Photo credit: Sara Bill
“Very happy Field Report Day to you,” Chris Porterfield said with a smirk early into his welcome-home set Wednesday night at the Pabst Theater. Previously that day, Field Report’s gruff-voiced frontman received a proclamation from Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett recognizing the contributions his music has made to the city. The recognition is well deserved; since releasing its pastoral self-titled debut, Field Report has gained nationwide attention from music websites like Stereogum, Pitchfork and NPR. The honors prefaced what would be a captivating yet rocky performance that could’ve easily fallen off the rails if not played to such a gracious, hushed hometown crowd.
A run through side one of just-released sophomore album, Marigolden, opened the night, highlighted by the pulsing production behind “Home (Leave the Lights On)” and the rustic, windswept spirit of “Pale Rider.” These new songs felt strong played live, thanks to guitarist and overall utility man Thomas Wincek, who was constantly fooling around with different instruments and samplers to create ethereal effects behind Porterfield’s voice and acoustic guitar plucking.
Field Report didn’t remain static throughout the night, regularly switching things up. For side one closer, “Ambrosia,” his two bandmates left the stage and Porterfield sat behind a keyboard to sing the slow-moving, serene ballad. Later, the three would stand around a single microphone and play a couple cuts unplugged from the debut record, including “Taking Alcatraz” and “Fergus Falls.” The constant adjustments gave some needed diversity to the performance, but the transitions were far from seamless. “Baby steps to professionalism,” Porterfield would joke whenever anything went wrong. “It’s just opening day, and it’s a long season,” Porterfield later quipped.
In all, it would have taken a catastrophic collapse to disappoint this incredibly patient audience and Field Report is far too skilled for that. Wednesday night’s show may have marked the only time a musician at the Pabst Theater has sung the word “Milwaukee” without the crowd erupting into endless waves of hoots and hollers. The well-mannered audience was a nice signifier that the city deeply respects Porterfield’s craft—if that mayoral proclamation hadn’t already sealed it.
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