Portugal. The ManThe Loft - Madison, WIAugust 19, 2007 GO TO THE EXCLUSIVE PTM INTERVIEW HERE I’ve been writing CD reviews on and off for over ten years now, and in that process, I’ve discovered a few new bands that I really like, and will continue to check out, long after I write up their disc. That said, my new-found fandom of the band “Portugal. The Man” comes from a different place. Instead of ‘hearing CD/writing review/keep eye out for future,” this process was more, “Editor sends out e-mail saying, anyone wanna cover one of these shows?/I see a tour date in Madison,WI and say, sure, I’ll take a shot,” without ever having heard of the band. So, frankly, it could have been a total disaster, I could have found myself going to a show where I was hating the music, etc. Lucky for me, that wasn’t how it turned out.
Some credit goes to the band’s publicists, including Julie Arkenstone, who provided me “P.TM’s” Church Mouth CD, even though Will Thomas had already reviewed the disc for www.Music-reviewer.com last month. That gave me a chance to listen and familiarize myself with “Portugal. The Man” before a) the concert, but also prior to my interview with frontman John Baldwin Gourley. Listening to the disc’s soul and progressive-tinged rock thing, combined with my talk with Gourley on the Wednesday before the Sunday concert definitely got my interest piqued for their live performance. I was especially looking forward to seeing Zach Carother’s basswork, as that was, for me, the standout performance on the “Church Mouth” CD.
Through Julie, I had two tickets waiting for me at the door. Unfortunately, my girlfriend bailed on me, and my efforts to get anyone else to go along failed (can’t believe they ALL turned down FREE LIVE MUSIC), so I hit the Loft on my own. After Tom, owner of show promoter “The Journey Music,” confirmed my passes, I asked him if it was cool to use the second pass to give the next person through the door a free show. Maybe I made someone’s day, I don’t really know. I didn’t ask.
Arriving at the around 7:30, I missed some of the opening set. I did catch three songs by “Aurora at Night,” (AaN) a local band hailing from Oregon, WI, a few miles south of Madison. My first impression walking into The Loft’s concert space was, “Woah, this is a freaking garage,” followed closely by, “Wow….how young are those guys?” after I’d glanced at the stage. Turns out that they were high-schoolers, but they played a competent, assured set, anchored by drummer Ben Lissen, the founder of the band.
Their sound might best fit under the category of ambient rock, built more around creating moods than pushing an in your face attitude. The tones were largely set by guitarists Anthony Scanga and Nolan Larson, with frontman Justin Parks adding color from behind his keyboard.
Prior to their last number, cherubic bassist Elmer Foley elicited a fair few wolf whistles from the females in the crowd by whipping off his shirt and tossing it into the audience. That last cut began with a keyboard duet by Lissen and frontman/ keyboardist Justin Parks, before Lissen reclaimed his usual post behind the kit, and ended with Parks holding up a sign proclaiming, “Leave Tonight,” on one side, “And Change Everything,” on the other. From my aged (over 30) perspective, it was cheesy and touching, all in one. Having never seen the band before, I don’t know if Parks finished every show in that manner – in retrospect, he was probably riffing off the “One World” campaign on YouTube, the one where people write pithy phrases on their hand and tape themselves. The message was made even more poignant when I caught up with Larson to thank him for the music after they were done. He informed me that this show was the band’s last ever performance, as one of their members was set to depart for college the next morning.
Following the “Aurora at Night” set, I explored the concert space a little bit. There wasn’t really all that much to see. In line with the first impression, The Loft IS a garage, complete with slide-up doors that opened onto a small recreation space containing a skate ramp and a basketball court set against a highly graffitied (or decorated, if you will) brick wall. The door was wide open all night, providing a fresh breeze early in the evening, but getting pretty cold by the time the show ended. The freezing air pouring out of the air conditioners didn’t help, and led to a situation with sweaty orange overhead ductwork occasionally dripping moisture down on to the crowd.
In talking to the concert promoter between sets, I found out that he would have preferred booking “Portugal. The Man” into a different venue around town, but someone had insisted that they be able to play an all ages show. The Loft is part of Madison’s Lussier Teen Center, and is apparently the best small venue in town for all-ages shows. That probably helped ticket sales significantly, as “Aurora At Night” seemed to bring plenty of friends along, resulting in a crowd between 160-180 people. Then again, whatever was gained in letting under-19s check out some cool music was given back, and in spades by the acoustics of the venue itself. As a garage, The Loft was built with brick and cement walls, with some glass on the side opening onto the skate ramp, the kinds of surfaces sound waves just kind of crash into and careen off, creating a sonic mush. There are some hardcore-type bands booked for the venue in the upcoming months, and while I’d be interested in seeing what kind of mayhem their crowds could create in the dropped floor pit area, I’m scared of what they might sound like in that space.
NURSES
On this night, though, I only knew a fraction of what was played, so I couldn’t really tell what I missed, soundwise. Going in blind also meant that, beyond a few “Portugal. The Man” promo pics, I didn’t know what any of the bands looked like. During the AaN set, I saw a number of bearded guys hanging around, watching the band, scooping out the crowd. Thinking I might catch up with John Gourley, P.TM’s frontman before the show, I nearly committed an act of facial hair profiling. Seeing those guys start setting up on stage immediately after AaN, I was glad I didn’t. Turns out they were “Nurses.” Watching them set up got me very interested in whatever it was I was about to hear, as “Nurses” were bringing out an assortment of strange, beat up and vintage looking equipment up on stage. They had two keyboards up on stage, the one on the right housed in a nondescript black casing, the one on the left featuring what looked like wallpaper from the 70s adorning its case. There was also an intriguing little faux wood box set up in the center of the stage.
Visually, “Nurses” were unprepossessing. There was a skinny guy in purple T-shirt and olive/khaki pants (and beard) fronting the band (Aaron). On bass, Charlie, a skinny guy with a jacket on (with khakis and a beard). The drummer, I couldn’t really see him, but he had a beard too. And the guitarist, John, well, he had a bushy beard, and he was wearing a yellow shirt to go with his khakis. After they were all set up, and ready to go, Aaron stepped up to the microphone and said, “We’re called ‘Nurses’…” and paused, almost awkwardly, before delivering the punchline, “…and we’re God’s favorite band.” It cracked me up, one of those, “yeah, I think I’m about to have a good time,” chuckles. And “Nurses” certainly delivered.
For starters, they put on an energetic show, especially the bushy bearded guitarist, John, who was gyrating, and jumping around, and even running in place throughout the set. Their music was experimental without being strange, charmingly weird, if you will (I liked what I heard enough to buy the disc after the show). Unlike more traditional bands, the “Nurses” weren’t all welded to their traditional roles/stage spaces. Charlie and his bass did keep to the far left of the stage, beyond where The Loft’s lights really penetrated, so he was enveloped all night in a greenish twilight haze. But Aaron started the show front and center, with John playing guitar and the stage right keyboard. On the second song, they switched places, with John taking front and center, playing both the little wooden box, and for a few seconds, the wallpaper keyboard while standing on the wrong side of the instrument. (Anyone who can play the keyboard backwards is alright in my book!) Aaron took over the wallpaper keyboard at the start of the third song, white teeth standing out starkly against the brown beard, while Charlie laid down a heavy bassline. So it went for their entire set, lots of movement, interesting music, et cetera. All I ask for at a concert is to be impressed or entertained, and “Nurses” delivered.
The Photo Atlas
In between sets, I noticed a guy tapping away at gear boxes stacked off to the right of the stage. Figuring he was the drummer for the next band, I took a couple of pictures of him, including one with my flash on. I’m not sure he ever looked up from his inpromptu practice session. I have to admit, though, once the band took the stage, I didn’t really pay much attention to this band. After the “Nurses’,” set “The Photo Atlas,” (TPA) looked and sounded like an ordinary punk/emo/indie band, and weren’t particularly interesting. When the third song started out in the same vein as the first couple, I took off to the merch room in search of the members of the “Nurses,” eventually catching up to Charlie and Aaron. Aaron was engaged in a long conversation with a fan, eventually adorning her newly purchased CD with a goofy drawing, so I talked to Charlie for a while, learning about their Idahoan origins and their current Chicago home base. It turned out that they’d hooked up with the P.TM/Photo Atlas tour for only a few shows, but it included a gig in Idaho, a nice chance to get home and play for old friends. Because I’m a political junkie, I asked them, as I do with everyone I meet from Idaho, how they ever managed to elect a guy with a name like Crapo to the US Senate, but they denied responsibility. (In the Senator’s defense, it’s not pronounced the way it looks.) I also asked about the faux wooden box, and found out that it was actually a toy piano, the kind of thing you pick up for ten bucks at Toys’R’Us. Equipped with a pick-up, it turns into an amusing bit of musical equipment that added an odd, yet endearing note to the band’s live show.
While I was talking to those guys, a guy sporting a striped blue conductor’s hat, and looking rather like an overgrown kid came up and boldly thanked Charlie for playing. After asking Charlie (in a whisper) what the other guy’s name was, he turned to Aaron and saluted him for his stage efforts, too. I figured he was just a fan with a ton of self-confidence. Shortly thereafter, I wandered back out to the concert space for the rest of “The Photo Atlas” set, just waiting for them to finish up so the headliners could come out and play.
PORTUGAL. The Man
Once “Portugal. The Man” was all set up and ready to go, the first surprise was the number of people up on stage. The core band consists of John Baldwin Gourley on guitars, Zach Carothers on bass, and Jason Sechrist on the drums, but in order to pull off their musical vision, they need a little help. Gourley had mentioned this during our interview, citing members of the band “Shepherds of Ontario” (SoO) as their backing band for the tour. The Shepherds contributed a guitarist and the keyboardist, and until a bout of mono knocked him out, an extra percussionist.
The second surprise was the specific identity of a couple of the people on stage. Standing behind the keyboards was the superconfident “kid” who’d congratulated the “Nurses” on their set. That turned out to be Ryan Neighbors from SoO. Sitting behind the kit was the guy I’d captured having a practice session before “The Photo Atlas” set. Turns out that he was Jason Sechrist, rather than a TPA member. Finally though, all the musicians were in place, all the equipment was ready, and Gourley yelled out, “If we could kill the lights, that’d be bitchin’!” And in that moment of darkness, the band launched into their first song, the title track to the new “Church Mouth,” CD.
I spent most of the show watching from far forward on either the left or right wing of the Loft, both in terms of getting as close to the action as possible without being crowded, as was the case down in the pit, as well as trying to get pictures of the band.
Starting out on the left wing, I checked out Carothers attacking his bass guitar , and it was fun to watch. He’s a big guy, not fat, but just big, but he was very active with his bass, doing rock star contortions, leaning way over backwards as if doing the limbo, and generally being very dynamic on stage, over and above the cool licks he was bashing out. His coolest moment came during “House Warming Party,” when he showed off some 2-handed tapping skills on the bass.
After a couple of songs on the left side, I went over to the right wing to try and get some pictures from that vantage point. As I got to my spot, some guy brushed by me on the way forward, but I didn’t really think anything of it until he appeared on the stage with a pair of congas. It turned out to be the drummer for TPA, filling in for the Shepherd who’d contracted mono. That right wing vantage point was in close proximity to Ryan Neighbors’ keyboard set up, and he was as equally entertaining as Carothers. Between the facial expressions, and the poses, and yes, his keys work, I had a good time watching the guy on stage. I also had a hell of a time trying to get a good picture of Neighbors, and for that matter, any of the rest of the band. At fault, in part, was the proverbial man in the corner, PTM tour manager Ian Shaw, who controlled a highly dynamic light show from, yes, a corner of the stage . At first, I thought he was playing a keyboard over there in the shadows, until realizing his gyrations were more in tune with the changing of the light patterns. The complexity of the lights made it very difficult to get good pictures, though, and in talking with Gourley after the show, I found out that photography students consider capturing their show on film a good challenge. Looking at a multitude of blurry or light bleached shots I took, I’d agree – with his gyrations, I only managed to get a single good, non-blurry picture of Neighbors from the over 20 shots I attempted.
In contrast to the high energy, high-motion antics of Carothers and Neighbors, John Gourley was relatively sedate in the middle of the stage. During our interview, he’d told me that he played facing to the side, and I feared that meant a dour, shoegazer ethic, but that wasn’t the case. He was lively, just not as animated as his immediate neighbors. Put it this way, there wasn’t any danger of his tripping over the curly white telephone cord-like wires trailing from his guitar, the way I feared Carothers might on his own cords. Wearing black pants and a white polo over top of another shirt (but no jacket!), Gourley still managed to be the center of attention even without being overly demonstrative. One of my favorite pictures from the night consisted of a young girl, elbows up on stage, attentively watching Gourley with almost worshipful eyes.
Portugal’s set list that night was a bit surprising, as they played only three tracks from their new album. Usually, a band on tour supporting a new album will flog the heck out of it, especially when they only have one previous disc to their credit, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, “Portugal. The Man” mixed those few new tracks in with cuts from their first disc, as well as a couple of non-album tracks that are a staple of their live set. A B-side called, “The Devil ,” was one of the set’s highlights. The song was a very stripped down affair, Gourley playing a subdued guitar, Sechrist tapping out a slow rhythm, and the other 4 guys huddled around a single microphone at the left of the stage, all but crooning for the majority of the song, before assuming their usual positions for the outro. Besides that song, however, the band was at its best when it strayed from the recorded versions of their material, and just got in a groove and jammed out. Gourley had described his band as essentially groove-based, and on that night, they proved it, striking a few excellent chords, going above and beyond the “Portugal. The Man” captured on CDs to deliver a solid, entertaining rock and roll experience. And like I said before, that’s all I ask for when I go to a live show.
POST SHOW
After the show ended, I hung out for a while, chatting with members of the various bands. I went up to Gourley right after the show ended and introduced myself, and chatted for a couple of minutes as he signed autographs for the kids. He was busy, so I drifted away to try and catch up with others, including Carothers, resplendent in a leather jacket trimmed with a plethora of 8-inch tassels. He was surprisingly fresh looking, given the amount of energy he’d just expended on stage, making me wonder anew at musicians who put it all out there on stage night after night. I finally caught up to Ryan Neighbors to figure out who exactly he was, and asked him what band he played for. He looked at me funny for a second and said, “Portugal. The Man,” before I clarified that I was asking about his usual gig. I also got the guys from “Aurora at Night” to pose for a pic with their sign , which I was amused to see opened up and containing a school project about Thomas Edison on the inside.
After a bit, Gourley sought me out, which was totally unnecessary, as he’d already won me as a fan, but totally cool, and we talked some more. Topics briefly covered included the night’s set list, the fact that most of their tour stops were all ages shows, and how that led to awkward offers of crash space from 15 year old kids, about how cool it was that he could play music for a living, et cetera. I was amused watching kids hover about, unsure of whether to butt in and ask for an autograph. I couldn’t relate, not having gone to concerts until my late teens, but I couldn’t help but thinking that the guy would soon learn that if the artist was out there, he was there for the purpose of meeting and greeting his fans, and next time, he’d just go for the autograph. I finally motioned the youngster over so he could gush out his admiration and get Gourley’s John Hancock on his newly purchased copy of “Church Mouth.” All in all, I had a good time, got to meet some cool folks, got to hear some good music. What more can you ask for from a Sunday night prior to the start of football season?
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