I showed up at Town Ballroom around quarter after 8 and Nelson-Type had already begun their set. This was my first time catching them live, although I'm a big fan of their debut EP
. This was also their first outing with an expanded lineup, sporting a new drummer, guitarist and backup vocals provided by Bryan Johnson and Laurie Pitzonka of
. The expanded lineup did them favors, adding some oomph to the oo's and ahh's and overall realizing the big sound that the songs deserve. If this isn't their permanent live setup, they should consider it. There was a good crowd there to support the up and coming local act, which is evidenced in the video below. Good on you, Buffalo.
Up next was The Lonely Forest, who came out sporting only three of it's four members. The band did a pretty good job of holding their own as a three piece, until during the second or third song their second guitarist came running out on stage to join them. I'm not sure what the story was there, but I'm sure it involved ancient aliens. Musically, the band gave a solid, if not somewhat bland performance. Katie thought they sounded a lot like Jack's Mannequin, who, based on who you are, could be a good or bad thing (it's a bad thing).
The setbreak featured an awkwardly placed setbreak DJ, whom I admire for spinning a hip hop remix of "Freebird" with a straight face. Then, Portugal. The Man came out to thunderous applause. The stage and ceiling above were decked out with numerous colored balls (damn it balls, why do you have to be the universal word for testicles?) that lit up when the band started their set. The guy behind us squealed with delight, "Yes! I was hoping they were gonna light up!" Me too, sir, because if they didn't, that would be a really bizarre stage setup. It got me thinking that it would be an interesting piece of performance art if a band went on the road with hundreds of lasers on stage and never turned them on.
Even if the balls didn't light up, it would be difficult to deny that Portugal. The Man are an awesome live band. There's a confidence that comes with being the road warriors that they are that you just can't fake. Transitioning seamlessly from song to song for a lengthy set does not come easily. At a pace of an album a year, the relatively young band already has a huge catalog of songs to pick from, but the biggest crowd pleasers came courtesy of their latest album In The Mountain In The Cloud. Here's a video of them playing that album's opening track, "So American".
Overall, it was a terrifically energetic set of music. At one point a mosh pit broke out, which seemed in danger of waining until a lithe, psychotic blonde girl kicked it up again. With Death Cab For Cutie cornering the sensitive girl market across town, it seemed that all that was left for Portugal. The Man were the freaks, and I mean that in a loving manner. Closing out the set was "Sleep Forever", which transitioned into a rousing rendition of The Beatle's "Hey Jude". It's refreshing to see a hard working band like Portugal. The Man find mainstream success, as despite the wild stage setup and the giant "Jagermeister Music Tour" banner behind the stage, the band still sounded very much like themselves. Here's hoping they return often, next time with a real liquor.
