at a glance...

Hometown: Bristol, England
Year Formed: 1991

Members:

Geoff Barrow, Andy Smith -decks
Beth Gibbons -vocals
Adrian Utley -moog
John Baggot -keyboards
Jim Barr -bass
John Cornick -trombone
Dave Ford, Andy Hague -trumpet
Adrian Utley -guitar
William Gregory -oboe
Ben Waghorn -alto flute, alto sax, tenor sax
William Gregory -baritone sax
Dave Ford, Andy Hague -flugel horn
...and full orchestral accompaniment

Bands In The Family:
Massive Attack, Tricky, PJ Harvey, Neneh Cherry

Notes:
Barrow unceremoniously met Gibbons in an unemployment office. Later recruiting Utley, the trio scored a noir-ish short film called "To Kill A Dead Man." Signing nearly immediately thereafter to Go! Discs, the group spent several months recording their debut. That effort yielded Dummy, the 1994 release that effortlessly shined the mainstream spotlight on a dark, brooding form of electronic music appropriately branded "trip-hop." The laudatory press attention and numerous awards heaped on the band perhaps contributed to the extended vacation its media-shy members took before releasing Portishead in 1997. The band has since established an amazing live set, which can be heard on their third release, PNYC. The band takes its name from an English town of the same name.

Links:
Portishead Mothership
We Love Portishead

This album made me a believer. I used to be rather cynical about live albums. The singer throws in a new inflection here and there, maybe the guitar solo gets changed up a bit, but so what? You can't even see anything, for Chrissakes. But after PNYC blessed me with it's glorious melancholy elegance, I had a change of heart. I love the live album.

While Portishead's studio recordings, Dummy and Portishead, are positively enthralling, their live performance makes their blend of jazz, hip hop, and elements that can only be called Porisheadian sound like breathtaking new material. The moog is icier, the brass sharper, the scratching more fierce. The orchestra, which sounds like a low-key background effect on their studio albums, takes on a fully engaging, cinematic role, making you feel like you're a part of a 70's cult spy flick. And on "Mysterons," the uncontrolled orchestral climax is overwhelming. Enhancing and completing Portishead's beautifully cool sound is singer Beth Gibbons. Her delicate voice is even more revealing live, reflecting every bit of heartache and sadness that comes with love and deceit. She even manages to transform their hit "Sour Times" into a primal scream therapy session. Certainly didn't see that one coming.

Portishead's live performance isn't impressive - it's completely astonishing. Lovers of the band needn't feel cheated out of a record with new material - PNYC can only re-instill your faith. It should pick up a few new believers along the way, too.