Subject: Portishead Film Showcase & Listening Session Live @ Eb5 - May15, 2008
Eb5 InternationalArtGallery
Honors
Portishead’s
Listening Session
Film showcase time: Thursday May 15th, 2008
This famous filming of Portishead's first-ever live gig in New York--along with the accompanying album--is now considered a modern classic. The concert itself is a wonder to behold, as Portishead (Geoff Barrows, Adrian Utley, Beth Gibbons, Andy Smith) smoke cigarettes, chew gum, scratch records, and behave in a generally hip manner while around them the 30-piece New York Philharmonic Orchestra and a 5-piece horn ensemble do their thing. The performance and subsequent recording of this gig has, in some cases, offered a preferred body of work to Portishead's studio-based albums, proving that a live gig does not always equal poor production values. From the haunting "All Mine" to the ever-popular "Glory Box,"
the energy from the band members and orchestra adds a breathtaking edge to the well-known tunes. The camera itself takes on part of the magic of the concert, sweeping majestically across the action and the audience, helping to capture the slow, silky essence of this urbanized opulence. --Paul Sullivan
After the Film a Listening Session of New Album
On October 2, 2007, Portishead stated that the new album, titled Third, had been mixed and was nearly complete, and was due for release in April 2008. On December 7-9, 2007, the band curated the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Minehead, England. The festival featured their first full live sets in nearly 10 years. They premiered five tracks from the new album, provisionally titled "Wicca", "Hunter", "Machine Gun", "Mystic" and "Peaches".
Third (2008)
Third is due for release on April 28, 2008. The band announced: "The album has 11 tracks and is 49 minutes 13 seconds long", and the track titles have been disclosed. On January 21, 2008, a European tour to support the album was announced, together with a headline spot at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 26, 2008. As well as their
main recorded output, Portishead have been involved in a large amount of remixes and collaborations with other artists.