Angeles on March 5). Hey, maybe on the way back from SXSW on March 13 they'll swing through Toronto? Their newest album "Neptune" has it's US release on April 5 through Shangri-La Music.

I didn't make it out to the Brampton Indie Arts Festival last week, part of my disappointment being that I haven't yet seen Toronto act Forest City Lovers live. However, according to their MySpace they have a few local dates line up - they'll be at Soundscapes record store on March 9 at 2 pm for a free in-store then on March 14 they'll be at the Tranzac for a CD release show in celebration of their new disc entitled "Haunting Moon Sinking" out on March 11 in Canada on Toronto based label Out of This Spark. Several songs from the new album are streaming over at their MySpace.

Also at the Tranzac on March 14 will be Guelphites The D'Urbervilles who'll be celebrating their own CD release for their debut full-length "We Are The Hunters"(released tomorrow) also out through Out of This Spark. They have a whack of Canadian tour dates lined up through till the end of April - check out their MySpace for full dates and several songs streaming from the new album.

The Decemberists' Colin Meloy will be at the Phoenix on April 19th in support of his solo album entitled "Colin Meloy Sings Live". Fellow Portland, Oregon-ite Laura Gibson will open. (via Blacking Out The Friction)

Heavy psych-rockers Dead Meadow are at Lee's Palace on April 24. (via Beggars Group)

First word I've come across about this year's Over The Top Fest is that recent Merge Records signees Wye Oak will be playing this year's festival on May 2 according to their MySpace.

Pitchfork reports that Elvis Costello will tour with The Police in North America starting in May. There's a lone Canadian date, in fact kicking off in Ottawa, Ontario at Scotiabank Place on May 1 but the bill will reach Buffalo, NY for a show at HSBC Arena on May 3.

According to The Windish Agency, Shearwater will be on the bill with Clinic at Lee's Palace on May 11.

Nature Of The Experiment

I've never been particularly compelled to really listen to Tokyo Police Club. It's not like their indie-hit "Nature Of The Experiment" didn't have it's moments. But with their almost exponential rise to indie-stardom[ok, I realize that's an oxymoron], I've been less and less inclined to buy into the hype. However, it's hard to deny the critical and blogger buzz surrounding the band especially with regards to the band's live set. So, it's that buzz around their live set that has me committed[well, at least 99%] to standing out in sub-zero temperatures to catch their free live set at Nathan Phillips Square(as part of the WinterCity festival) this Saturday night. Pitchfork has their full tour itinerary plus details of the band's debut full-length "Elephant Shell" coming out through Saddle Creek in April.

Coming in February from the 14th to the 18th is the Wavelength 8th Anniversary Festival, and the lineups been announced over at Stille Post. The artist lineup is a lot less familiar(to me at least) this year than in past years but should be interesting nonetheless.

In other news, the iconic Leonard Cohen is reported to tour the US and Canada in May and Europe in the summer, Wolves, Hawks, and Kites points out the tracklisting for the new Constantines album "Kensington Heights" coming out April 15th through the band's new home Arts & Crafts, and Billboard reports that Portishead's long-overdue third album coming out internationally on April 14(with the North American release date still pending) will simply be titled "Third".

And as a teaser, it looks like Toronto can look forward to shows(courtesy of Against The Grain) from The New Pornographers(w/ Neko Case), Okkervil River and Sally Shapiro - that's what it says in black and white at the Horseshoe Tavern website. Dates/venue info to be confirmed.

California (All The Way)

Stay tuned today for the announcement of the Coachella lineup. Update: Among the early confirmations for this year's Coachella are Portishead, My Morning Jacket, and The Verve according to Billboard. The rest of the lineup is expected to be announced by later on today. Update: Billboard updated their original story and other confirmed acts for Coachella include Jack Johnson, Kraftwerk, Pink Floyd's Roger Waters (performing the band's classic album "Dark Side of the Moon"), the Breeders, Rilo Kiley, Death Cab For Cutie, the reunited Love And Rockets, Justice, M.I.A., Sasha & Digweed, Fatboy Slim, Cafe Tacuba, and The Raconteurs. Update: Full lineup here. The Canadian contingent going down to Cali for Coachella include Tegan and Sara, Stars, Islands, Metric, Holy Fuck, and DJ A-Trak.

One of the bands rumored to be there this year(and who could possibly sway me to consider to go to Coachella this year) is Portishead who recently announced some long-overdue tour dates, with more dates to come(cross your fingers for Toronto!). Update: Portishead headline the second night of the 3-day Coachella festival.

From Blown Speakers points out that Vancouver indie-choral group The Choir Practice will be singing the US and Canadian National Anthems for tonight's Vancouver/Minnesota NHL game - game's at 10 pm EST on SportsNet.

The Montreal Mirror spoke to Young Galaxy's Stephen Ramsay. Young Galaxy open for Peter, Bjorn and John at the Phoenix on January 22.

I guess I haven't been paying attention. Firstly, I didn't know that Metric had filmed a live performance(at Metropolis in Montreal in 2006) of theirs for a DVD. Secondly, I didn't know that they show the film at The Royal in Toronto twice last week(including Jimmy, Emily and Joshua participating in a Q & A after the screening). Well, the DVD "Live at Metropolis" gets its release on February 12 and BlogTO linked to the trailer. The band takes a break from the recording of its fourth album and to celebrate the release of the new DVD with a show at Sound Academy in Toronto on February 7.

The Kooks are back in Toronto for a 19+ show at The Mod Club on February 11, onsale through Ticketmaster on January 26 at 10 am, tickets $20.00.

Brooklyn's Vampire Weekend performed a live session on BBC 6 Music's George Lamb program last week which you can listen to here and see some photos from the session here. They return to Toronto for a show at Horseshoe Tavern on February 11. The band's self-titled debut full-length gets its official release January 29 through XL Recordings.

In addition to their already announced date in Toronto at Circa on March 28, Crystal Castles have a secret show in Toronto on February 21. Full dates over at their MySpace.

While we wait patiently for the new album from Kathleen Edwards entitled "Asking For Flowers"(out March 4), the Hamilton forum at Stille Post is indicating a show in their fair city on March 22 at Westside Concert Theatre, tickets $25.00. I'd assume a Toronto date wouldn't be far off.

Domino Records is streaming clips of songs from UK's Lightspeed Champion (ie. Dev Hynes) debut album "Falling Off The Lavender Bridge", out in the UK this week and in North America the following week. Frankly, I never had listened to his music until last week when Chromewaves wrote a post about him - his music is quite lovely at times. There's something about Brits performing twangy, pastoral pop music - it just sounds so good. As Chromewaves mentioned last week, Lightspeed Champion is heading to North America for SXSW and an acoustic tour with a stop in Toronto on Tuesday March 4 at Horseshoe Tavern(Tuesdays at the Horseshoe traditionally being no cover, Nu Music Nite). It's circled on my calendar as a definite maybe.