Photo: Carsten Windhorst
The bar is packed, the anticipation is palpable - thirteen gigs into their comeback and Portishead have finally reached London. The Hammersmith Apollo is a highly appropriate venue for the Bristolians, its vaulted ceilings giving them space to fill with their brooding sounds but first we are greeted by four Americans who seem dwarfed by the huge stage.
However, A Hawk And A Hacksaw don’t let the vastness in front of them or the fact that it's only half full disturb them and they plough a furrow of Eastern European folk. They are just four but their sound feels like more and they career between foot stomping polka to melodramatic movements of violin, trumpets and drum. Fronted by Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trost they lead us a merry dance across the east which seems an odd choice as support for the late night gloominess of Portishead, but is none the less an enjoyable experience.
By the time Portishead take to the stage most have found their seats or a good vantage point in the standing below but a stuttering start from the band creates an unease. The trio of ‘Silence’, ’Hunter’ and ‘Mysterons’ are plagued by technical difficulties and before long Adrian Utley is telling us they must leave the stage.
Five minutes later and following a hive of activity around Geoff Barrow’s percussion area, the band are back and ready to resume, they are ready to soar. We are treated to a mix of mostly ‘Dummy’ and new album ‘Third’. The former providing the hits for the crowd to whoop and cheer while the former gives us a taste of the bands current sonic obsessions.
The contrast is vast, over the ten years it took to record ‘Third’ the trio have become darker, more jarring and never more so on single ‘Machine Gun’. Barrow grabs the attention with a series is distorted beats that grow in pitch the louder they get. What sounds minimal and curious on record is simply stunning live.
Beth Gibbons cuts a lithe figure on stage as she delivers her wraithlike sermon. Her voice never falters throughout - ‘Glory Box’, ‘Numb’ and a stripped back to the basics ‘Wandering Star’ delivering the ethereality to counter the harsher style of the new songs. ‘Cowboy’ closes the main part of the set with Gibbons apoligising to the audience about the earlier mishaps as the band depart the stage. After ten years of the fans are more than ready to forgive momentary lapses.
Returning for a three song encore it feels as if the band are carried along on a wave of applause as ‘Threads’, a truly wonderful, almost tear inducing ‘Roads’ and ‘We Carry On’ are all greeted by standing ovations. As Barrow and Utley close out the performance Gibbons joins the crowd and shares several hugs and kisses with the front row.
Tonight Portishead triumphed in the face of adversity and have come back as challenging as ever; the back catalogue is superb and ‘Third’ looks set to be a more than worthy addition.
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