The Walkmen Bring 'Lisbon' to Musicfest NW

Posted on Sep 13th 2010 10:00AM by Garin Pirnia
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Gary Wolstenholme, Redferns

On Sunday, the final night of Musicfest NW in Portland, Ore., thousands flooded Pioneer Square to hear the instrumental perfection of the Walkmen. On Tuesday, the band will drop their fifth record, 'Lisbon,' and their set was comprised of several new tracks peppered with older ones.

Opening with 'Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone' from their 2002 debut, drummer Matt Barrick bounced up and down at his drum kit and lead singer Hamilton Leithauser belted out the band's undulating tunes in his signature, gruff voice. Delving into 'Lisbon,' they played the woozy 'Blue as Your Blood,' the energetic 'Angela Surf City' and the gated rhythm of 'Juveniles.' Leithauser played the part of MC by politely introducing their songs and almost seemed taken aback by the warm crowd reception. "It's lovely out here," Leithauser said, commenting both on the Indian summer evening and the audience.

'Victory' and 'Woe Is Me' rounded out the new album songs, which then allowed them to get back to basics. 'On the Water' sounded like it was preserved in a time capsule from the '50s, 'Canadian Girl' evoked a sense of longing and 'We've Been Had' saw the band tickle the ivories on a vintage, upright piano. The Walkmen received their biggest reaction from the crowd when they played the in-your-face rantings of 'The Rat,' which featured Leithauser screaming the chorus.

After an hour, it was time for the Walkmen to close things out. "We're the Walkmen. We're gonna get the hell out of here," Leithauser said as they finished with the chaotic 'All Hands and the Cook,' and cleared the stage for the evening's final act, the National.

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