Portugal The Man blows audiences away

On Sept. 6 at the North Coast Music Festival, Portugal The Man, an Alaska-bred, Portland-based band whose style ranges from indie rock to psychedelic pop, rocked Union Park for 57 of the most enjoyable minutes of live music that I have ever witnessed.  

Anyone familiar with Portugal The Man should know of its wide range of musical styles and often avant-garde sensibility. Though its latest albums, most prominently Danger Mouse-produced “Evil Friends” of 2013, have been characterized by a notably more poppy, yet also more cohesive sound than some of their earlier, more progressive Extended Players, its stage performance takes a step back from the newer, more mellow tracks like “Sea of Air” and “Plastic Soldiers.”

Portugal The Man allowed its eclectic music library to shine throughout their show, often allowing each song to flow into the next.  Though it played upwards of 13 or 14 songs, Portugal The Man only took a break perhaps two or three times.  As one listens to this surprisingly cohesive stream of musical consciousness, he will most definitely notice the band mixing and matching little bits of songs into others.  Of the more notable of these occurrences was the use of the chorus from “The Home” to end a cover of “Kilo” by Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah. In general, this use of interconnection allows the band to transition between its songs and numerous interesting cross-genre covers.  Beside its take on hip-hop, Portugal The Man also covered the likes of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In the Wall” in its transition to 2013 hit “Purple Yellow Red & Blue.”  Of the more interesting covers woven into Portugal The Man’s live show, perhaps none was more well-executed than its cover of “Day Man” from the rock opera “The Night Man Cometh” on the long-running hit television show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” between the songs “Evil Friends” and “So American.”  Also notable was the use of the obscure track “Chicago” from their first album, 2006 release “Waiter: You Vultures!”  as a sort of homage to the city in which it was playing.

From an auditory standpoint, Portugal The Man used noticeably higher bass levels than is apparent in its albums.  Though Portugal The Man bassist Zachary Carothers’s work is often loud, the band upped the bass through drummer Jason Sechrist’s use of a bass pad.  The heavy bass offset the singer John Gourley’s uniquely high voice and his use of higher-octave chords than is apparent on records.  If there is any complaint from the concert, it would be the lack of similarity to the album versions of their songs.  That being said, Portugal The Man displayed a unique and ultimately enjoyable variety of music that is sure to satisfy any of its fans and probably make them plenty of new fans as well.