It was a beautiful night in Berkeley on Friday. I raced over to see Portishead at the lovely Greek Theatre. I have forgotten how good the sound is there and on a nice night like Friday, it's magical. Portishead are one of my favourite bands of all time so I was really excited to see them perform after waiting many years. It took them well over ten years to release their third album which is ironically entitled "Third" which is so much different from their other two records.
They played a good mix of songs from all three albums. Beth Gibbons' voice is still powerful and haunting as ever. I saw her solo show with a couple of friends at a tiny venue in San Francisco many years ago. She still sounds great after all of these years. They played a slightly different version of their most well known track, "Sour Times (Nobody Loves Me)" and one of my personal favourites, "Wandering Star." At the end of the show, Beth came out and said hello the fans in the front row. She did at the Warfield show as well.
I love how they mix hip hop, jazz and rock all in one. They're like no other band in the world, which is exactly why I love hearing them. I've never been into bands that sound like every other band. I like bands that evolve and progress, Portishead are definitely one of those bands. Even though they never greeted the crowd, the music and the avant garde film in the background spoke volumes for the type of band Portishead are. I was captivated and mesmerized all night. It was well worth the ticket price.
I'll leave you with a video I took of "Wandering Star."
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