If all Geoff Barrow ever did was produce last years “Chase The Tear” he would be a hero of mine. But, of course, Portishead, is one of the great UK bands of recent(y) history: the great trip hoppers and with Massive Attacks somewhat disappointing current album, pretenders to the Bristol crown if they’d fucking record something.
But, let’s get real here, you don’t want him playing at your Bat Mitzvah. And if Portishead need to be met at least halfway, his other band, Beak, can be inaccessible. Beak’s first album, recorded in TWELVE DAYS (it took Geoff 15 years to record three albums with Portishead -all great by the way) had me shrugging at stuff like “Dundry” and while buying a tix to last night’s concert I had serious misgivings.
Misplaced misgivings.
Before the set I was outside the room texting when an English guy, bleeding profusely from a shaving cut, asked me for a light. Somebody else gave it to him and we get to talking. It was Beak’s guitarist (Matt I think) and this is his first trip to NYC and he doesn’t much wanna leave which makes me like him immediately.
On stage half an hour later, the guitarist/keyboardist is the most animated performer of the day and that is fine but what is strange is that on stage, Beak shake off the doomy shudder and become… well, an art rock band. Matt’s enthusiasm is not misplaced.
The opening song “Blackwell” leads the way. An animated, highly melodic tweak and dredge on record, it is, dare I say, the residual of a pop song complex live and a wonderful opening. This may be experimental krautrock kinda modern sound but it is relatively accessible.
Around the half way mark they hit “Dundry Hill” and it all becomes a little more obstreperous, a little more sound sequency. All gnarly feedback and throbbing sounds. A reverberating bass is caught up in Barrows drumming and the humm of melody becomes the hummm of an instrument vibrating. Soon after Geoff will apologize for the heavy echo on his voice. “Is it doing your head in? It’s doing my fucking head in. It’s to hide my singing, I should really learn how to sing.”
Self-deprecation goes a long way at rock nyc and on the final song before the audience it goes further as a blast of highly emulsive energy becomes “Let The Sunshine In” from “Hair”. I saw Portishead years ago at Roseland (it became a live album) and thought they were great but boring.
Beak were great and not boring at all. Geoff should let the sunshine in more often.