I was lucky enough to cop a couple tix to last night’s Portugal. The Man gig at the Enmore Theatre, Newtown and let me tell you, it was an EVENT. Lights. Animation. Bass up, down and all around my rattling bones. Read on for the full details.
First off, Portugal. The Man have some absolutely ridic animations playing behind them during the show. It’s insane. Red, yellow, blue; cartoon men swirling in, out, tripping you out. These visuals then switch to what can only be described as rippling naked men running in unison. Then to this???
Day 1 of tour. No promises on the quality of music but the visuals are ? thx 2 @elpoposangre ?
A post shared by Kyle O’Quin (@kyleoquin) on
Very strange, very cool. But of course, they’re not just about the visuals. These guys are all about the music, man. Their bass player shreds. I didn’t know that shredding was something that bass players do, but this one does, and it is in-sane. And it’s not just one solo-shredding situation either – it’s about every second song. Even if you don’t like their music, you have to be impressed at the pure, unadulterated shredding power that is Portugal. The Man‘s bassist.
Of course, it’s not just the bassist that’s a music aficionado, their keyboardist Kyle O’Quin isn’t just a rocker, he’s also a classically trained pianist. So much so that he’s got Trump all riled up about it:
A post shared by Kyle O’Quin (@kyleoquin) on
I don’t know whether this is real or not but I guess that’s just what living in 2018 is???
Anyway, the whole experience was just about the most intense thing I’ve ever experienced. My (completely sober) friend Kate turned to me about halfway through the gig and screamed, “I feel like I’m on the most intense trip of my life!”. So, there you go.
If you want to experience Portugal. The Man’s magnitudinal force for yourself, they’re on a world tour right now! Head on over to portugaltheman.com for dates and tix. And for an exclusive chat with the band, you can read our interview with their keyboardist Kyle O’Quin here.