When it was announced that Portishead would be playing the massive main stage at Coachella 2008, my reaction was a mix of elation and fear. The former because it would be the iconic band’s first U.S. show in nearly a decade. The latter because that particular spot had been known to swallow up even the most raucous acts, like the Prodigy in 2002. As any rabid concertgoer will tell you, your surroundings can make or break a show, or at the very least tip the scales. So how did the Bristol trio fare in the great wide open? Amazing. Intimate and powerful at the same time. When it was announced that Portishead would be playing two shows at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, I was less concerned. Big, indoor venue, general admission, easy drive. I liked my chances for a repeat experience. Until, of course, I walked inside.
September 26, 1998. This was the last time I saw a show at the Shrine. It was the Crystal Method, Josh Wink, Lunatic Calm and a few other DJs that I can’t recall because hey, it was a rave in 1998. The last time before that was for a comic book convention when I was in high school, and I’ll tell you what. Pink Floyd, Guns N Roses and the four apostles could reform and play a gig there and you couldn’t pay me enough to go. The booze situation outside is like a carnival, the cavernous hall is horrible for sound, and if you’re lucky enough to be standing underneath the balcony ledge when someone above you is smoking, be prepared to clean ash out of your hair on the drive home. Really, I could write a thesis on how this place should be converted to a jai alai arena and airlifted to Mexico, but what good would that do? I’d rather talk about how Portishead are one of the most unique and talented bands to put out records in the last 30 years.
As they did at Coachella, Portishead kicked off with “Silence,” the first track off Third. With a mix of shaky, handheld camera footage and visuals that looked like b-roll from an Ingmar Bergman film playing behind her, the eternally shy Beth Gibbons was in perfect voice the entire night. Rarely opening her eyes mid-song to look out onto the crowd, she stood draped behind the mic stand like an S curve. From “Hunter,” “Mysterons” and “The Rip” to crowd favorite “Sour Times” and their bass-only version of “Wandering Star,” the band was captivating and spot-on with their instrumentals. Adrian Utley ripped out reverb guitar solos and haunting, twangy melodies on “Glory Box,” then did his finest Vangelis on the triumphant keyboard flourishes at the end of “Machine Gun.” Always the consummate crate digger, Geoff Barrow didn’t miss a beat behind the decks, laying down perfect cuts on “Cowboys” and “Over” like it was 1994.
After a random guy brought his girlfriend onstage for a marriage proposal—wait, what?—the group returned to encore with “Roads” and a completely unhinged rendition of “We Carry On” that saw Gibbons hop off stage and run up and down the guardrail shaking hands with and high-fiving her enthusiastic fans. For a band that most would consider the cool and collected progenitors of trip-hop, Portishead put on a larger than life performance that proved just how singular, experimental and vital a band they really are. When the group is at their best, being a part of the audience is nothing short of a religious experience. It’s just a shame that the Shrine couldn’t live up to its name and give the band that support they needed and deserved.
Oh, and both the LAPD and USC can go take a long walk off a short pier for funneling myself and the rest of the traffic headed east on Jefferson into a $20 parking lot that took forever to exit from at the end of the night due to atrocious traffic directing. Sour times, indeed.
Words by Rich Thomas (@TheLandfill). Photos by Catie Laffoon (@CatieLaffoon).
