I’ll be perfectly honest- I wasn’t expecting much from this. A couple of songs apart, Port O’ Brien’s recording output has never really set my world alight and their support slot for the Silver Jews indicated a band with little to elevate them above the mire of similar folk-rock ensembles. But I was wrong. True, some of their output is the kind of workaday indie the West Coast seems to pump out by the gallon but there’s some very solid numbers there and it’s all delivered with such effusive, grin-inducing energy that even the weaker moments don’t grate. Plus they had Two Gallants’ Tyson Vogel on drums, and that man is one of the most phenomenal percussionists in the world. Watching him in full flow is almost hypnotic, it’s like he has a personal vendetta against every square inch of his drum kit; if you haven’t seen him in action, you owe it to yourself to rectify that. A surprisingly excellent performance from a band I’d previously dismissed, I’d be more than happy to check them out again when they return to London in November.
(Photo: Anika Mottershaw)
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