On June 6, 2009, I familiarized myself with Portugal. The Man at Cafe Montmartre in Madison, WI. Though I’d heard them in passing, I’d never gotten around to giving them a solid, attentive listen. After hearing raves about their live show, I decided it was as good a way as any to get to know them. It turned out to be an extremely good decision. The five-piece bridged several genres, seamlessly weaving their set together and bringing on a non-stop attack of sound.

Since my knowledge in regard to Portugal. The Man was nil, I decided to micro-blog via Twitter to capture my impressions as the show progressed. Check it out below (titles in [brackets] added in after):

At Portugal. The Man. Covering ‘One is the Lonliest Number’. Good start.

Song that goes ‘take from the air, take to the streets’ quite lovely. ['And I']

The singer holds his guitar like a weapon.

Really wish I knew song titles. ‘oh baby come back this can’t be happening’ is late Zepplin-ish.

Hood up equals business. Doubled solo was crazy.

Digging the alt-country vibe of song that goes ‘i was born in 198?’ maybe my fave so far.

Last song.

The female singer should belt it out more often throughout the show.

Interpolating a little ‘Hotel California’.

Ya’ll might be ‘but a man’, but you’re a must-see. Also: encore. ['AKA M80 The Wolf']

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If you too would like to aquaint yourself with Portugal. The Man, you can download “People Say” here.