Obama Live: The WW Review

[March 26th, 2008]

When I invited WW film critic Aaron Mesh to review Barack Obama’s performance in Portland last week, Mesh’s response was instant.

“I’ve been meaning to see him live,” Mesh said, as if it were a Modest Mouse show rather than a political rally.

After 15 months on the road, the Illinois senator’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination has become as much a stadium-rock spectacle as a political phenomenon. Like Springsteen or Radiohead, Obama must be seen live to get the full effect.

And Obama’s March 21 gig at the Memorial Coliseum had all the elements of a big Trail Blazers game at the Rose Garden next door or the Police reunion tour. The 13,000 free tickets for Obama were gone in a day. Locals hawked unlicensed merch outside. The crowd did the wave and stomped on the bleachers. Women screamed, “I love you!” from the stands.

True, there were also serious politics afoot. Obama earned the endorsement of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former contender for the Democratic nomination. And as first reported on WWire, Obama had an early-morning meeting with about 100 locals who had each donated the maximum $2,300 to his campaign, including former Gov. Barbara Roberts and Portland Trail Blazers President Larry Miller.

But because the Obama show is as much about entertainment as electioneering for many, we asked Mesh and WW stage critic Ben Waterhouse to come along and pick apart his performance.

Waterhouse praised Obama’s 45-minute monologue but panned the set and the costume of U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), who warmed up the crowd.

“Unlike the shows we usually see in town, this one still has its star,” Waterhouse says. “He’s coming off a long run, but Obama still delivers onstage. I’ve got to complain about the blocking, though. It’s so static. I mean, even Al Gore had a lift. And who picked Blumenauer’s outfit? This is not a time for a conservative red bowtie, Earl. It’s time for change.”

Mesh was impressed by the dramatic dénouement.

“There’s nothing more entertaining than a third-act twist,” he says, “and Obama never ran out of surprises. Far be it from me to reveal spoilers, but it’s one thing to produce Bill Richardson for an endorsement, and quite another to reveal Bill Richardson in a beard.”

For Mesh, Obama’s ability to connect was impressive.

“Viewers were invited to boo Dick Cheney, cheer their own capacity for racial enlightenment, and even bring soldiers home through the force of their own enthusiasm,” he says. “It’s difficult to watch it and remain unmoved. I expect it to keep delighting audiences well into the summer and fall.”

Photos by Vivian Johnson: