I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: February 23, 2024] Portugal. The Man

My family and I saw Portugal, The Man at the Newport Folk Festival.  Actually, we saw one song and their opening session with a Native American woman (which was very cool, but obviously meant we missed a few more songs.

So I’ve wanted to see them for at least five years, and I know that I wanted to see them for a while before then as well.

I had tickets to see them with Alt-J last summer, but couldn’t make it.   So here they were coming down to Asbury Park, a closeish drive and a cool city (especially in the off-season, when parking is cheap).

I hated the crowd.  They were squeezed in so close, and then a bunch of tall people shoved in front so I could barely see anything (I didn’t even realize there was a woman on stage until about 3/4 of the way through the show).  And the loud bros behind me engaged in this fascinating behavior: Song starts, “TALK TALK TALK TALK TALK–I love this song–sing chorus very loudly-TALK TALK TALK TALK.”  It was hard to move away from them but I slowly did over the course of the show.

But before the music started, they introduced a Native American woman from Alaska who talked about nature and how cool it was to be at the Atlantic Ocean, since she knows the Pacific Ocean.  And then she introduced a man and his daughter who had lived here on this land for thousands of years.  (I assume they were Lenapi).  The spoke a bit and then sang a song of thanks and praise.

It was pretty cool, and an amazing gesture from the band.  After they were finished, they left, the stage cleared for a few minutes.  Then the lights turned red and that just solidified that I wouldn’t see anything for the show.  So I settled in to just chilling with the music.

And it was pretty amazing.  They opened with a wild medley of Dopesmoker which segued into a really fast version of Yes’ Heart of the Sunrise (just the music).  They segued between that and two choruses of their older songs and finally settled on “Grim Generation” from the new album.

I didn’t really know the new album very well.  I’ve listened to it a few times, but it hadn’t really sunk in like their earlier stuff.  But it sounded great live.

The new album is a bit more mellow, but their older music is weird and wild.  And the crowd LOVED it.  I didn’t know that P.tM had such a huge and dedicated following–people who knew the words to all the songs.  Unlike me.  I knew some of the songs, but what really impressed me was how much I enjoyed even the songs that I didn’t know.  The songs were short and catchy.  Each song was about three minutes with a big chorus and they moved on to another song.  It wasn’t exactly a greatest hits type of show, but more of a touchstone for all of their songs through their career.

I loved hearing “Creep in a T-shirt” and “Modern Jesus” and the new single “What me Worry” sounded fantastic.

The person I could see the most was Redray Frazier, touring backing singer (with a great voice) and guitar player.  It’s kind of weird that the person I saw the most is not technically a member of the band, but whatever.  I also had a pretty good view of Snacktime who joined the band for most of the set.

I also didn’t really see Eric Howk (who I didn’t know was in a wheelchair until after the show).  But I did see his double neck guitar passed around a few times and his soloing was wild and inspired).

With so many people on stage, it wasn’t even clear to me who was actually in the band.  I saw a drummer.  It sounded like there was a bass player although I don’t think I saw him.  This kind of thing frustrates me, but once I accepted the limited view aspect, it was all fine.

They played a bunch of new songs in a row, but they were all catchy and fun and melded into one long jam.

They played a couple songs from The Satantic Satanist (it’s interesting that they played the songs from the same album together).  Everyone loved singing along to “People Say.”  And when “So American” came on the loud guys behind me kept saying how this was their friend’s (who wasn’t there) favorite song (they said it like ten times).

It was so hot in there, I don’t understand how singer John Gourley wore a jacket and toque the whole show.  People kept fleeing the hot middle section (which was good because it opened up space).

As the show headed toward the end, they played “Live in the Moment” which sounded amazing.  It segued into a couple of other songs and, according to setlist, included the “Garden Grow” ending (I’m not sure what that means).  And then they stopped the show.  Someone had fainted.  That’s the fourth or fifth time I’ve been at a show where this has happened and I’m always impressed that bands can stop what they are doing to draw attention to a problem.  And then when all is well, pick up again as if nothing happened.

They didn’t keep up the ending of what they were playing, they just jumped right into “Feel It Still,” which is what everyone wanted to hear anyhow, so the momentum was quickly resumed.

The played one more song and then left for an encore break.

During the break they played Beavis and Butthead falling in love with Portugal. The Man.  It was pretty hilarious and I hadn’t seen it before.

After the encore break they talked briefly about rare diseases Gourley and backing singer Zoe Manville have daughter with a rare disease and they have been working to raise money and awareness for rare diseases in general.

They really are the nicest band in the world.

The told us that Snacktime was going to come out for one more song.  Since we were in Asbury Park.  In the Stone Pony and Snacktime are a horns-based band I was sure we’d be getting a Sprinsteen song.  But I was delighted that  they didn’t start “Born to Run.”  Ratherthey started playing Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine and it was amazing.  I didn’t much like the crwd, but seeing a whole room bounce to this song was pretty amazing.  And the band, with all of those horns, sounded freaking awesome. They broke into Red Hot Chili Peppers “Give It Away” for a chorus but then got back to Raging.

It was wonderfully cathartic.

On the way out of the venue, most of Snacktime was hanging out in the back of the venue.  And a bunch of Portugal were as well.  I didn’t feel like hanging around, so I left, but that was pretty cool, especially if you wanted an autograph or something,

So it turned out to be the best show that started out as the worst experience.

1. Dopesmoker [Sleep cover] / Heart of the Sunrise [Yes cover] / Heavy Games Ø / Bellies Are Full ∇
2. Grim Generation ⇔
3. Marching With 6 ¥
4. So Young ⊗
5. Creep in a T-Shirt ♥
6. Modern Jesus ♥
7. What, Me Worry? §
8. Champ ⇔
9. Atomic Man ♥ / Thunderdome [W.T.A.] ⇔
10. Dummy ⇔
11. Summer of Luv ⇔
12. Ghost Town ⇔
13. Mr Lonely ⊗
14. People Say ♠
15. The Sun ♠
16. So American ≅
17. Evil Friends ♥
18. Plastic Island ⇔
19. Live in the Moment ⊗ / Once Was One ≅/ Someday Believers ♥
    (LITM with full “Garden Grow”… cut slightly short as someone in the crowd fainted))
20. Feel It Still ⊗
21. Anxiety:Clarity ⇔
    encore Beavis and Butt-Head Portugal. The Man Intro
22. Guns and Dogs ♠
23. Killing in the Name (Rage Against the Machine cover) / Give It Away (Red Hot Chili Peppers cover) [with SNACKTIME]

⇔ Chris Black Changed My Life (2023)
§ single (2022)
⊗ Woodstock (2017)
Ø Walking Dead Soundtrack (2014)
♥ Evil Friends (2013)
≅ In the Mountain in the Cloud (2011)
♠ The Satanic Satanist (2009)
∇ Church Mouth (2007)
¥ Waiter: “You Vultures” (2006)

When we saw them at Newport, we heard exactly one song “Purple Yellow Red and Blue.”  That song was apparaently on the setlist for The Stone Pont but it wasn’t played.

Here’s the rest of the Newport setlist (this was 2019)

1. Purple Yellow Red and Blue
2. Creep in a T-Shirt
3. Number One
4. Modern Jesus
5. Live in the Moment
6. Atomic Man / Gimme Shelter
7. So American
8. People Say
9. Don’t Look Back in Anger
10. Feel It Still