Portishead at Glastonbury 2013
July 8, 2013 6:26 AM   Subscribe

The enduring appeal of an act with such a relatively small oeuvre is understandable based on their 2013 Glastonbury set. Fantastic live act cinematography. [SLYT]
posted by panaceanot (26 comments total) 61 users marked this as a favorite
 
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posted by GallonOfAlan at 7:17 AM on July 8, 2013


Pretty sweet!
posted by chillmost at 7:26 AM on July 8, 2013


Such a perfect band.
posted by soakingbook at 7:39 AM on July 8, 2013


wow, this is fantastic - thanks for posting!
posted by xbonesgt at 7:46 AM on July 8, 2013


God I love Portishead.
posted by Navelgazer at 8:13 AM on July 8, 2013 [4 favorites]


Absolutely immense. Thanks for posting!
posted by ZipRibbons at 8:33 AM on July 8, 2013


Wonderful.
posted by mintcake! at 8:40 AM on July 8, 2013


Okay, the performance of "Roads" nearly broke me.
posted by Navelgazer at 9:11 AM on July 8, 2013


That performance of "Wandering Stars" is luminous.
posted by Catblack at 9:16 AM on July 8, 2013 [2 favorites]


Will watch as soon as I get to a real computer. Thanks!
posted by rtha at 10:22 AM on July 8, 2013


I was there! So good. So, so good, and a decent crowd too. Not even the pillheads who kept bumping into me, no matter how often I moved out of their way, could ruin it.

Second highlight of the festival after Nick Cave, who was like an Old Testament figure come to pass wrathful judgment on the legions of Mumford & Sons fans awaiting their set.
posted by Infinite Jest at 10:55 AM on July 8, 2013


The BBC recorded a a ton of video from Glastonbury this year. Not sure if it's available outside the UK. Although it does seem a lot has been cross-posted to youtube.

I've been gradually binging the acts. Particular favourites so far:
Alabama Shakes (I didn't connect with their album, but they perfectly fit this format)
Goat
The Strypes
Solange
F*** Buttons
posted by Erberus at 11:04 AM on July 8, 2013


The Beeb coverage this year was amazing, Savages and Django Django also highly recommended.
posted by brilliantmistake at 11:51 AM on July 8, 2013


I appreciate this. In May, my truck was broken into and a bunch of random stuff was taken, including my cd case (really people?! Who takes CDs? I figured I was the only person on earth left without an aux input on their stereo).

In that cd case was my copy of Portishead's Dummy and Massive Attack's Blue Lines and Protection. I have them on iTunes, but I had owned those CDs since I was in high school and they had made many trips with me and my Discman; they had been all over the US and even outside of it a few times.

In addition to the trip-hop, there was a bunch of Motown, soul, early emo, and mix CDs. The thieves probably thought my taste in music sucks.

:::sadpandaface:::
posted by sara is disenchanted at 12:25 PM on July 8, 2013 [4 favorites]


Here is the aforementioned Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds set, which is every bit as awesome as advertised.
posted by vibrotronica at 1:17 PM on July 8, 2013 [2 favorites]


Saw Portishead in L.A. last year and they were phenomenal. Good stuff indeed.
posted by mykescipark at 1:28 PM on July 8, 2013


Thanks for this.

I heard a review on NPR in '94 and bought that first album. Then they played somewhere small in DC a few weeks later. Beer sales were way down because nobody moved during the short set. Lots of gaping.

We wouldn't let them go at the end. They seemed surprised and humble. They didn't have any more material, so they played 2-3 songs they'd already played. Everyone was just fine with that.

Anyone know what the venue was for that show?
posted by Mr. Yuck at 2:24 PM on July 8, 2013 [3 favorites]


I saw them years ago and they kicked all the available ass, then sent a guy out for some more.

We didn't mind waiting.
posted by Sebmojo at 2:38 PM on July 8, 2013 [2 favorites]


Mr. Yuck,

I didn't realize Portishead had been in D.C. before I saw them at the 9:30 Club in '98. The Internet says...they played at WUST Music Hall May 1-2, '95, which became the 9:30 after remodeling a year later. That's the earliest cite I could find.

panaceanot,

Thanks for posting this. I've been waiting all day to sit in front of my computer and watch.
posted by the sobsister at 4:37 PM on July 8, 2013


I was there! It was a fantastic gig, my favourite of the festival. I did get a bit freaked out when David Cameron appeared and started zapping the crowd with laser beams from his eyes, though. Almost as creepy as the Threads visuals when Massive Attack played a few years back.
posted by doop at 5:12 PM on July 8, 2013


Thanks, sobsister. That must be it.

I recall that the tour was hastily organized after sudden success. And only 3 dates this side of the pond. NYC, DC, LA, I think.

I just asked my ex about it. She says they apologized before the encore for not having anything else to give.

Gibbons had a martini and a burning cigarette throughout the show. I thought she was 20 years older than I was. I'm not rating her looks, but I just went to Wiki and found out she was born the same year I was. The songs made her seem so old. And that voice just knocks me into my grave.

They were all visibly nervous and that worked with a very sympathetic audience. They blew us away. Maybe 500 people standing around in the street afterwards talking about the significance of the show. That does not happen.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 5:56 PM on July 8, 2013 [3 favorites]


Amazing, thanks!

I noticed this in the YT sidebar:

Portishead Rock in Roma 2012 -- still photos, bootleg audio. Setlist.

Does anyone know of an at all recent performance of Half Day Closing?
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:10 PM on July 8, 2013


Ptichfork (June 2013): Portishead's Beth Gibbons to Release New Solo Album on Domino
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:21 PM on July 8, 2013


Does anyone know of an at all recent performance of Half Day Closing?

I haven't seen it turn up on a bootleg in years, and the Portishead catalogue at Setlist.fm bears this out. Too bad, as that was my favorite song off that album for a long time.
posted by mykescipark at 11:31 AM on July 10, 2013


How they can be both tiny and titanic all at the same time is astounding to me. How do you put on an intimate show in front of thousands? Thanks so much for this.
posted by Celsius1414 at 10:44 PM on July 16, 2013


sara is disenchanted: In that cd case was my copy of Portishead's Dummy and Massive Attack's Blue Lines and Protection. I have them on iTunes, but I had owned those CDs since I was in high school and they had made many trips with me and my Discman; they had been all over the US and even outside of it a few times.

:::sadpandaface:::"

whoa, it's like an alternate me wrote this comment a few weeks ago and I have no memory of it.
posted by mannequito at 12:01 PM on August 2, 2013


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