Portishead live & backstage in Toronto : A Signature Library exclusive
Growing up in the peak of my teenage years in 90′s I spent a lot of time seeing “alternative” acts perform their now classic albums live. It’s hard to believe that by now most of the albums from my youth are already considered “classic” and have been romanticized in recent years with several bands revisiting their “transcending” LP with re issues and concerts as a reminder of what once was. Nostalgia in music is always a good thing in my opinion, because for whatever reason anything that had an impact or made people stop and listen is worth revisiting and re introducing. In the case of a stellar band born in the 90′s “alternative” scene called Portishead, it is more of a re introduction than it is a revisiting of the past. Portishead was one of the few bands that I never had a chance to see live. Despite being relatively a reclusive band and having a very minimal tour schedule over the last 15 years, it is almost shocking to think how could I have missed one of the most groundbreaking and influential albums of the 90′s being performed live in the 90′s? The album is ironically titled “Dummy.”
I am so grateful to bands like Portishead for not only keeping it together as a band, but to have the appreciation and adoration for their earlier work as much as their fans, giving those who missed it the first time around 13 years ago, a second chance. Seeing songs like “Mysterons” and “Sour Times” performed live in 2011 is remarkable, because we’re all getting another chance to go back to the future with an indelible band like Portishead. Lead singer, Beth Gibbons voice live in 2011 is as youthfully pure and poetically haunting as it sounds coming of my turntable. Portishead in 2011 consists of the same group of incredible musicians as when they began; Geoff Barrow, Adrian Utley & Beth Gibbons.
Portishead backstage with Bryan at the Sound Academy in Toronto 2011
After the two Toronto shows I had the good fortune of spending some time with the band backstage and was not surprised to see how relaxed and friendly everyone was to me and with one another. There aren’t many bands that have been able to stay together long enough to revisit the past the way they introduced us to the future. Portishead, I thank you.