Portugal. The Man's Concert was a Beacon of Community, Inclusivity, and Good Music in Toronto
Photo: Steve St. Jean
We acknowledge the land this concert was on is the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.
It was a nostalgic night for me. Walking down the street to History from my house, I thought about all the times I'd had the chance to see Portugal. The Man live. It's been approximately 15 years since my first PTM show back at the El Mocambo, where frontman and lead guitarist John Gourley stood sideways with his long coiled guitar cable and hooded windbreaker in what's become a trademark performance outfit. It was the very first concert I ever photographed. Fast forward to 2023. They are performing two nights in "Drake's House" (History), arguably their biggest show in Toronto yet, and I found myself just as excited to see them as I did back in the day. Not to mention the hype I built around this show in my head, as the band has been touting all over social media that it would be a "career-spanning set" and "an experience of sound and vision." Boy, were they not wrong.
Before I dig into their incredible set, I would be remiss not to mention the opening act, local pop-rockers Good Kid. The band introduced themselves and let the fans know that they were, in fact, a local Toronto band. Still, it was the first time they've been able to play "Drake's House" (this was a recurring theme, even with PTM), but the strange thing was the fans didn't seem to understand, which made me wonder where these fans were coming from if they don't know Drake owns History. Regardless, these hometown rockers set off rapidly with perpetual smiles as they dug into a series of pop-rock anthems about love and positivity, except for two songs. Distinctly called out songs about "hate" and being "slighted," yet still said with endearing smiles on every band member's face, making it hard to believe they've been mad enough to write a hate song. Regardless, one of them was their "cowboy song" called "Ground," which was incredibly catchy and featured serious country vibes. It was placed perfectly in their setlist as a break from the barrage of positivity and upbeat anthemic choruses. They were great and just the proper energy levels to get the audience hyped for what was to come next. Portugal. The Man.
Post-roadie clean-up had the stage looking slick with a raised drum kit and keyboard with a "LAND BACK" flag flanking each side of the stage. If you didn't know, PTM runs a non-profit organization called PTM Foundation, which builds community resilience, empathy, and awareness through music, stories, art, education, and connectivity. They aim to convene and organize partnerships and projects informed by community needs and then mobilize PTM's listeners and supporters around that shared vision.
This mission was brought to life beautifully as bassist Zach Carothers walked to centre stage, said hello and welcomed Lakota Harden (Minnecoujou/Yankton Lakota and HoChunk) to the stage, a highly-respected, award-winning organizer, community leader, and elder who has been part of Native American struggles for the past four decades. Lakota introduced herself and spoke about the connection we share as we participate in a concert and how important it is to be aware of the energy we share and how it is connected back to the earth. It was a powerful and motivational message followed by Lakota introducing Timiskaming First Nation and local Toronto punk band Friendly Fire to the stage to share a message of unity, appreciation, awareness, and acknowledgement of the land the night's performance was on.
Following a roar of cheer and applause from the audience, the band walked on stage and immediately set the tone for the night with a medley of metal renditions featuring Metallica, Slayer, and Pantera. It's precisely the reason why PTM shows are so special. You never know what you'll get, and their live show deviates from what the average listener would expect when exploring their most popular tracks on Spotify. The night was one giant jam, mixing tracks spanning their entire discography from "Chicago" off of 2006's Waiter: "Your Vultures!" to their latest single, "Dummy" off of this year's Chris Black Changed My Life. A notable moment in the setlist was going from "So American" off 2011's In The Mountain in the Cloud to a completely revamped version of "Evil Friends" that ebbed and flowed in pacing as they masterfully tweaked time signatures like Gods of Time. But they didn't simply play the tracks and dive deep in their back catalogue; they curated an epic frenzy of jams that blended everything (sometimes making me question what year it was).
Topping off the night were the visuals. They weren't kidding about it being "an experience of sound and vision" as the video screen behind them went from playing vintage animations to an upside first-person POV of John Gourley singing from his mic to handy cam footage filmed by their tour photographer/videographer Maclay Heriot (one of my personal favourites ever to do it). The visuals embodied the all-over-the-place vibe of the night (in all the right ways), and it was great to see such attention to detail and craft with the visuals, giving the show in Toronto a uniqueness compared to others with stock, never-changing visuals from night to night.
Was there a favourite moment of the night? It was all stellar, but I'd have to say it was the end of the night as the band closed out their set. Heriot followed the band with his Handycam as they walked backstage and went upstairs to the green room, making it seem like the show was over, only to reveal Gourley grabbing a Molson Canadian short can and shotgunning it, resulting in the crowd erupting with cheers. They returned to the stage (post shotgun) and performed "Sleep Forever," the closing track from 2011's In the Mountain in the Cloud, a personal favourite of mine.
It was a night to remember and left me wishing I was attending the second night at History. Until next time...
PHOTO GALLERIES
PORTUGAL. THE MAN
GOOD KID
PORTUGAL. THE MAN SETLIST:
Bells/Slayer/Pantera
What, Me Worry?
Purple Yellow Red and blue
Chicago
Atomic Man
Creep in a T-Shirt
Modern Jesus
People Say
Dope/Heavy Games/Bellies Are Full/Grim Generation
Dummy/Guns And Dogs
Summer of Luv
Ghost Town
So American
Evil Friends
Plastic Islands
All Your Light
Champ
Senseless
So Young
Feel it Still
Live in The Moment / Someday Believers
Encore:
Sleep Forever
Words / Photography by: Steve St. Jean