Live Review – Portals Festival 2024 – Saturday

Commanding a crowd just for their soundcheck, nothing will please the post-rock pundits more than Din of Celestial Birds. Poised perfectly in the grander surrounds of the Hall, they are an uplifting spectacle with glittering samples amongst a post-rock masterclass – a perfect cocktail to sit back and bask in. Moving with a confidence around the stage, the photographers littering the first row are lapping up every move of this performance that ebbs and flows with such incredible execution. Din have made a name for themselves by providing consistently scintillating live shows and this is no exception. An absolute treat for Portals purists. Heading back to the Theatre is a sea of heads bobbing to the sound of another of Ireland’s post-rock jewels. Enemies brand of math-tinged post-rock helps shake off any shades of melancholy picked up en route. It’s a mostly instrumental endeavour with a satisfying smattering of ghostly vocals interspersed between some danceable (and occasionally wrong-footing) grooves. An incredibly colourful jaunt that leaves everyone with a skip in their step.

The excited pre-set chatter at the Bar stage saw a tangible swell in crowd numbers for Montreal’s Atsuko Chiba and they did not disappoint. A number of musical touchstones (such as MSPAINT, Cave, Yeasayer and One Day as a Lion to name a few) come to mind at different points throughout their set and yet this still isn’t enough to convey how they manage to meld such disparate influences to create a cohesive and wildly interesting sound. The entire band is bang in the zone and there’s a clear abundance of smiles and enthusiastic nodding throughout their set. A bit of a different vibe from the rest of the festival and absolutely better for it. Wonderful.

Time for something completely different in the quaintly crumbling and surprisingly ornately-ceilinged Hall stage. If the walls were peeling before Town Portal took to the stage, they stood no chance as one of Denmark’s finest exports proceed to crush their set and everyone in attendance. Whilst the hugely powerful noise-rock bass tone and rifle-crack snare drum demands everybody’s ears (and bowels), the sheer songsmanship and deft, rhythmic syncopation is what gets everybody’s attention. On such a cavernous stage, Town Portal did not wilt. The heft of their recorded work is more than carried over live (no mean feat, considering the fine work Scott Evans of Kowloon Walled City did on their last release) and one could be forgiven for leaving the room with a shattered skull, a dicky tummy and the grin of someone with three times the number of teeth. The band jokingly promise new music soon (“sometime in 2029”) which at least gives everyone in attendance five years to reassemble their insides.

It’s hard to imagine but Lite have been going strong for 20 years now. In that time, they’ve toured relentlessly and released six rather fondly-received full-lengths and their live show is emblematic of this constant pursuit of musical creation. They are incredibly tight, interlocking with each other over intricate, offbeat grooves and beautifully written passages. In a live setting, such precision can be a hindrance as musicians strive for musicality over performance but Lite remarkably excel at both; at one point, the bassist has what can only be described as an absolute domestic with his instrument. At this point in their career, Lite have almost transcended the confines of math-rock and are received by the rapturous fans in a befitting manner throughout their set. The only downside to proceedings is the feedback which crops up a few times and serves to break the spell a little. Lite, however, are consummate professionals and don’t let it affect them in any way. Truly spectacular musicianship.

The surprise package of the night once again comes from Scandinavia as Oslo’s Hammok inject a shot of pure adrenaline into the bar stage. The crowd submit to their mantra of “jumping/dancing/fighting” from the off as the lead vocalist/guitarist wills everyone to come closer and join in the fun. The bassist climbs atop the bar and whips the crowd into a frenzy, creating a stir for the curious to venture forth. It’s an infectious blend of frantic hardcore and post-punk with elements of powerviolence and, in such an intimate setting, results in a highly cathartic experience for both band and onlooker. Scandinavia’s rich musical heritage is on show as the band channels the energy of JR Ewing and Lack, the danceable groove of Honningbarna and Blood Command, and the raucous screams and musicianship of Suis La Lune and Refused to create something familiar yet entirely their own. As the drummer is carried off atop the shoulders of adrenaline-fuelled revellers, the rest of the crowd is left to wipe away the sweat and manically grin at each other as if to ask, “what the fuck did we just witness?” An absolute highlight of the weekend.

Rarely has a band’s moniker been so prophetic. The Theatre stage is packed to the rafters to welcome This Will Destroy You and with so much expectation, one could forgive a lesser band for wilting under the pressure. The Texan Legends, however, are no lesser band and it soon becomes clear that something very special is happening; within thirty seconds, every single person is silent. The songs have been entirely voted for by fans so the bulk of the setlist is taken from S/T and Young Mountain. There are occasional nods to their newer “doomgaze” material but as much as the band has decried the descriptor of ‘post-rock’ before, they plough through their earlier material with a deftness and care that such high-calibre songs deserve. The sound issues that blighted Lite earlier in the day are a thing of the past; the shimmering cymbals are crisp and swell in tandem with the effects-laden guitar, creating an emotional gut-punch as each song soars to a righteous crescendo. Highlights include The Mighty Rio Grande and particularly There Are Some Remedies Worse Than the Disease which elicits a huge cheer. As the song builds, everyone is locked-in to an extent not felt up to this point of the festival. The song reaches its zenith, the brilliantly dizzying light display accelerates in earnest and for approximately two minutes, nothing else on Earth matters as everybody is pulverised under the weight of the music. It is one of the most powerful moments of the day and a privilege to have experienced.

These guys are a force, plain and simple. Dressed in white and swinging a vicious scythe of blackgaze, Møl go big, and they go big quick. Vocalist Kim Song Sternkopf is a joy to behold, an utterly captivating spectacle stomping and cavorting up and down the stage. Occasionally, he stops to throw his arms out as if submitting to a higher power, staring off into the middle distance before being snapped back into this realm by the churning swirl of guitars behind him. Even though it’s towards the end of the evening, Møl bring an impressive crowd to the theatre who revel in the seething ferocity of the performance (as well as welcoming the chance to sit down after nine hours on their feet.) Photophobic is a monolithic anthem that somehow manages to lift spirits whilst simultaneously crushing everything else to a pulp. The band unfortunately suffer from some sound issues intermittently throughout their set as it seems the heigh ceilings and cavernous surrounds were not created in readiness to propel Møl’s huge sound. It matters little to everyone in attendance; they turned up to see Møl deliver, and by Christ, they did.