Portugal. The Man, photo by Philip Cosores
Back in 2008, Portugal. The Man was one of the most prolific live bands in the indie rock scene. They played nearly 500 shows in two years (!) and perfected their onstage sound in the process with three studio LPs. Today, they’re announcing a new live album that captures that early era in perfect form. It’s called Oregon City Sessions and it’s due out April 16th via Approaching AIRBalloons/Secretly Distribution.
The genesis of the album dates back to December 2008 when Portugal. The Man found themselves holed up in the titular Portland, Oregon studio following the end of a lengthy tour. They wanted to capture their then-routine setlist in a full-set performance, so they recorded Oregon City Sessions one time through with no re-takes or overdubs. There to help document the event were longtime collaborator and filmmaker Graham (Baclagon) Agcaolli and engineer-mixer Jacob Portrait, who would later join Unknown Mortal Orchestra.
Oregon City Sessions was taped mere weeks before Portugal. The Man went into the studio to record their breakout full-length The Satanic Satanist. As such, the 15-track setlist sees them primarily pulling from their three albums — 2006’s Waiter: “You Vultures!”, 2007’s Church Mouth, and 2008’s Censored Colors — and one EP. A film version of the project was occasionally screened in people’s homes and in parking lots after shows for a handful of fans, but the companion album has been properly released until now. Safe to say, it’s literally been a long time coming.
“The first few years of PTM were whirlwind,” said singer-guitarist John Gourley in a statement. “We didn’t have a place to live so we were pretty much either recording or touring. We were so wide-eyed coming out of Alaska that every day was an exciting new adventure. I think you can see it in our playing.”
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Physical copies of Oregon City Sessions will be out June 11th and pre-orders are currently available. To tease the release, Portugal. The Man have shared a video of them performing “The Devil” live from back then, which you can see below alongside the album artwork and tracklist.
Oregon City Sessions Artwork:
Oregon City Sessions Tracklist:
01. Church Mouth
02. Horse Warming Party
03. New Orleans
04. Bellies Are Full
05. 1989
06. My Mind
07. Lay Me Back Down
08. Chicago
09. And I
10. The Devil
11. AKA M80 The Wolf
12. Colors
13. March With 6
14. Tommy
15. Helter Skelter