Having not been to a proper show in Seattle in a month, I couldn’t wait to go see Portugal. The Man Friday night at Neumo’s. Not only because they rocked the Sasquatch Festival last month, but also the Builders and the Butchers were opening for them, and I’ve been really digging them lately. Morning Teleportation actually started the show, and if you’re like me, you probably haven’t heard much of them, but I strongly suggest you seek them out.
It was a night of Portland music, and all three bands rocked the house. I don’t think I’d been a show in Seattle with that much energy since January.
Morning Teleportation took the stage almost looking like they’d just stepped out of a time machine from 1973, sporting shaggy haircuts and fitted patterned button-ups, but they certainly didn’t sound like it. There are quite a few words to try and describe Morning Teleportation, but if I could think of one that might give you some idea without sounding overzealous, it would be funky. They were psychedelic, rootsy and jam band all at the same time. And normally I’m not much of a jam band kinda person, but Morning Teleportation surely put on a show. I mean, how often do you see a talk box these days? And a theremin? It shouldn’t make sense, but Morning Teleportation made me a believer. Thankfully they’ll be at MusicFest Northwest in September, so I’ll get to see them again for longer than 25 minutes. For now, head to their Myspace and listen to “Snow Frog vs. Motor Cobra.” It’s a perfect representation of their sound in hyper drive. And it’s really fun if you like to dance like a crazy person at shows.
It was nearing 10 p.m., and by that time Neumo’s was still a comfortable 75 degrees, if I could guess.
The Builders and the Butchers were up next. And on this particular night, lead singer Ryan Sollee picked up an electric guitar for the first time at a gig, because apparently his band mates had said he was getting too folksy. Either way, acoustic or electric, the Builders and the Butchers were awesome. With how many instruments they implemented on the tiny Neumo’s stage, they managed to make their banjo and mandolin-laden folk rock feel hard. But with how much power they put behind their music, I’m not surprised.
The Builders and the Butchers played for a good 45 minutes, and through most of the songs off their phenomenal 2009 album Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well. Ironically enough, they’ll also be playing at MusicFest Northwest, so that is one more show I’ll be anxiously awaiting. Also ironic – both the Builders and the Butchers and Portugal. The Man are originally from Alaska, and migrated to Portland. Fun fact!
All within their set, the Builders and the Butchers shuffled through instruments and tossed maracas into the audience. I think that there had to be at least eight maracas in the crowd by the time they finished. A couple of my favorites were the building epic “Golden and Green” and “Down in this Hole,” the latter of which turned into a grand sing-along that I’m sure everyone roaming around Capitol Hill could hear. Portugal. The Man surely had a tough act to follow.
At this point I remembered how hot Neumo’s got during the summer time, because the few open doors that the security guys guarded were like a cracked window in a hot car at noon. Thank goodness I had a water bottle, or else I probably would have lost consciousness.
It also didn’t help that the smoke machine seemed to be on overdrive.
I had a perfect spot standing up front, and right before Portugal. The Man took the stage these two guys who were considerably taller than I planted their feet in front of me and the much shorter girl to my left. But eventually the front of the crowd moved around so much I had a much clearer view. Portugal. The Man came out on stage amidst the thick fog and started off with their heavy prog rock, and as frustrated as I was with the smoke and lighting, the band sounded awesome. It was as good as I remembered from…okay it was only a month ago at Sasquatch, but the crowd received Portugal much better than at the festival.
After awhile, I forgot that I couldn’t get any decent photos and just rocked out, because it was kind of a requirement for being up front where I was. We got to enjoy some tracks from this year’s American Ghetto, last year’s The Satanic Satanist, and all the way through their five-album-five-year catalogue. I didn’t realize before that Portugal. The Man has released an album every year since 2006. That’s quite a feat.
As it’s also hard to describe Portugal. The Man; it makes for a diverse live show – with southern rock anthems like “People Say,” sexy psychedelic tracks like “60 Years” and soft ballads like “Created,” which was one of the closing songs from the night. But at that point it had gotten so stuffy in front that I had to scurry to the back of the venue to avoid passing out.
By far my favorite moment from the night was during “And I” where everyone in the crowd joined in with the “ooo ooo oos” during the chorus and danced together, if you could call it dancing. More like moving. People moved a lot. Which was part of the reason that Neumo’s was at least 85 degrees by midnight.
There is one thought that I took away from that night – of all places for awesome bands to come from – Alaska?
Apparently Alaska breeds bands the right way.
