[Torn Curtain]

Interesting comments on dime (I haven't grabbed the show as I prefer to hear the new record first):

by veilofvirtue: My review:

While the new songs are sounding really good, and Beth sounded solid throughout most of the show, I was really disappointed with the musicianship among the rest of the band.

For some reason, the band seemed to play the majority of the older songs much too slow. Mysterons, Glory Box, Sour Times, Only You, Cowboys and Roads all seemed to drag at a lackluster tempo, and Numb was "mind-numbingly" sluggish.

The mixing wasn't all that great, the vocals were too quiet, the backing tracks were too loud (like the violin in Glory Box), and the drumming had a lot of issues.

I did love the rendition of Wandering Star, though.

This was the first real Portishead show in a long time, so theres bound to be some flaws, but it seems excessive on part of the band.

Still, thank you for sharing this concert, the new songs were great, and I can't wait for the new album to come out!

by persistent: It's amazing the different perspectives that people have. I couldn't disagree more with the comments about 'bad musicianship', bad mix, and slow tempo.

Well, I can agree the temp was a tiny bit slow, but I liked it. As for beth being low in the mix, she was always low in the mix at live gigs. I recently went back and listened to some of the first tapes I ever made - the '97 and '98 tours and the mix is comparable.

As for bad musicianship, I can't even begin to figure out where that assessment comes from. Through the whole show I kept thinking to myself how amazing the entire performance was. Some of Ade's guitar solos were just tear wrenching. Beth has quit smoking and I think it does her voice some good.

At least I think we can all agree that Wandering Star was beautiful in its minimalism - just the band proper, Andy, Ade, and Beth, performing.

As for the two shows: the band performed on the smaller Centre stage so they did two shows to give everyone a chance to see them perform. You were only allowed to attend one of the two shows - not both. (I however, after traveling 5500 miles to see them, took matters into my own hands.)