Portugal. The Man on tour

Portugal. The Man, the experimental/alt-indie-band from Wasilla, Alaska, may not have quite as many people talking about them as fellow Wasillian Sarah Palin, but the band has developed a hell of a buzz since their stand-out performance at this year's Bonnaroo. If you missed that acclaimed show, their first-ever at a major U.S. festival, you can catch them on their North American headline tour that kicks off with two New York shows, August 4 and 5 (already sold out), and includes a stop at this year's Lollapalooza (August 9) in Chicago and Outside Lands Festival (August 29) in San Francisco (complete itinerary below). The tour is in support of the band's brand-new album, their fourth, The Satanic Satanist (produced by Paul Q.

Kolderie/Radiohead, the Pixies) which hit stores, July 21.Touring in support of The Satanic Satanist, Portugal. The Man - guitarist/vocalist John Baldwin Gourley, bassist/singer Zachary Scott Carothers, keyboardist/singer Ryan Neighbors, and drummer Jason Sechrist - will perform some 40 shows in North America between August and October, culminating on October 23 back in New York at the CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival.

The band will incorporate a number of the new songs into their set, and, according to Gourley, "There may be a little less jamming than we've done before, but there will be some new takes on some of the older songs."

While Portugal. The Man has received absolutely glowing press notices over the years ("one of the truly great bands of this generation"/Alternative Press; "arguably the most noteworthy band in the world of music today"/Outburn), their Bonnaroo set ignited a whole new awareness of the band - the Wall Street Journal's Jim Fusilli raved that P.TM played "the best set I heard last night, and my very early contender for the best set of the festival," and Entertainment Weekly's Whitney Pastonek commented that P.TM's Bonnaroo performance was "my favorite new discovery of the day..." Pastonek, in her EW review of The Satanic Satanist, gave the album an A- grade.

Last week, its first week of release, The Satanic Satanist was the #1 Most Added at College Radio, and this week, charts in CMJ's Top 10. It is already being spun at major stations such as KCRW/LA, The End in Seattle, WFUV in New York, San Francisco's Live 105, XPN in Philly and XRT in Chicago. Plus, during its premiere week on MySpace, The Satanic Satanist logged 50-70,000 plays A DAY, and is now closing on 7-million total plays. If that isn't enough, journalists have compared the band's wildly eclectic music to artists like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, the Mars Volta, Jeff Buckley, and the Beatles.

Notwithstanding ongoing plaudits, Portugal. The Man remains, in the words of one reviewer, "still the best band you aren't listening to." When raving about P.TM earlier this month, even the UK's NME asked the question, "Why is nobody paying attention to this band?" The Satanic Satanist and this upcoming headline tour may put an end to Portugal. The Man's relative obscurity. The new album is not about the worship of Satan, but instead an 11-track, densely-layered blend of indie rock/Motown/soul/prog-ish synths/70s classic rock'n'roll serving as a bed to a very personal look at the childhood experiences of front man John Baldwin Gourley, who grew up in the wilds of the Alaskan frontier.

An album chockfull of standouts, The Satanic Satanist's lead-off track, "People Say," finds Gourley speaking out against the human cost of war, "Lovers in Love" sees the band working the groove like Isaac Hayes or Curtis Mayfield in their blaxploitation days, while "Work All Day" could pass for ?uestlove slowing down the beat to "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)."

And then there's the packaging for The Satanic Satanist, a true throw-back to the innovative album packaging of the 60s and 70s. The package features Gourley's trademark surreal, psychedelic-era drawings, and folds out, Origami-like, into different shapes and sizes - one fan was so taken by the packaging, he posted an "unfolding" of it on the internet - http://underthegunreview.net/?p=3399

Certainly something one might expect from a Platinum-plus, major label-funded package, and not a totally DIY, breaking band.Portugal. The Man has been steadily building a devoted fan bass and garnered an strong under-the-mainstream buzz with the release of three full-length CDs, 2006's Waiter: "You Vultures!", 2007's Church Mouth (the latter of which debuted on the Billboard Top Alternative New Artists chart at lucky #13), and 2008's Censored Colors, and three EPs, The Pines, the Devil (2006), Devil Say I, I Say Air (digital EP, 2006), and It's Complicated Being a Wizard (2007).

Portugal. The Man will welcome Hockey* on the second portion of the tour and Drug Rug** as support on many of their summer/fall dates. Dates for Portugal. The Man's Summer/Fall North American tour are as follows:

SEPTEMBER
3 Fred Meyer Lounge, Linfield College, McMinnville, OR
16 The Union, LTD, Vancouver, BC CANADA
17 Chop Suey, Seattle, WA
18 WOW Hall, Eugene, OR
19 NXNW Festival/Roseland Theatre, Portland, OR
22 Harlow's San Francisco, CA
23 Independent, San Francisco, CA
25 Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA
26 Glass House, Pomona, CA
28 Belly Up, San Diego, CA
29 The Clubhouse, Tucson, AZ
OCTOBER
1 Santa Fe Brewing Company, Santa Fe, NM
2 B-Side Lounge, Boulder, CO
3 B-Side Lounge, Boulder, CO
8 Majestic Theatre, Madison, WI
9 Turner Hall, Milwaukee, WI
10 Schubas, Chicago, IL
11 Schubas, Chicago, IL
13 Magic Bag, Detroit, MI
14 Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, ONT CANADA
16 Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ
18 Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
20 Higher Ground, Burlington, VT
21 Pearl Street, Northampton, MA
22 Johnny Brenda's Philadelphia, PA
23 Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY (CMJ)

* Formed in Los Angeles five years ago by founders Ben Grubin, lead singer, and Jeremy “Jerm” Reynolds on bass, HOCKEY is now based in Portland, Oregon as a quartet with Brian White on guitar, and Anthony Stassi on drums. MIND CHAOS was released independently, and the group signed to Capitol late in 2008. The album is remixed and remastered, with new songs added, for the Capitol Records release on October 6th, 2009.

** Thomas Allen and Sarah Cronin met in 2006 while working at the Middle East Club in Cambridge, Ma. After trading secret demos of their own songs, Tommy persuaded Sarah to combine forces. They spent their first date drinking whiskey in bed and playing each other songs on an old guitar. Drug Rug's S/T debut record, melted hearts and ears, and earned them rave reviews and comparisons to some of rock's greatest duos. "Paint the Fence Invisible" is certain to keep these trends going. While running the stylistic gamut, from the country duets of Ken and Dolly to the Pet Sound's harmonies of Brian Wilson, Drug Rug still stays true to their rock n' roll roots including The Velvet Underground and The Byrds.

"Paint The Fence Invisible" displays Tommy & Sarah's growth as true artists. After touring with both Fiery Furnaces and Dr. Dog, the band's honed musicianship and lush vocals were laid down on tape with the help of Carter Tanton (Tulsa), Julian Cassanetti & Jeremy Black (Apollo Sunshine). The album was recorded primarily in a haunted house located in the Catskill mountains of New York and their hi-fi approach to lo-fi aesthetics were effectively crafted. The magic captured feels both timely and timeless...sometimes at the same time. They believe in the imminent end of the world and will destroy each other with love before the apocalypse.