Portugal. The Man Lit Up Neumo's Last Friday

Portugal. The Man @ Neumos

Anyone that heads out to local shows regularly knows it's pretty rare that anyone shows up before the first act, much less starts crowding the stage. Nonetheless, Neumos was packed for the all-ages show on Friday, starting with Morning Teleportation, going strong with The Builders and The Butchers, and blowing it out of the water with Portugal. The Man.

Everyone was revved up for the show, especially the school-aged kids already flanking the stage at 9 p.m., a good thirty minutes before the first act.  They had good reason to be excited.

Morning Teleportation @ Neumos

Morning Teleportation has an uncanny aural similarity to Modest Mouse, from the lead singer's voice to the complex, awkward melodies. They mixed in a dose of synth-pop and voice distortion that intrigued the audience rather than putting them off--that's a fine line to walk.

For now they're selling homemade CDs covered in Sharpie drawings, but in the future, they'll actually be touring with Modest Mouse (there are only two dates set in Boston so far).  Not sure how well that'll work, considering how similar the bands sound, but it would be a great boost for a group with such potential.

I've touted The Builders and The Butchers before, so let's keep it brief: They killed, end of story. With each show they get better and better. The enthusiasm they bring on stage every single time is infectious, which is obvious from the exponential growth of the local fanbase. I'm excited to see where these guys are going; from what I can tell, they aren't stopping anytime soon.

Through the thick haze of machine-made fog, Portugal. The Man put on a hell of a rock show--or maybe it was a light show set to music. It wasn't really clear (bad pun intended) whether they meant to fill the whole stage with opaque clouds for most of their set, but fortunately, the music sliced through the mist.

The mostly teen-aged crowd knew every word to every song, making it easy to get swept up in the excitement. Lasers made every pose the band struck look like the classic rockstar silhouette of a guitarist in front of a beam of light. It's enough to make you want to throw your panties on stage, though I managed to control myself somehow.

Portugal. The Man @ Neumos