Portugal. The Man - Schubas

Last Saturday was a day I was looking forward to for some time and it did not disappoint. Finally we were able to see Portugal. The Man at a small venue -- Schubas on Belmont and Southport. They had a hell of a performance at Lollapalooza in front of a much larger crowd, so I could not wait to see them at Schubas. Since they were playing to their core fans, I definitely felt a difference in music style. They seemed to experiment a bit more with their sound while still sounding tight. John Gourley came on stage of course with the patented hooded sweatshirt and his usual small talk in front of the sold-out crowd. They started the concert off in a way that would make any jam band proud. Portugal also pulled out some out-of-the-blue transitions to MGMT and Three Dog Night. They had a pretty good mix of songs from their four albums, which I was thrilled to hear. By the end, the four members from Alaska went through their set flawlessly and then came back on stage for the encore and rocked out to"Chicago" from their first album "Waiter: You Vultures!" It seemed to be a perfect way to come back from an encore. Overall the show had a ton of energy and emitted soul, rock, and psychedelic influences. I thought they really impressed the Chicago crowd.

The band afterwords hung around and took some pictures with us, which you don't see every day. Thanks for the great concert, Portual. The Man!

Below is a video from the sold-out show on Sunday at Schubas performing "1989" and "Our Way."

No. 57 Portugal. The Man

I'm surprised I've never heard of this group before, they have some great tunes, I especially enjoy the vocals of John Gourley. This band originates from Alaska, currently lives in Portland and have their fourth album coming out in July. That's four albums in the past four years -- you don't see that much these days. I was trying to nail down a genre, but the songs are very different from each other. So I went to some other websites to see what they label Portugal. The Man and the list is as follows: indie, experimental, indie rock, progressive, rock , Post-Hardcore, Alternative, soul, blues, and folk. That's quite a list, all I know it sounds damn good.

So I'm sure you are curious about the band name as was I. Well here is the answer from Gourley. "Portugal is a man's name as "Ziggy Stardust" is David Bowie...but the country is representing a group of people- and the band is not just one person..." So I guess we won't hear from a band named The John Gourley Band anytime soon.

As I sit here writing this post, I'm still wondering how I just discovered this band, but sure glad I did. So yes you will see me watching them at Lolla. Listen to "Shade," "Lay Me Back Down," "Sapphire Magic" and "People Say." It will be good for you, I promise.

Sounds like, many bands, just listen. Alright if I had to say, it would be Mars Volta meets Sonic Youth meets early Radiohead and My Morning Jacket. That sounds about right.

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