Not So Silent Night show is not so average, featuring modern rock
Oakland was once again the capital of the alternative music universe this weekend, as fans flocked from all over the Bay Area (and beyond) to Live 105’s annual Not So Silent Night concerts Friday and Saturday at the Oracle Arena.
This year’s lineups, as per usual, were loaded with big-name acts, including The Killers, The Lumineers, Weezer, Portugal. The Man, Vance Joy, Foster the People, Walk the Moon and Alice Merton.
NSSN’s opening show Friday had a decidedly folkpop vibe thanks to The Lumineers and Vance Joy. The other main attraction of the night was Portugal. The Man. (Yes, the band stylizes its name by adding a period in the middle. And, no, I don’t like it either.)
Portugal. The Man was the best act of the night, even as it underscored the many reasons why it will never become a huge pop band, despite what the single “Feel It Still” might have you believe.
Oh, sure, “Feel It Still” is a fantastic pop number that should’ve been nominated for record of the year at the upcoming Grammys. But the sleek soul-pop number isn’t representative of the band’s overall sound. And the band shows no sign of trying to travel further down that direction.
Instead, the Portugal. The Man players — vocalist-guitarist John Baldwin Gourley, bassist Zachary Scott Carothers, multi-instrumentalist Kyle O’Quin, guitarist Eric Howk and drummer Jason Sechrist — did their best anti-star impersonations, performing on a dimly lit stage, rarely interacting with the crowd and showing very little, well, showmanship.
And “Feel It Still” was the worst song of the set. It would’ve brought thunderous applause as a closer. Instead, Portugal. The Man played it early in the set and seemed to rush through it, like it was an obligation that the band only begrudgingly fulfilled. Plus, the live take didn’t sound anywhere near as good as the studio version. Talk about a missed opportunity.
Still, Portugal. The Man delivered a powerfully psychedelic freak-out that honored the band’s roots and must have confounded those that only know the band from “Feel It Still.’ The group sounded heavy enough to play with Black Sabbath as it opened the set with mighty Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” which eventually transitioned into an even more convincing cover of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)” and then Portugal. The Man’s own “Purple Yellow Red and Blue.”
The music was wild and swirling, accompanied by some great visuals, such an old-school liquid light display that seemed borrowed from a Fillmore gig in the late 1960s.
For all that, there’s no doubt the crowd liked The Lumineers better. Which makes sense — The Lumineers have built their name and fortune from making wildly accessible folk-pop tunes, which sound great on the radio or your favorite streaming service, or as a live sing-alongs for thousands.
It’s the kind of band that should open for Dave Matthews. (Or, perhaps, Matthews should open for The Lumineers at this point?)
Plus, when was the last time you saw a fan at a modern rock show doing his best “Riverdance” impersonation, kicking his feet back and forth while keeping the top half of his body fairly still. Yet, there was Riverdancing to behold on this night.
The crowd ate it up, chanting along with The Lumineers’ catchy choruses and other lyrics as the Denver group rolled through “Submarines,” “Cleopatra” and — of course — the overplayed anthem “Ho Hey.”
Folksy singer-songwriterguitarist Vance Joy would look out of place on most Not So Silent Night lineups, but he fit in this case because his music mixes well with The Lumineers
Night Two of Not So Silent Night boasted an even more appealing lineup, with Weezer, The Killers and Foster the People being the big attractions.