Portugal. The Man Make Milwaukee ‘Feel It’

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Indie rockers Portugal. The Man truly understand the concert experience. On Thursday night at the Miller Lite Oasis, that showed, as every aspect of their set was on point. The band knew how to maximize the amount of entertainment that they could provide in an hour, and incorporated as many fun elements as they could to amplify what was already going to be a great night of music.

The show opened, however, on an impactful note. Bassist Zachary Carothers brought out young indigenous members of the Oneida and Potowatomi tribes for a land acknowledgment, a tradition of every Portugal. The Man show. If there was any indication that things might get a bit too serious from their onward, it was quickly diminished, as the band’s intro video was punctuated by the words “Cheese Curds!” flashing across the screen, before a video of MTV staples Beavis and Butthead providing commentary on the video for their hit “Feel It Still.” The band walked on stage to a roar, and launched into a medley of covers, incorporating Metallica’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls” and Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” amongst others. The heaviness of the intro set the tone for the rest of the show.

The term “wall of sound” gets thrown around a lot, but few can actually provide it. Mixing analog and electronic, the band packed as many decibels as they could into the Oasis sound system on Friday. With little stage banter coming from the six-piece on stage, and a low end that could rattle fans all the way to the back of the stage area, the set felt like a constant barrage of music attacking the crowd. It was the type of show where the band could have played just about anything, and the Summerfest fans would have responded well. 2013 track “Purple Yellow Red and Blue” hit especially hard, and 2017 single “Live In The Moment” had fans singing along, while keeping the bleachers at a steady bounce throughout the night. They would also work in a brief cover of KISS track “God Gave Rock and Roll To You,” almost as a callback to the beginning of the night.

As the show grooved toward their biggest hit to close out the night, there was no change of pace for Portugal. The Man. Breakout single “Feel It Still” rang out throughout the Oasis to a frenzied response, and the band calmly and confidently made their exit afterwards, with just about every fan waiting for the house lights to turn on before following suit. There was no need for an encore from the band, because they simply accomplished everything that you would want from a concert in the course of their time on stage. Seasoned veterans of the festival circuit, Portugal. The Man delivered in a major way on Thursday, and it set a high bar for the final weekend of Summerfest.