All Photos by Philip Cosores
I’ve been in America for three weeks now, having moved over from London, and I still find something queer about American language and life every day. Last night it was that Americans don’t use the word “queuing,” they prefer to say “standing in line.” I found this out because we did a lot of “standing in line” before Portugal. The Man’s record release show at El Cid last night (a Mexican Restaurant). Having been told that doors would be 9pm (with the band taking to the stage at 10), we showed up just beforehand, got our names checked off and IDs approved, then duly took our place in line… where we stayed well beyond 9pm, and even 10pm. We finally made it into the venue at around 10.30, and even then we were forced to stay on the patio and form another line before we could actually stand in front of the stage. Eventually we made it inside and people got to settling down for their evening’s entertainment (the third line of the night occurred outside both the male and female bathrooms).
I mention all this because, despite all the waiting and delays nobody complained. Everyone remained orderly and excitement grew rather than drooped. This is what you get at a fan show (fans had to buy the record to gain entry) and fortunately for everyone involved, the wait was totally worth it.
The Alaskan band took to the cramped stage a little after 11pm and immediately rewarded the fans for their wait, playing “The Sun” from 2009’s break-through album, The Satanic Satanist. From then on the set list roughly alternated between fan favourites and songs from the album we were there to celebrate: In The Mountain In The Cloud. The band told us how they’d been up early to perform on KCRW and how they should be tired, but weren’t. They say actions speak louder than words, and Portugal. The Man proved that they were full of energy by producing a stadium-worthy extended rock out just three songs in on “AKA M80 The Wolf.” The new material is slight compared to that particular song, but, seemingly aware of the need to keep up the momentum, Portugal. The Man beefed up the material from In The Mountain In The Cloud, particularly “All Your Light (Times Like These)” and “Got It All (This Can’t Be Living Now).”
Singer John Gourley bobbed and swayed with a natural pomp of a certain quality that they try to teach actors playing rock stars, and he seemed entirely comfortable leading his band in this slightly strange situation. He didn’t have much room to move any time he wanted to shred on his guitar, instead just turning to face his bandmates, leaving the lights on the stage to cast giant shadows across the ceiling, hinting at the grand possibilities that could be in store for Portugal. The Man if their studio material and live performances continue down this route.
For a Mexican restaurant, El Cid’s sound system was extremely impressive. The roaring guitar was in our faces, the thumping bass was in our bones, and the rhythm of the drums was in our blood. It didn’t matter that the backing vocals were somewhat lost in this mix because the fan-filled crowd was on hand to fill in the gaps.
Despite this being an event to promote the release of the new album, Portugal. The Man finished with a stretch of five old songs (including encore break), which shows that they took into consideration the audience’s lack of time to fully familiarise themselves with the new material. It’s this facet of knowing what the people want, on top of a great new album and a fantastic live show, that could take Portugal. The Man on to big and unforeseen things.
