Portugal. The Man Wants to Double Check You’re in the Right Place
Rolling into town for a California stop along their 2018 globetrotting tour, Alaska’s, Portugal. The Man, produced a vibrant performance that literally lit up the historic Shrine Auditorium on Friday, August 10th. With sweeping multi-colored spotlights and a projector screen flashing larger-than-life animated patterns, images, and humorous phrases behind the band, it was clear that Portugal. The Man was there to party.
CUCO
However, while the band clearly had a blast rocking out on stage, the volume of the cheering crowd indicated that it just may have been the fans who enjoyed the night the most. Sparking an almost synchronized laughter from exuberant attendees, on-screen phrases such as “We are Portugal. The Man. Just making sure you’re at the right concert”, “real bands don’t need singers… who said we were a real band?” and “don’t worry, we’re playing ‘that song’ right after this” served as a perfect backdrop for a group known for their quirky and carefree style. There was a lighthearted feel to the night and the written visuals served as the perfect means to put the group’s delightfully sarcastic humor on full display. As fans jumped out of their seat to dance and sing along, they also enjoyed the excellent opportunity to cackle at the band’s sharp wit.
With this said, audience members who’d come to expect exactly this sort of wild and slightly psychedelic show from Portugal. The Man, may have done a double take during the opening act. With indie-rock a far cry from the romantic ballad genre, it fell to Hawthorne-based Latino artist, Cuco (Omar Banos), to prove that his unique experimental style meshed well with that of the world-renowned headlining performance coming up next.
PORTUGAL. THE MAN
Much to the crowd’s delight, the young twenty-year-old frontman wasted no time in dazzling the audience with a laid-back dream-pop style that continues to earn him a loyal fan base and rapidly growing social media following. There were cheers of approval as Cuco broke out a trumpet mid-set and infused his classic style with a modern jazzy twist.
Overall, while vastly different upon first glance, both bands greatly succeeded in mesmerizing the thousands of millennial fans present that night, albeit in their own unique ways.
Coverage by Jessica Nakamoto
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