It’s not uncommon for a band to go through numerous phases in their careers. Some bands have wholesale changes of genre, some bands transition, gracefully or not so gracefully, into their touring phase, hell some bands can’t even maintain a consistent lineup for more than an album or two. But it’s not particularly common, at least as far as I’ve seen, for a band that has come to be one of the most important groups ever in their genre of choice, to wait about eight years and magically become that again.
Of course the choice of venue is no coincidence. The Troubadour, often discussed in this column because of its unmatched ability to draw incredibly popular bands to its moderately sized stage, is well known for being a place where rockstars come back to show off their stuff, but also as a place where rockstars are made. The choice of venue, along with the rekindled fame afforded by their latest record makes this feel like a return tour, a victory lap.
Back in the beginning, Portugal. The Man was just like any other band looking to get their bearings. Through some hard work and good luck they were able to get demos into the right hands and, well its history from there. Luckily their sounds was highly desirable at the time, with bands like Alt-J, Foster the People and Grouplove being in high demand, the throwback indie sound of Portugal. The Man fit right in.
The shocking thing is that they kept evolving, and not only did they evolve artistically they did so in a way that actually made them more popular. Despite the general disappearance of their style of music, at least the poppy side of indie, they’ve grown in popularity. Their most recent album Woodstock features their two most popular songs ever “Feel It Still” and “Live in the Moment” which have found their way into a number of popular playlists and even in a few commercials.
Given their persistent rising profile, there’s no reason to believe that they won’t be headlining at the Forum or the Hollywood Bowl again in a couple of years, in fact, they’re already popular enough to do either of those things. So grab some tickets and catch them in an intimate setting while you can. The Troubadour has had so many classic shows played on its stage that adding one more certainly isn’t out of the question, who’s to say it won’t be this show.
A special note to anyone looking to go – this show is sponsored by Hilton Honors so only Hilton Honors members will have the option to purchase tickets, which are available only by using points and not actual currency.
Location: The Troubadour
Address: 9081 Santa Monica Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90069
Tickets available for 75,000 Hilton Honors points
Photo Credit: Kalyn Oyer
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