They weren’t the main headliners on the night but Portishead’s first gig for eight years was still the most talked about performance of this six-hour musical extravaganza to raise money for children suffering in the Ukraine war. Organised by charity War Child, the Help concert at 02 Academy was attended by the lucky winners of a ticket draw but also streamed live to thousands of music fans around the world, but it was the ultra rare sight of Bristol’s legendary Portishead that was always going to be the highlight of this special event.
The strong anti-war message of the event may have been an international one but this was a quintessentially Bristol-born gig. As well as the artists themselves, there was merchandise designed by Massive Attack’s 3D, a raffle of local prizes hosted by Bristol-based Dr Who actor Paul McGann and namecheck for local businesses who helped make the event happen, right down to Pieminister which supplied the crew and artists with pies during the day.
The gig warmed up earlier in the evening with performances from Wilderman, Heavy Lungs and Katy J Pearson. By the time Billy Nomates appeared for her short but dazzling set, the venue was full and buzzing.
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Although it had been made pretty clear from the outset that this wasn’t going to be a full set from Portishead, some fans may have felt short-changed when the band left the stage after just 27 minutes and five songs. Others, of course, will simply feel lucky to have seen them at all.
The three main members - Beth Gibbons, Adrian Utley and Geoff Barrow - were joined by three other musicians and there was a genuine air of anticipation when the lights dimmed on the stroke of 9pm. From the first haunting theremin sounds for opener Mysterons, the packed venue fell silent, with people pushing into every corner to catch a glimpse.
With just three studio albums in 28 years - a work rate that makes even Massive Attack look like workaholics - Portishead have created an enigma. Reclusive singer Beth Gibbons never does interviews and she’s so camera-shy, official photographers at the gig were told they couldn’t take pictures from the usual pit between the fans and the stage, and had to be at least ten metres from the band.
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Hunched over her microphone, Gibbons still cuts an unstarry figure for a singer held in such high esteem. She may not have performed on stage with Portishead for eight years but her voice sounded better than ever on Mysterons and Magic Doors.
For the third song, Wandering Star, the three main members sat centre-stage. Shielded from the audience by her curtain of long hair, Gibbons faced guitarist Utley and Barrow, who had swapped percussion for bass guitar to emulate the song’s familiar throbbing beat.
It was followed by a full throttle version of The Rip before the Barrow announced their final song, Roads, arguably Portishead’s finest song. The news that Portishead were going after five songs was met with heartfelt groans but even in 27 minutes, they left a memorable impression.
There had been rumours during the evening that this was going to be Portishead’s last ever live show. If it turns out to be the case, they certainly left on a high, their legacy and enigma intact.
With Portishead gone, it was left to Idles to bring Help to a close. Back in their hometown between American tours, this was a chance to see Bristol’s current hottest export at close quarters - after all, the last time they played the city was on the Downs last year.
They certainly didn’t waste any time in whipping the O2 Academy crowd into a frenzy with Car Crash and Mr Motivator. The band who formed at college in Bristol has become one of the best live bands in the country and they are riding high now.
Frontman Joe Talbot is a mesmerising presence and he’s exhausting to watch as he runs on the spot like a boxer warming up for a big fight. When he’s not leaping around, high-kicking or lunging at the audience, he’s punching his face or thumping his chest.
His stage antics are matched by long-haired guitarists Lee Kiernan and Mark Bowen. By the end of the set, they had both dived into the surging crowd, Kiernan still playing his guitar outstretched above the heads of fans.
The crowdpleasers kept on coming in this breathless 12-song set, from Mother and Never Fight a Man with a Perm to The Wheel and Danny Nedelko.
For The Beachland Ballroom, the band was joined by Portishead’s Adrian Utley on additional guitar, a guest appearance not lost on Talbot who was clearly in awe of the band that preceded them. He admitted that it had been ‘terrifying’ to appear after ‘the best band on the planet’ and that he never wanted to go on after his heroes again.
Idles finished with a blistering, sprawling version of anti-fascist song Rottweiler and were gone. There was no encore, but then this was never a gig about massaging egos.
Like the 2005 gig at the same venue when Portishead and Massive Attack joined forces to raise money for the tsunami disaster, this was an event that transcended music and was all about Bristol pulling together for a greater cause.
Last night’s raffle alone raised £90,000 and the final tally going to War Child will be known soon. A brilliant night for a great cause - this is sure to go down as one of those rare ‘I was there’ Bristol gigs.
