Portishead Was Great!

December 18, 2007 by 2 Comments

Terra and I had a great time at the Portishead concert Saturday night! To see Portishead in concert was a real treat!! The music was good and the combination of modern electronica, with a heavy bass guitar and haunting vocals certainly gave a melancholy feel to the evening. The stage show was wonderful with closed circuit television cameras focused on the musicians’ hands and then blended with other coloured images to give a multi layered affect rivalling the music. The only down side was the fact the venue had no seats so we had to stand for three four hours.Portishead Was Great!

The Bristol Evening Post reviewed the show if you are interested to hear what the professionals had to say about the return of Portishead. I feel luck to be able to have been in the right place a the right time to see their return to the stage.

It is interesting for me to see how much I have changed since 1995 in regards to my tastes. I must admit I had a pretty dark view of the world when I was 19 and that is why some of the Portishead songs resonated. Frankly, life is much brighter and vibrant now and I do not find the downbeat mood of the music as liberating and comforting. However, you still have to marvel at the combination of styles and there is nothing like it for a dark dreary night when you simply want to bury yourself in your thoughts.

To give you a sample of my favourite songs, I have included a couple below. Click them and listen. If you like it, let me know.

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Tickle me pink!

December 7, 2007 by 1 Comment

An added benefit to coming to Bristol is that it is the epicenter of the trip-hop and acid jazz music scene.  Sadly, I am showing my age as these styles were all the rage when I was a freshman in university back ’94.  However, Bristol has an extremely rich culture of music and art and its history of turning out world famous, albeit niche, musicians continues.  It is the home to many world renowned music groups.

Terra and I live a very frugal lifestyle but when a once in a lifetime opportunity comes along, you must take it.  This morning we bought tickets for Saturday night when Terra and I will see Portishead which is one of my favorite bands.  To see them in the US would be hundreds of Dollars per ticket and it would be in a large theatre but since Bristol is Portishead’s home town, they are coming together for their first show in over 10 years!  I had little hope many years ago that this trio would create more music but much to my delight they are launching a new album in the spring of 2008.  This will be their first appearance in Bristol in some time.  Thankfully the tickets were only 20 pounds each and the venue is about a 5 minute walk from our flat!  How perfect is that?

One advantage to going to bands like this is that I am pretty sure the crowd will look a bit more like me.  I must admit, I am feeling a bit out of touch with the teenagers that run around the university.  When I was at Marist, I am sure I looked and behaved so much older than these kids! *laugh here*  The undergrads here amaze me.  They are connected to electronic devices at every moment with wires coming out of everywhere.  The young men wear their pants around their knees.  The young ladies wear outfits that would get them locked in the house if they were my daughters.  Both genders spend hours on their hair to make it look appropriately messy.  Maybe this is what university is in the US but obviously, I have been away quite a long time.  Oh how my poor child will suffer.  I am definitely not going to be cool 20 years from now unless they bring back fashion from 1992.

Guess I am getting older!  I am listening to “new music” that is 20 years old.  I am complaining about the next generation and  finding it harder to relate to technology advances such as texting everything on your mobile and using social networking sites.

I will let you know how the concert goes next Saturday.  I guess Terra and I have to enjoy this now as once the little one comes in April, we will not be able to go anywhere without the child due to lifestyle choices we have decided upon.  If you want any Portishead, Massive Attack, or any other trip-hop or acid jazz, let me know.  I have gigabytes of it!

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