The 1990s were a period of freedom for some, and music from the period evokes many happy memories and thoughts.
Bands like Nirvana, Jamiroquai and Rage Against The Machine were at the peak of their musical output. However, one band stands out above all others for me in evoking memories of this time – Portishead. The sheer quality and originality of the three Portishead studio albums is undeniable.The consensus view may have landed on their third and final studio album being their musical peak, but for me it's the 1994 debut 'Dummy' and the subsequent 1997 self-titled album that are the most evocative.
Singer Beth Gibbons had formed the band in Bristol, England, with two other highly original musicians, Adrian Utley and Geoff Barrow. The band has not performed together since 2015, each of the members going on to new musical directions.
Post Portishead, Gibbons has maintained an eclectic approach to music, recording a Gorecki symphony with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, releasing two great studio albums, and recently collaborating with Kendrick Lamar.
Image © Clea-marie Thorne
Of the two studio albums, 2002's 'Out Of Season' is a stunning work, produced in collaboration with Talk Talk's bassist Paul Webb, aka Rustin Man. Gibbons' vocals on the album seem to pay homage to Nina Simone. The most recent album, 'Lives Outgrown', was released in 2024 and describes Gibbons' feelings as she moves into her 60s.
'Lives Outgrown' was announced to fans in a hand-written note that talked of the loss of friends and family, and her anxieties as she moved through her 50s. The three slow – lento – pieces that make up the Gorecki 'Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs' are beautiful, but would not really fit tonight's performance (3 June).
Lyrically, Gibbons' music is thought of as quite bleak, perhaps consistent with what might be expected in Bristol – or nearby Portishead – in winter. That bleak lyrical feeling underlies much of the Portishead and solo material.
Interviews with Beth, and the other two founding band members, are very rare and don't give insight into the lyrics. Rather, the meaning of the lyrics is left open to the interpretation of the listener, although it is unlikely to be a cheery one.
Image © Clea-marie Thorne
Portishead's music is most often categorised as trip-hop, but more than almost any other band, I see their music as highly original and defying standard categorisation, and her solo work continues in the same direction. The huge range of instruments utilised is testament to this.
Often a song is characterised by a recurring theme using one particular unusual instrument. Perhaps the only band doing anything vaguely similar was Massive Attack, and there are some vague similarities at times with Radiohead, but the reality is the band was covering very fresh ground.
Gibbons' current tour of Australia covered three large festivals: Dark Mofo in Hobart, RISING in Melbourne, and the always-fantastic VIVID in Sydney, where she played the Sydney Opera House, such is her artistic pulling power. Tonight's seated show in Brisbane at The Fortitude Music Hall winds up the brief Australian tour, before heading off to play extensively in Europe.
Gibbons came onto the stage for her hour-plus set, accompanied by seven other musicians, bathed in smoke and pale blue light so that all we see is their silhouettes. She maintains a fairly consistent set list, at least for her latest Australian shows, and the set kicked off with what I consider the absolute standout track off 2024's 'Lives Outgrown', being 'Tell Me Who You Are Today'.
Image © Clea-marie Thorne
It's a haunting song, and the bass guitar being sounded via a bow really added to that feeling, providing a sustained underlying musical effect. Gibbons' voice was stunning on the piece, and the slightly stilted drumming fitted in perfectly as well.
The simple stage was backlit giving Gibbons a silhouette on the stage; only occasionally did we see a fleeting touch of light brush her face or more correctly, her hands in front of the mic in her long-standing singing style.
'Burden Of Life' followed as another moody piece from the 2024 album, followed by the next standout, 'Floating On A Moment'. This song featured a lovely acoustic guitar opening, with Beth's pure and strong voice ringing out above the instrumentation.
Image © Clea-marie Thorne
'Rewind' followed, opening with two of the musicians whirling fluorescent sticks for aural effect; the rendition was much less restrained than the studio version. The evening's stage setup had two drummers flanking Gibbons, and clearly the second took a percussive role, but was also active in a range of unusual instruments.
'Rewind' has a real North African feel, and the second drummer was seen playing a massive bassoon, followed by what looked – through the hazy smoke – like an African clarinet; he was also seen playing a gourd-like percussive instrument with his feet, adding to the African feel of the song.
'Mysteries' was the first piece for the evening not taken off the latest album, and Gibbons' beautiful voice was joined by a low chanting by the majority of the musicians. At this stage, Gibbons had not spoken a single word to the audience, and she briefly thanked the crowd, before getting back to the 2024 album, with 'Lost Changes' and 'Oceans'. 'Oceans' wound up with the two violinists tapping their instruments lightly giving a stunning and highly differentiated effect.
Image © Clea-marie Thorne
A couple of additional pieces, including the well-known 'Tom The Model' from the earlier album followed, culminating in another highlight for the evening, 'Whispering Love'. The chirping birds were replaced by the flute, played subtly and beautifully by the drummer.
Another brief thank you to the crowd, and the stage was vacated. The musicians reappeared for an encore, and the crowd was aware that thus far she had only played her solo material.
The opening, shimmering, organ chords from one of Portishead's best-known pieces, 'Roads' from 'Dummy', blew the crowd away. It's a tough piece to sing, and Gibbons' voice struggled slightly at times with the high-pitched vocals, but the crowd absolutely loved this stunning piece (and for those who haven't seen the New York live version on YouTube, it is definitely worth watching to get a feel for the Portishead aesthetic).
'Dummy' is such a high quality album that it's hard to have a favourite. If pushed, I'd probably go with the crowd and select their best-known piece of music, 'Glory Box'. Gibbons did not disappoint and this piece was a stunning rendition, kicked off with a brief, trippy drum fill.
What a brilliant song it is. On the studio version, there's no end, rather the music repeats and fades into nothing. Tonight's version ended more abruptly on Gibbons' vocal "give me a reason to be," at which point the stage lights were shut down, leaving only a vague silhouette – again – of the singer.
Image © Clea-marie Thorne
It really was outstanding, and the guitarist incorporated a lot more wahwah effect than the original, taking the opposite route from 'Roads' where he had under-utilised this guitar effect relative to the studio version. 'Reaching Out' closed out the evening and left the crowd buzzing.
The Portishead material for the show was limited tonight to 'Dummy', and the whole evening contained music from three albums only, mostly her latest. Gibbons is eclectic in her music, and is highly enigmatic.
There is little to no engagement with the music media, and yet she fills large shows and entertains crowds across the globe. She remained a silhouette for the evening, and does not engage in any banter or discussion of the music with the audience. To me, this only enhances the mystery around Portishead and Beth Gibbons.
Tonight's selection of old and new solo work was perfect, and in my view, thoroughly appreciated by the audience when they rose out of their seats for a standing ovation.
The evening had kicked off earlier with Byron Bay folk and soul singer, Kyle Lionhart. Lionhart played Splendour In The Grass and Bluesfest over a decade ago.
Tonight, Lionhart appeared onstage alone, with acoustic guitars and a foot percussion capability. 'Sunday Mornings' was probably the set highlight; a lovely, full sound coming out of his acoustic guitar as he sang of wanting to spend time with his children as they grow up.
Kyle Lionheart - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Lionhart was chatty throughout his brief set, laughing as he noted how chuffed he was to be opening for Gibbons. He admitted to not having known who Gibbons was at first, although well aware of Portishead, and he talked of his father's fruity language when told of the "mind-blowing honour" of being given this opportunity to support such a musical legend!
More photos from the concert.
