Recorder's (j.mart) notes: First show of Portishead's 2008 tour, their first after an hiatus of 10 years. Living on one of the edges of Europe, I get to see many shows that are either the start or the end of a tour. As far as the beginning of a tour goes, this one was arguably the best I've ever seen. The band is locked and loaded, Beth's voice is still *the* best out there, and being a fan of dark, moody songs, I dare to say that their new material is their best ever, a belief that was cemented after seeing it's live renditions. The Rip, Silence and We Carry On were the highlights of the show for me, enough said... Beth, discrete on stage preferring gestures to words, yet charming and unable to hold her smile throughout the show. She was enjoying every second of it, and so was the crowd which got a bit overenthusiastic from time to time, forcing Beth to make some gestures for them to cool off. It's quite typical of Portuguese crowds, to interrupt the band with a overwhelming cheer halfway through a nice, calm song. Never mind clapping and woohooing after the end of a song, we need to do it every time Beth finishes singing a verse. And Lisbon was SO much worse... But, nothing could possibly ruin this concert going experience. The stage aesthetics are simple, but refined and very fitting of the Portishead's sound, with lots of erratic camera work going through the screens. The Lisbon shows featured some videoclips that Oporto didn't for some reason. I guess it's something still in the works. This recording is amazingly clear. Some editing was done on the bass department and on a few moments of annoying crowd presence, other than that it just might be my favorite tape of the year. The mix is very clear, but I thought the sound was very low on this show, and there were some problems with feedback and a high frequency buzz on the P.A. which really never got addressed properly. If you like Portishead, don't miss this tour.
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