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Portishead
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
Santa Monica, Calif.
March 28, 1998
Reviewed by Porter Hall
It's only natural that Portishead would sell out a 3,000-seat venue like
the
Santa Monica Civic. After all, this is the movie capital of the world,
and few
bands have been more influenced by film music than this one.
As no opening act was billed, the room filled early with spectators in
their
late teens through thirties. When the house lights dimmed, the crowd
gushed, expecting the band to take the stage. Instead, tour DJ Andy
Smith
took over, setting the scene with an appropriate mixture of soul,
hip-hop,
and cinematic sounds that met with little appreciation from the
audience.
It was with rapt attention, however, that the crowd
greeted Portishead. The band, which combines the
traditional rock triumvirate of drums, bass, and guitar
with turntables, keyboards, and electronic
accoutrements, played with the aplomb of
professionals but the aloofness of a jazz act, with none
of the musicians looking up much from their
instruments. Lead singer Beth Gibbons' voice was
beautiful and remarkably clear -- at times flimsy and
frail, at others snarling and seductive. For most of the
show she was cast in shadow, backlit by a multimedia light-show directed
at
four monolithic screens behind her. As she sang, she clung desperately
to
the microphone, stepping away only for "Elysium," on which she played
guitar.
The show included an equal amount of material from the group's two Go
Beat/London albums: last year's self-titled release and 1994's "Dummy."
Material from the latter was generally more vivaciously presented, the
interpretations more experimental than the note-for-note reconstructions
of
the recent set's songs. With blocks of slow numbers interspersed with
dramatic tracks like "Half Day Closing" and "Over," the show seemed
designed to lull listeners into a trance then shake them.
The audience stood still through most of a performance, which was as
long
as your average spy film. People packed in front of the stage, yet there
was
no pushing nor much dancing. It was as if the crowd didn't know any
other
appropriate response to Portishead's cinematic, rhythmic rock than pure
fascination.
Porter Hall is Billboard's special issues coordinator.
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