#Zac Carothers

[thebowerypresents]

Portugal. The Man Tell Their Story at Radio City Music Hall

Portugal. The Man – Radio City Music Hall – July 27, 2023

One way of telling the history of Portugal. The Man is through the venues they’ve played in New York City. Over the past two decades, they’ve literally played most of them, from hotel lobbies to Central Park, from Mercury Lounge to last year’s big one at Madison Square Garden. And with each return to the city, the evolution of their sound and the band itself has morphed along with the size and location of the venues. That was all lingering in the background as the Alaska-via-Portland, Ore., band put another notch in their belt, headlining the renowned Radio City Music Hall with an epic set that told the history of Portugal. The Man through their music.

The band has always been a malleable thing, with the only constants being John Gourley and Zach Carothers, and the version that took the Radio City stage on Thursday night was a massive one with multiple guitars, two drummers (one of whom doubled as a saxophonist) and three backup singers. The set utilized every bit of that muscle, often 10 strong, as it wove songs from the recently released Chris Black Changed My Life in with old material and even older material. To call out individual tunes or look at the set list seems to miss the point as they masterfully moved between songs, sometimes leaving them unfinished, sometimes returning to them after an excursion into something else, sometimes playing them in new, completely reworked ways, sometimes dropping into bits of covers by Yes or the Beatles or Nirvana. There was a lot going on and for much of the set it felt like there was no stopping, one song after another after another. Along the way they told their story, how they’ve somehow been the next thing in alt-rock and prog and pop and psychedelic and even metal and hip-hop. 

Another way of telling the history of Portugal. The Man is in the various lineups over the years, and they recounted that story too, inviting multiple past members to join in on guitars, no-nostalgia-here bulking up an already beefy sound, creating a through line from their earliest beginnings to present day. All this music was punctuated by a giant display screen behind the stage that showed nature-film-style footage and futuristic animations and clips of David Bowie and Coen Brothers movie, a collage of visuals to match the impossible-to-pigeonhole music. The set arced perfectly through the night, Portugal. The Man entertainingly telling their story, hitting the high points along the way, the selections and placement of each song and interlude just right. It built to the ending pair of “Feel It Still” and “Sleep Forever,” which felt like bookends of their sound and their history, a history, of course, that is still being written. —A. Stein | @Neddyo

Photos courtesy of Silvia Saponaro | @Silvia_Saponaro

[hitchell-mope]

88. The Wilmington-Sullivan family tree

Jones Moriarty Wilmington. A wizard. Current patriarch. Fancast is John C Riley. Husband of Delaney. Father of Findlay and Skipper. Grandfather of Drummond, Barnaby and Jonah. Father in law of Sidney. Commissioner of the NYPD. Son of Celestine and the late Donovan. Fraternal twin of Chambers.

Delaney Wilmington. A witch. Current matriarch. Fancast is Laura Dern. Wife of Jones. Mother of Findlay and Skipper. Grandmother of Drummond, Barnaby and Jonah. Daughter of Beaumont and Clementine. Stepdaughter of Winifred (Beaumont’s second wife) and Lilith (Clementine’s latest wife). Sister of Leland.

Findlay Sullivan. A witch. Fancast if Brie Larson. Wife of Sidney. Mother of Drummond, Barnaby and Jonah. Sister of Skipper. Daughter of Jones and Delaney. Granddaughter of Donovan, Celestine, Beaumont, Winifred, Clementine and Lilith. Profiler at New York’s 88th precinct.

Skipper Wilmington. A wizard. Fancast is Austin Butler. Son of Jones and Delaney. Brother of Findlay. Uncle of Drummond, Barnaby and Jonah. Grandson of Donovan, Celestine, Beaumont, Winifred, Clementine and Lilith. Fiancé of Oswald. Owner and bartender of Goodbye Golden Brick Road. An Elton John themed Irish pub located across the street from the precinct

Sidney Sullivan. A mortal who’s learned magic. Fancast is Zac Efron. Husband of Findlay. Father of Drummond, Barnaby and Jonah. Son of Sawyer and Sonya. Younger brother of Samson. New York’s 88th precincts top detective.

Drummond Carothers. A satyr. Fancast is Aidan Gallagher. Adopted by Findlay and Sidney after his mother, Magda, died in the season two finale. Adopted brother of Barnaby and Jonah. The heir to the now disbanded Carothers crime family.

Oswald Chatwin. A centaur. Fancast is Dylan Playfair. Skipper’s fiancé. Waiter at Goodbye Golden Brick Road.

Beaumont Mulligan. A wizard. Fancast is Donald Sutherland. Father of Delaney and Leland. Husband of Winifred. Ex husband of Clementine. Retired since April 1912.

Winifred Mulligan. A witch. Fancast is Whoopi Goldberg. Second wife of Beaumont. Stepmother to Delaney and Leland. Step grandmother of Findlay and Skipper. Runs an auction house in Westchester.

Leland Mulligan. A wizard. Fancast is Kiefer Sutherland. Son of Beaumont and Clementine. Stepson of Winifred. Brother of Delaney. Uncle of Findlay and Skipper. Supreme Court Justice of the United States.

Clementine Hauser. A witch. Fancast is Holland Taylor. Mother of Delaney and Leland. Ex wife of Beaumont. Wife of Lilith. Grandmother of Findlay and Skipper. Recreational time traveller.

Lilith Hauser. The biblical demon. Fancast is Lily Tomlin. Wife of Clementine. Stepmother of Delaney and Leland. Step grandmother of Findlay and Skipper. Recreational time traveller

Donovan Wilmington. A ghost. Fancast is Bill Murray. Father of Jones and Chambers. Husband of Celestine. Grandfather of Findlay and Skipper. Died in 1970. Recreational Possessor

Celestine “Rainbow Tsunami” Wilmington. A witch. Fancast is Wendie Malick. Mother of Jones and Chambers. Grandmother of Findlay and Skipper. Donovan’s widow. Proto hippie.

Chambers Truman Wilmington. A wizard. Fancast is Brad Pitt. Son of Donovan and Celestine. Jones’s fraternal twin brother. Uncle of Findlay and Skipper. Las Vegas stage magician.

Sawyer Sullivan. A mortal. Fancast is Stanley Tucci. Husband of Sonya. Father of Samson and Sidney. Grandfather of Drummond, Barnaby and Jonah. Criminal defence lawyer.

Sonya Sullivan. A mortal. Fancast is Allison Janney. Wife of Sawyer. Mother of Samson ant Sidney. Grandmother of Drummond, Barnaby and Jonah. Celebrity chef

Samson Sullivan. A mortal. Fancast is Paul Dano. Son of Sawyer and Sonya. Older brother of Sidney. Uncle to Drummond, Barnaby and Jonah. Video game enthusiast.

[itsawildmethod-blog]

Getting stoked! First full song from Portugal. The Man's streaming on youtube