I’ll be honest in saying that, even though I’ve lived in Portland for quite a few years, I don’t know Pink Martini as well as I should. Despite that, I still hold quite a bit of respect for the worldwide and commercial success they’ve had as an orchestra that plays a little bit of everything. Their music has appeared in international hit movies and television shows, and three of their albums have gone gold in Canada, Greece, France and Turkey – respectable for a band of any genre.
Is this music appropriate for a weekend festival packed to the gills with people between the ages of 18-30, in a place where most of them are indulging in whatever someone puts in their hand while they’re there? Maybe, and maybe not. At this show, Pink Martini nailed their set, weaving a brand of ‘40s pop and old school jazz together to create an irresistibly uplifting atmosphere. On top of group leader Thomas Lauderdale's presence on grand piano, the group also absorbed and utilized the gifts of an extremely talented string section, brass players, percussionists and an upright bassist. Together, they brought a bunch of delicious harmonies to fruition. But then Storm Large joined them, and things got strange. Now, I like Storm, and what she stands for, but it definitely seemed odd seeing her with the band for as long as she was up there. For some reason, the band’s long-time vocalist, China Forbes was absent and Storm was taking her place for the day. At first she supplemented the band with her seductive voice and demeanor, adding a bit of a lounge-style to the show, but then she stuck around for something like five songs, and it felt unnecessary. If she wasn’t singing, she was dancing around during the instrumental portions of the set, which seemed almost tacky. She even started singing a few verses in Turkish, and asked the crowd to sing-along with her. Maybe the band’s devoted fans would know the words to a foreign language song, but I highly doubt most people had any idea what she was expecting them to sing back to her.
Enough about that, though – the bottom line is that while Pink Martini sounded fantastic, as a whole it was appealing as usual when it was sandwiched between styles like rock, hip hop and electronic. Hopefully they snagged a few new fans while doing their thing, and left an impression on those not quite sure what they were being exposed to.
