Coming off the heels of a ferocious hardcore punk showcase at the Wonder Ballroom, I now found myself in the section of my night where I had to put my feet beyond the crossroads and make a choice about which bands came next. Throughout Fucked Up, I was getting nudged towards the Roseland and Portugal. The Man, so I caved and headed down to my old stomping grounds to find a band by the name of Pretty & Nice finishing up their set. I only heard about two minutes of their last song, so I won’t start pontificating (too much) on the merits of their music (which seemed dull), but they were wearing neon blue shirts with an ampersand on them. Does that do anything for you?
The next band hailed from Australia, and went by the name Youth Group. It was your run-of-the-mill indie rock band, leaning towards the softer side of the sound spectrum and was fronted by a bushily mustachioed, ‘froed-out lead singer/guitarist named Toby Martin. Toby loved to give himself over to the music—or if I want to be deeply cynical, look passionate for the cameras—singing his words with seeming conviction, head back and eyes closed. Sometimes it really worked, and the crowd seemed to agree; other times though, like when they covered the Alphaville song “Forever Young,” it came off as laughable. Even the most emotive of people will not find deep valleys of feeling in that song.
Lead guitar was handled by Cameron Emerson-Elliott who also acted as a multi-instrumentalist by rocking out on the tambourine on one song and striking a stand-up snare kit on another. The young faces in the crowd—and I mean young: the Get Up Kids were the headliners—cheered politely, and the band left us when the clock struck 45 minutes. Not a bad way to spend some time.
Portugal. The Man was preceded by a road crew that cloaked the stage with three red–and–purple hued backdrops featuring members of the band psychedelically illustrated. The air was starting to take on an electric pop, and I realized that maybe The Get Up Kids had some competition in terms of attendance. This assumption was only made more rock-like when the lights went out and the room lit up with the voices of the underaged. They cheered and screamed and out walked an afro-haired keyboardist (night of the afro?); a drummer that looked like he was moonlighting in this band after days of working at Pike Place Market throwing fish; a long-haired lead singer (standard operating procedure); and a bassist who was one leisure suit jacket away from being the toast of a 70’s night party.
Now mind you, I had absolutely no idea what they sounded like, just that there was a buzz about them and, as you probably know, inexperience is sometimes all you need to be rocked. And I was. What came out of the speakers was a mix of funk, indie, psychedelia, and rock, and what happened in the crowd was instantaneous. From the all-hair-everywhere kid headbanging in the front row to the kids dancing in the middle, the crowd wanted what the band had to offer.
The band’s lead singer, John Gourley, sang most of his songs in a high falsetto, facing his keyboard player rather than his audience, creating a certain level of detachment and pushing the music up-front. The deep grooves the band kept molding and throwing out into the ether ranged from highly danceable to impossibly dense, like sound orbs that kept expanding into the room, owning the space. The crowd followed their rhythmic cues, responding in kind to what the music asked of them, even if it meant standing transfixed in the trance the band seemed to be conjuring. And we reveled in the synthetic overtones and funky strums as the lights swirled all around, coloring our clothes, while the band appeared before us usually as silhouettes or in pure saturation.
It ended all too soon for me and the rest of my fellow travelers, and all we had left to us besides our memories, was the truism that Portugal. The Man is a find, and all of us Portland kids can be glad that they call our fair city their home.
DOWNLOAD: portugal. The Man - sugar cinnamon (MP3) or Follow us for more portugal. The Man MP3s (Twitter)
This comment stream is so meta. Great review Kelly.
by chris on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 07.50 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
no prob. The whole album is excellent, combining some of the harder sonics of Los Angeles with the meat of his debut and obviously difficult to summarize in only 50 words… 
I’d say it’s on par with the debut, but better than Los Angeles.
by kelly on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.23 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
By the way, I really liked the mp3 posted. Thanks.
by Joshua H on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.17 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
WHO WROTE THIS...PUKE ! “WHO WROTE THIS...PUKE ! “Picture yourself coasting your bike past space funk palm trees, homeless harpists, vintage video arcades, electronic drum circles, and 60s psychedelic singers who’re waiting for the bus. Cosmogramma is kinda like that if someone suddenly tripped you just as you’re starting to enjoy the ride. But in a good way.””
by Joshua H on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.17 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
you’ll notice the author’s name under title.
by kelly on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.11 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
WHO WROTE THIS...PUKE ! “Picture yourself coasting your bike past space funk palm trees, homeless harpists, vintage video arcades, electronic drum circles, and 60s psychedelic singers who’re waiting for the bus. Cosmogramma is kinda like that if someone suddenly tripped you just as you’re starting to enjoy the ride. But in a good way.”
by HKD on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.10 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
i saw them open for the Cave Singers, not very original, the crowd was not into it either, frankly i think they suck
by rigamarole on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 11.30 am from the entry: The Dutchess & The Duke Tour Dates, Y'all
Your notes on Pretty & Nice are way off… you missed their set entirely--someone should “pontificate” about your absent-minded decisions. also, the band NEVER wears their own t-shirts when they play live, so you made that up.
You’re right, I was wrong. The whole band wasn’t wearing the shirt. Only of them was wearing the shirt. My bad, corrected, done.
Only one of them was what I meant to say.