There we stood, five feet away from Karl Wallinger, singing "Sweet Soul Dream" along with him and a hundred or so of his fans. It doesn't get too much better than that.

Wallinger, a.k.a. World Party, was in town to promote a new 5-CD set called "Arkeology." He had in tow four guys from Nashville, three of whom he apparently just met a little over a week ago. This was their second night on a quick tour of the West Coast. Wallinger doesn't get to Portland much; this might be his third time here in 25 years.

Of course, as a decades-long fan, we relished this rare treat. It wouldn't have mattered if he had been up there by himself playing a cardboard banjo. But his supporting cast, who were all young enough to be his sons, pretty much nailed the music while watching in amusement and awe as their 55-year-old leader went through his paces. They were excellent together, but it was easy to see that a week from now, these guys could be dangerously excellent together.

There were a few numbers that we didn't recognize, but "Ship of Fools," "Is it Too Late?," "Way Down Now," "When the Rainbow Comes," "Put the Message in the Box," "Is it Like Today?," "Sunshine" -- the choicest chestnuts from the late '80s and early '90s were all there. Along with "She's the One," a later Wallinger tune whose recording by Robbie Williams generated monster royalties that tided the family over after Wallinger encountered some serious health challenges a decade or so ago.

World Party music has a definite Beatlesque tinge to it, and there were a couple of moments there when it seemed as though Wallinger was channeling John Lennon. He's also got a bit of a Prince side to him, but with the Nashville guys behind him, it didn't really flash to the fore.

We'd mentioned World Party to quite a few people over the last 72 hours, seeing if we could get a rise out of them. With few exceptions, the people to whom we mentioned the show had never heard of the band. If you're in that category as well, we're happy to send you here to get you started. "Take off from the green light now."

As we told Wallinger's son, who was selling CDs and T-shirts after the show, given the quality and subject matter of his dad's music he should be just about the biggest thing going right now. Maybe that day will come before he retires. Whether it does or not, tonight's was a performance not to be missed, and we're grateful that we stumbled across news of its coming and made it. We love you, Karl. Come back soon.

But now we're looking at the clock, and we're reminded of the key lyric in the song "Ship of Fools," which was probably the climax of the show: "You will pay tomorrow!"