En route to an unlikely music venue in the middle of nowhere that is Alexandra Palace for the I’ll Be Your Mirror event (July 23), the sad news of Amy Whitehouse’ untimely passing has filtered out through the grapevine. Rather than dampen the event it only adds to the magnitude of witnessing the elusive and enigmatic MF DOOM, legends of the Hip Hop underground Company Flow (specially reunited for the occasion) and music innovators Portishead all under one roof for the first day of a two day mini festival featuring a diverse range of artists selected by Portishead to perform.
Upon entering the venue just in time to see Doom and his Fat Man Scoop look a-like hype man take to the stage in the Great Hall, one thing becomes obvious – his stage show consists of one glowing apple from a Macbook resting on a table. No DJ, just an iTunes play list of instrumentals for Doom to rap over and even more product placement for Steve Jobs. For any other artist this would constitute as taking lazy liberties, however Doom is not just any artist and due to strength of his material and distinct charismatic delivery – he manages to get away with such liberty taking.
Performing wearing his infamous metal mask and looking six months pregnant, Doom rattles through tracks from his many projects & aliases with the biggest cheers reserved for “America’s Most Blunted” and the banging set closer “Benzie Box.” The sudden appearance of a talented female singer for two tracks makes for a welcome diversion and stops the set from stagnating. Doom’s hilarious simulation of an explosive detonating that sees himself & hype man run offstage only to return a few seconds later provides more of the quirky humour prevalent throughout his rhymes. The fact that Doom bucked his recent tradition by actually turning up and being on time is a minor miracle in itself and there were few grumbles amongst the assembled masses after his set was over.
Company Flow’s much anticipated performance was delayed for twenty minutes whilst technicians sorted out problems with the turntables. Once onstage in the West Hall (smaller of the two main stage rooms), EL-P, Big Juss & DJ Mr Len hit the ground running and immediately up the energy levels with El-P in particular on fine form. Having not done a gig on these shores for over ten years – the crowd are hyped and when EL-P asks how many are only here to see Company Flow the loud roar confirms they have been sorely missed.
After the minimalism that was Doom’s stage show, the lighting show including numerous strobes was welcome as was the sight of Mr Len’s surgically precise cutting on the turntables. El-P energy throughout the set is infectious as he runs back and forth across the stage trading rhymes with Big Juss over sometimes-different versions of the instrumentals from their classic Funcrusher Plus album to keep things fresh.
The highpoints arrive when after a raucous performance of “The Fire in Which You Burn,” EL-P makes a seriously barbed and darkly numerous dedication to Rawkus Record label financier James Murdoch (son of Rupert) suggesting that he’s masturbating with his own tears somewhere in a dark room having sunk daddy’s kingdom. He then launches into the scathing anti-American/capitalist anthem “Patriotism” from a raised courtroom bench brought onstage, adding a nice touch of theatre to the social commentary. Unfortunately due to earlier technical difficulties their triumphant set is cut short after a storming rendition of “8 Steps To Perfection” and Company Flow exit the stage to rapturous applause as Portishead start their headlining set in the neighbouring Great Hall.
The spooky film noir sound of “Mysterons” from Portishead’s seminal debut album greets the latecomers trickling in from the West Hall into the packed Great Hall. With two large screens either side of the stage and one large screen behind the band, the images projected include merging close ups of band member’s to speedometers and psychedelic colours – creating a visual collage that’s adds a unique dimension to the band’s hypnotic grooves.
Lead singer Beth Gibbons, ever the reluctant centrepiece of the band and known for spending much of past performances with her back turned to the audience, is more comfortable in her role tonight and looks to be enjoying the occasion. Her tortured yet mesmerizing soulful voice effortlessly blends in with the six piece bands’ flawlessly played loose and jazzy Hip Hop with a twist of electro instrumentals.
Much of the material performed tonight is culled from Dummy and Third albums with crowd favourites “Sour Times”, “Glory Box” & the heavy industrial beat of “Machine Gun” earning the biggest cheers. A rare airing of “Chase The Tear” an up-tempo punk/new wave inspired song recorded specifically for Amnesty International in 2009 momentarily changes the set’s beats per minute and signals Portishead’s intention to breakout of their media labelled trip-hop confines.
The visuals and moody lightning perfectly compliment the band and an encore that includes the goose bump inducing sing along that is “Roads” and the rocking “We Carry On” draws their set to a close. The sight of Beth Gibbons running the length of the photographer’s pit smiling and greeting fans encapsulates the celebratory vibe of the gig and indeed the whole day. How a band with such bleak lyrics can help do this is all part of the mysterious magic that is Portishead.