Here is my attempt at a review...
As soon as we got outside Hammersmith station there were scalpers buying and selling tickets for the show. We ignored them and continued on our way. Luckily for us, the Hammersmith Apollo is not very far from Hammersmith station and we were at the venue and in the queue just a shade after 6PM. There were already about 30-40 people in the line up and the doors weren't due to open til 7PM. While we were waiting in line we were given a cool little Portishead USB flash drive. They didn't get given to everyone so we were pretty lucky to get one each.
Just after 7PM the doors were opened and we made our way inside. We grabbed some snacks and a drink and went to find our seats. It was great to sit down after standing for an hour in the line up! After about an hour of listening to some random music the support act - A Hawk and a Hacksaw - stepped up and played for about 45 minutes. The group had a drum, violins, mandolin and an accordian. Maja thought it sounded a bit like Serbian folk music.
About half an hour after the support act finished the lights went down and the crowd cheered. Portishead took to the stage as some visuals played on three big screens above the back of the stage. They opened with two tracks off their new album before playing Mysterons. There was a technical problem with the turntables, so they left the stage for five minutes or so while the problem was fixed. Apart from this one incident I have to say that this concert probably had the best sound I have ever heard at a live concert - nice and clean without any hint of distortion.
I have been waiting for more than ten years to hear Portishead play live and I have to say they did not dissapoint. I got goosebumps so many times during the performance. Most of the songs they played were so true to the original versions, unlike some bands who will make a bunch of extra noise and freestyle and wail over their music. The only dissapointment would be that they didn't play 'All Mine', but apart from that everything was brilliant. Wandering Star was a highlight - Beth sang accompanied only by a bass guitar and a distorted electric guitar - no beats.
The new stuff, while not as good as their old stuff, was still pretty good. It has started to grow on me after a few more listens and still retains the Portishead sound.
After playing Cowboys, Beth jumped off the stage and hugged almost everyone in the front row before the band left the stage. The crowd gave a standing ovation and cheered until Portishead came back on stage for a three song encore.
It was definitely one of the best gigs I have ever been too, and it was well worth the wait.
Here is the set list:
01 Silence
02 Hunter
03 Mysterons
04 The Rip
05 Glory Box
06 Numb
07 Magic Door
08 Wandering Star
09 Machine Gun
10 Over
11 Sour Times
12 Only You
13 Nylon Smile
14 Cowboys
15 Threads
16 Roads
17 We Carry On
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here
