Portishead: Roseland New York

This recording captures Portishead's concert at the Roseland Ballroom in New York on 24 July 1997, performed with a thirty-piece orchestra. The set draws on the albums Dummy and Portishead. Dick Carruthers's direction does not follow the standard language of concert films of the period. The image is largely black and white and deliberately grainy. The camera stays close to Beth Gibbons's face but rarely yields a clear portrait; the light is often left insufficient. That choice matches the blur and distance in the band's music. The orchestra separates these performances from the studio versions. Strings take the place of sampling and the songs become heavier, closer to film score. The concert is counted among the best-known live documents of trip hop. Who it's for: Portishead listeners and anyone interested in nineties British electronic music. Who it's not for: viewers wanting a clear image and standard concert-film production; the recording is dark and restricted on purpose.