The Portland Cello Project brought two sets of holiday cheer to Salt Lake last weekend for an evening at The State Room on Dec. 14, 2024, and we were better off for their visit.
The touring group was a pared-down version of their usual cast of characters, featuring four incredible cellists instead of the usual revolving number of 7-14. In this case, less was more. Nobody minded a bit. It helped allow for a more intimate evening than usual. All was calm and intermittently bright.
And while a heavy sprinkling of the festive numbers was all but expected, there were continual surprises. It’s hard to think of many other Christmas-themed concerts casually dropping their own arrangement of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” into the mix, following it up immediately with Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.” The latter got some of the night’s biggest reactions (in the form of both hoots and hollerin’), probably because you don’t get to see cellists headbang, well, ever.
“Shalom Chaverim” (from the group’s Winter album) was a lovely turn, offering their take on a song children might sing during a Hanukkah celebration. There were arrangements inspired by Looney Tunes (a race through William Tell’s Overture), Charlie Brown (“Linus and Lucy” will never get old), and even their very renaissance-founding take on Fleet Foxes’ “White Winter Hymnal.” Special personal highlight? A romp through Soundgarden’s “Fell On Black Days.”
The unexpected worked wholly to their advantage, and perhaps that’s a learned tactic resulting from a lot of live experience. The intrigue factor was high for what should have seemed a standard performance of four incredible musicians. It meant a standing-room-only crowd collectively held its breath and wondered what might come next. If the universe is kind, it’ll send them back with the entire crew for one of their Radiohead tributes. Dare to dream, baby.
