Portugal. The Man was joined by “Weird Al” Yankovic at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg on Tuesday (12/02) for a chaotic, funny, and surprisingly fierce one-two punch that closed with a Rage Against the Machine cover.
The 650 in attendance at the intimate venue had already seen quite a show where the first half was the band's excellent new album, SHISH, in its entirety, followed by a second set of more familiar bangers.
The Grammy-winning group Portugal. The Man originated in Wasilla, Alaska and is now based in Portland, Oregon. Their core members are John Gourley (vocals, guitar) and Zoe Manville (vocals, percussion) who are surrounded by a variety of touring musicians when they hit the road.
"If you write honest music, that's all that really matters," Gourley told Bingkai Karya when the album came out.
Now relieved of their duties from Atlantic Records after 15 years, their latest LP, SHISH, (released via KNIK Records / Thirty Tigers) is a love letter to Alaska, community, with a whisper of punk rock.
It's truly as delightful as anything they've released. Atlantic was crazy to let them go because even when they're pushing their own envelope they still make radio-friendly music whose slight edge is more endearing that off-putting.
SHISH, with songs like "Denali," "Mush" and "Tanana" should be exactly what a major label should want from the alternative bands on their roster.
In part because if the label doesn't see the beauty and commercial appeal of these tunes, perhaps they could have encouraged the band to help others on their label cover them in such a way that could make them their own.
Speaking of covers...
At the end of the show Mr. Weird Al Yankovich came out to the utter joy of the lucky souls at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.
First he joined them for "Live In The Moment" which, ironically, all 600+ took literally and did not record on their phones and upload to Twitter or YouTube, so here's them doing it eight years ago on Ellen with the USC Marching Trojans
And here's what it sounded like when Al remixed it in the carefree days of 2017.
Yankovich was a fan of the group years before he made that remix.
In 2013 he joined them on "So American" during the 2013 Bonnaroo Lineup Announcement Megathon. Game recognizes game, as the children say.
Two years ago his Weirdness accompanied the group when they played at the world famous Hollywood Bowl for a version of "Who's Gonna Stop Me."
This time after he did "Live In The Moment," and they busted into an intense rendition of "Killing in the Name," by Rage Against the Machine.
Which if there is a pristine recording of, needs to be released as a single because... look around... is there a better time for that song to have a resurgence?
Portugal. The Man is on tour and they will be playing far and wide over the next six months including on the Modest Mouse Cruise in February.
Then they head to Europe, where, sadly, they have no date set for Portugal. Grab your tix off their website.
Denali Tour 2025-2026
12/7 The Caverns, Pelham, TN
12/8 The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
12/9 The Eastern, Atlanta, GA
12/11 The Bomb Factory, Dallas, TX
12/12 ACL Live at The Moody Theater, Austin, TX
12/13 Brushy Street Commons, Austin, TX
2/5-2/9 Ice Cream Floats: Modest Mouse Cruise, Miami, FL 2/23 National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
2/24 Galvanizers Yard SWG3, Glasgow, United Kingdom
2/25 New Century Hall, Manchester, United Kingdom
2/26 Roundhouse, London, United Kingdom
2/28 Élysée Montmartre, Paris, France
3/1 Den Atelier, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
3/2 De Roma, Antwerp, Belgium
3/3 013, Tilburg, Netherlands
3/5 Inselpark Arena, Hamburg, Germany
3/6 Palladium, Cologne, Germany
3/8 Amager Bio, Copenhagen, Denmark
3/9 Columbiahalle, Berlin, Germany
3/10 Klub Stodola, Warsaw, Poland
3/11 Archa+, Prague, Czech Republic
3/13 Fabrique, Milan, Italy
3/14 Les Docks, Lausanne, Switzerland
3/15 Komplex 457, Zurich, Switzerland
3/17 Raiffeisen Halle im Gasometer, Vienna, Austria
