Portishead @ Wolverhampton Civic Hall – 13th April 2008

The last album of new material released by Portishead was in 1997, over 10 years ago, and at the latter end of trip hop’s popularity. Having been unable to see them on previous tours, I was excited about both the prospect of finally seeing them perform live, but also the treat of hearing tracks from the forthcoming album ‘Third’ and finding out what, if anything, 10 years does to a band, and where they might now sit in the absence of their past Bristol scene.

Support was from A Hawk and a Hacksaw who originate from Albuquerque, New Mexico — not that you’d know it. They sound deliciously European and filled the Civic with sounds produced on ‘traditional’ acoustic instruments — violin, clarinet, accordion, drums and some other more obscure instruments peppered throughout their set. There were some similarities to the sounds of Beirut and Yann Tiersen, but without piano or vocals. The crowd, predominantly an older audience — early 30s upwards, listened attentively and politely with minimal nodding or movement throughout the set.

Portishead took to the stage shortly after 9pm and opened with Silence, a new track from Third. This felt like a bold move, as the crowd were unfamiliar with this new material and it showed in their muted response, despite the easily accessible, yet unexpected rock undertones which seemed to have replaced the previously brooding electronic sound of the past two albums. They followed Silence with Hunter, another new track which received a similar response.

It was not until the third song, Mysterons, where they entered more familiar waters with the crowd exploding within the first few notes. Beth’s voice remains unchanged over the years, retaining the sad haunting qualities I had hoped to hear. The rest of the band are perfect — literally not a note out of place, not a missed beat or unexpected key change. Their sound is as clear and precise as if I were listening to them at home on my stereo. They also seem as shy and reserved as they were 10 years ago, with the only glimmer of personality or crowd interaction being shown in Beth’s bashful grin when the crowd drown the stage in their whoops and screams at the end of the song.

Other new tracks played included The Rip, Magic Doors, Nylon Smile and the new single Machine Gun. Machine Gun received excited yelps followed quickly by attentive listening, and despite the almost NIN-esque industrial sound, the crowd responded warmly. Each of the new tracks were accompanied by a visual triptych made up of animation, film footage and live visuals with cameras stationed all around the stage which I felt helped the new material feel more accessible. Familiar favourites needed no visual assistance, and songs such as Glory Box, Numb and Cowboys were all performed under stark lighting.

Of note — Wandering Star was bleak and pared down without any electronic elements and seemed to be the only song they had remotely altered in the 10+ years since it was first released. Sour Times was the predictable singalong I had expected, but it felt disappointing that I was unable to hear Beth’s beautiful voice over the hoardes of middle-aged warblings. The encore was an interesting mix of old and new — Threads followed by Roads followed by We Carry On (previously titled Peaches) — which again seemed a bold move given the crowd’s lack of familiarity with the still unreleased material.

I’m glad to have finally had the opportunity to see them, but wonder if I’d seen them 10 years ago whether they might have had something more about them – excitement, nervous energy, vigour, just something which felt oddly missing. The songs were executed perfectly, the set was beautiful, and the crowd were mostly well-behaved and attentive and yet I still came away feeling underwhelmed.

Review – Red Annie
Photos – Lee Allen

About Author