Words by Jon Chattman Photos by Andrew Scott Blackstein

It was fitting Portugal. The Man took the stage on the first night of the World Series on Oct. 22 at The Cap. To put it mildly, they came out swinging and knocked every song out the proverbial park. They started off with a pitch perfect jam of Metallica’s iconic “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” which lead right into a chorus of Pink Floyd’s classic “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2,” and ultimately rolled into their own “Purple Yellow Red and Blue.” Talk about nailing an opening. And, it not once let up as the band played 20 total songs during this joyous night. The entertaining tone was set from the second you walked the halls of the Cap long before the band even hit the stage. The merch showcased the band’s self-depreciating humor - hitting any backlash from their mega-hit “Feel It Still” - head-on with a t-shirt stating “I Liked Portugal. The Man Before They Sold Out.” The only thing that sold out about this band was The Cap.

With a backdrop of animated half-naked men and woman, psych lights, and more, the band cautioned audience members before they hit the stage that because they “are not very good at stage banter” they’d be posting messages throughout the show. The messages were all hilarious (“Thank you for buying and/or stealing our album” and “That’s right kids. No computers up here. Just live instruments” were two gems), but it’s the music that was obviously most striking and without the banter, they were able to just play. And, if you could put together a perfect setlist for the band, it’d be the one they played at The Cap. Obviously, they played songs off their most recent album, the breakthrough “Woodstock,” but they also found time to perform a boatload of songs off other masterworks before they hit it big - like classics off their stellar one-two punch “In the Mountain in the Cloud” and “Evil Friends.”

Highlights were many - sort of like an MLB Network late night showcase - to keep this metaphor going. “So American,” “Rich Friends,” “So Young,” and a spot-on cover of the Oasis classic “Don’t Look Back in Anger” were standouts if I’m going to namedrop a few, but it was an evening of standouts and appreciation. The energy onstage translated to the crowd who ate up all tracks including, of course, "Feel it Still," which they played twice!

Bottomline, the band has paid their dues, and they deserve this and they expressed their appreciation for it all during the two encores. I know their breakthrough hit has led to some discontent among loyalists, but “Feel it Still” follows the band’s catalog in that it's infectious, wittingly written, and pop rock at its best. Yep kids, they play real instruments, and by God, this child of the ‘80s can attest - they kicked it like was 1986 Tuesday night.

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