Perennial favorites Portishead to start the week. In concert at Sudoeste Festival in Portugal on August 8, 1998.
My first encounter with Portishead was via their debut album Dummy – Sour Times stopped me dead in my tracks. I was listening to new music – I was listening to music that was doing the thing music has always been capable of doing, yet seldom doing lately; stopping the world and paying attention. It was new music and it was vital and it was the right thing at the right time.
Although Portishead haven’t penetrated the mass worldwide audience, they have with an audience that is growing. Portishead isn’t a band you casually listen to – music that makes a difference never is. You need to take your time. You really need to close the doors, turn off the lights, put the headphones on and let Beth Gibbons guide you on this journey.
It’s a good journey – its a journey that feeds the soul. Portishead has all the musical nutrients you need to make your life better. Is music capable of that? Of course it is.
Ever listen to a piece of music, that when it’s over you suddenly feel better about the world? The one you’re in? The walls, the air, the smells from outside the window? Music does that – it does that a lot. Sometimes we don’t notice – often we don’t have the time – time is the culprit and we need time to repair. We need time to listen, to be regenerated – to look at the world, look at our lives and realize we’re not doing as bad as we think.
Maybe that’s too much responsibility to heap onto a band – too much pressure. It’s just notes after all.
But there is something about what Portishead is doing, about what Beth Gibbons is singing – how she is singing it – the voice that transports and conveys – it’s the power music has – those innocent sharps and flats – those seemingly innocuous beats.
I would urge you, if you’re not already familiar, to dig into the very rich catalogue of music from this game-changing band. Go here: Portishead Homepage.
In the meantime – find a half-hour where you can sit someplace and dive into this. The journey is well worth it.
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