Pitchfork

Photo by Grumpy Man DJs

Fans who check Portishead's MySpace hourly likely stumbled across the following somewhat cryptic message today from Geoff Barrow:

"thanks for everyone who came down to see me dj last night and the responce to the live stuff, even though it was only 2 songs. beth and ade enjoyed playin as well.

"sorry we didnt tell everyone about the gig but its good to do things like that every now and again, and its a tiny place."

He added, "ps. the new song hasnt even got a name yet."

Wait a minute-- live stuff? Beth and Ade?? New song??!

Believe it. Reconvening for their first live appearance since February, 2005's Tsunami Benefit one-off-- and debuting brand new material-- the Portishead supertrio of Geoff Barrow, Adrian Utley, and Beth Gibbons played two songs to a tiny, unsuspecting crowd at Bristol's Mr Wolfs last night.

Alert Pitchfork reader Hector Gutierez was on hand to witness the magic, billed under the guise of a Grumpy Man DJs event featuring a guest appearance by Barrow. "After a couple of hours [spinning] eclectic sadcore classics from the likes of Tom Waits and Joy Division," wrote Gutierez, "Geoff and...Adrian Utley began to play 'Wandering Star'-- Geoff playing bass. A few bars in Geoff picked up the mike and asked 'Anyone here know how to sing?' At this point Beth walked on stage and started singing."

Apparently even venue staff were unaware of the live gig, and the person working the door actually charged Gibbons entry.

"The second song was brand new," Gutierez continued, "presumably from the forthcoming (if you believe the rumours, sometime this year) album. Rarely have I seen a room full of people all wear exactly the same facial expression, but when I looked at the crowd everyone had their mouths gaping and eyes wide open as if they were witnessing an alien landing. It was wonderful. The new song was completely gorgeous, carried by Beth's vocals and with very low-key instrumentation."

As the Grumpy Man website colorfully put it, "Adrian and Beth joined Geoff onstage and blew all our collective brains to shit." Thankfully said website also includes a link to a bunch of photos from the event. Rumor has it YouTube footage is likely to surface soon, so keep your person situated in front of the internet at all times for the latest developments in the 10+ year saga of Portishead's third album.