Among the current crop of bands that traffic in 60s-influenced rock and roll sounds, Color Green is one of the very best you will hear. But don’t be mistaken in thinking this California band can be pigeon-holed into another throwback act rocking paisley and bellbottoms. Since releasing their self-titled debut EP in 2020, the quartet has been consistently on the road, building a loyal fanbase while continuing to expand and evolve their sound. On Sunday, November 9th, they made their way to Portland, Oregon for an impressive performance at The Showdown.
Kicking off the festivities was Chicago trio Glyders, who are touring in support of a brand new album called Forever that is out later this month. The band leaned into tunes off that album as well as a handful of older material during a set that clearly won over everyone in the room who wasn’t previously hip to their grooves. Indeed, groove was at the core of every song as they veered from bluesy foundations to easygoing psych-funk. Joshua Condon was not the least bit shy about using his wah-wah pedals while Eliza Weber and Joe Seger kept their in-the-pocket rhythm, always pushing forward. The beauty of it all was the way the group combined simplicity and heaviness with the occasional guitar outburst, offering up some sort of strangely psychedelic mash-up of JJ Cale, the Stooges, and a grittier, darker garage rock-style Steve Cropper. While Glyders have been doing their thing for about a decade now, they told the audience this was their first time in Portland, though by the end of their set, it was clear they would be welcomed back any time.
Wasting no time with any sort of preamble, Color Green took the stage and jumped straight into a breezy guitar-driven jam that showcased the interplay of Noah Kohll’s Rickenbacker stylings and Corey Madden’s feedback-laced bustouts leading into the new tune “Grapes.” One of the band’s biggest talents is their ability to all handle singing duties, which made for positively cosmic harmonies reminiscent of acts like the Flying Burrito Brothers. This could be heard on tunes like “Ball and Key” with its vibrational jangle and the 60s-folk-rock of “Cheek” with Corey Rose providing a massive backbeat. Partway through the set, Kohll announced that they were playing several new tunes as they are currently working on a new album. These sounded right at home alongside the wavy, Rickenbacker-soaked vibes of older favorites like “Four Leaf Clover” and the chilled-out country-psychedelia of “Night.”
Right up until they closed out the night with a new tune titled “Ransom,” the band never lost momentum. Though the performance felt like it was cut a bit short and the audience would have welcomed another thirty minutes, the band managed to pack in plenty of excitement. The way they jived off one another felt more communal than leaning on any one member to take the spotlight, from Kohll’s stoic singing power to Rose’s impressive ability to take on singing duties while still giving the music percussive textures, to Kyla Perlmutter’s steady grooves on the bass and warm harmonizing, and Madden’s exploratory guitar shredding. All of these sounds came together to give the band their transcendent rock and roll sound, and reminded the Portland audience that the best way to experience Color Green’s special chemistry is to watch them perform live.
All photos by Greg Homolka
