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2nd August 2004 Canons Marsh Amphitheatre, Bristol, England


Angel/Risingson/Black Milk Redux/Spying Glass/Karmacoma/Bullet/Teardrop/Mezzanine/Hymn Of The Big Wheel/Safe From Harm/Inertia Creeps/Unfinished Sympathy/Future Proof


























pictures by Avalanche


Thanks to Florence









Massive Attack Performed at the Cannons March Amphitheatre for their 2004 Bristol gig.
A beautiful setting, the venue surrounded by water , boats and cranes quite idyllic indeed.
Not too crowded in contradiction to last years packed Queen Square, and also, with perfect sound quality. We even got Craig Armstrong in the pre show, what more could a massive fan wish for ?
Massive attack started of with Horace Andy’s Angel, a perfect opener. Risingson featuring D & G got massive cheers from the crowd, the black milk redux follow up will always pale in comparison. I never liked it on the live show, many prefer the album version. Without last years big screen, it becomes rather dull. Dot changed her moves around a bit, looking more sexy with her longer hair.
The Screen is not that tall but quite wide, the band is set in front of it so many of the visuals are hard to catch.
Spying glass was certainly not better than the old live version, the rhythm slow down in the middle sounded more like a fuck up. But very nice to see it back on the set list.
Strange that they sampled the album version in the beginning, letting Horace’s vocal take over after a minute or two. The only time we heard authentic mushroom vibes. Karmacoma always rocks, it’s a fabulous live track Bullet was like everybody said it would be. The beginning is quite funny, but it bores pretty quick It’s supposed to be a soundtrack song and probably will work better in a movie theatre.
Teardrop was noticeably better than last year, even our Redlines host Avalanche thought it was done all right.
Mezzanine ……. well what can you say? The 8K thudded hypnotically as ever.
In strong contrast to the masses, I am not that fond of the current version of hymn of the big wheel. The track is simply too bland now and hardly evokes the magic that it’s capable of.
But the crowd still likes it and followed Horace with the traditional hand clapping at the end of the song. Safe from harm still has the charm, although the singer took my eye of the act. The first time I saw Hazel Fernandez perform and she did good on this one. At the end Dee said something about all the names appearing on the screen were innocent Iraqi casualties, fair play for that, but I couldn’t decipher a single name. Inertia creeps was creepy as ever, always drift my thoughts to a friend of mine who favours it. I‘ve come to appreciate the guitar on it over the years, the crowd absolutely loves it. Big up Angelo.
Unfinished sympathy pleased me less than than safe from harm. I never got to hear how it should be done, but the powerful vocalising capacity of Deborah really lifts up the song to a higher level, evokes well deserved applause & cheer, and therefore ads to the atmosphere, which does not happen when Hazel sings it (with all do respect).
And I couldn’t escape the thought: when they sample the album version on spying glass, why don’t they do it with unfinished then ?? (Afraid for a mush law suit?) It’s so much better with the mushroom touch. I miss it every time they play it live.
Then Dee walked on stage a and jokingly said “This is our last song for tonight, we’re gonna start working on the new album now, see you in about 5 years.”
The future proof finale was really amazing. I cant really go in depth on it, for the simple fact that it knocked me of my feet, it took me away to a state of mind where I felt absorbed in the music. Such a great build up. I feel that Angelo gets to do his part in it now, making the track a true finisher.
Mr Brushini, over all, perhaps slightly less prolific compared to last years Bristol gig but he’s still up there amongst my gods.
The only thing that I regret about the new future proof was, that the clicks were taken of.
I feel they’re a part of the whole, the recogniser touch. Shame they were taken of (in my humble opinion)
I can understand that there’s been some disappointment involving the current set list.
You have to know the tracks really well to recognize and appreciate the small changes they make on them. Many of the tracks differ slightly from how they were brought in 2003. But not many attendees notice that. Still, for a fanatic, what I clearly am,
Thanks & praise must go out to the great Avalanche, for making me relive a dream come true.
My second massive attack gig in Bristol, and perhaps more important, a true friend gained in the process. Big thanks.

P



Far more than a place to hang your hat, home to Massive Attack means a lot. When at their homecoming concert at Queens Square last year Robert Del Naja (aka 3D) said “There's only one city in the world I'd live in – fuck Paris, fuck New York – it's Bristol”, you believed him. You didn't just assume it was part of the normal band-at-gig “Wow this is the best crowd we've ever played to!” bullshit, you actually believed him. So if Massive Attack still matter, if they still are vital and necessary then you'd expect them to prove it here. And if not here, then surely not anywhere.
So do they? The definitive answer is...I'm not sure. This was different to Queen's Square; where that felt celebratory, a chance for Massive Attack to give back to their hometown, this felt more like work. A band fulfilling commitments, preparing for what happens next. Or maybe just paying some bills. Of course that commercial feeling may have had something to do with the none-more-blatant corporate sponsorship: huge Grolsch logos hung at the side of the stage and were projected onto every available surface. And while the band had the occasional exchange with the crowd, a few gruff “thank you's, thanks for coming out” and a couple of bluntly politicised points, it wasn't the cathartic outpouring of emotion that happened last year, the sheer joy that they'd managed to put a show on in Bristol after a troubled period, particularly for Del Naja.
Still, Massive Attack live is something pretty special. In this temporary arena, with its backdrop of the Lloyds TSB building bathed in green light looking imposing and gothic, 3D, Daddy G and friends managed to create an atmosphere far more dense and enveloping than either the dry ice emanating from the stage or the acrid smoke rising from the crowd. 'Risingson' still sounds like a paranoid nightmare, the balance between 3D's whispered, conspiratorial vocal and Daddy G's earth rumbling baritone an early reminder about how much Mr. G's input was missed on 100th Window. 'Unfinished Sympathy' was as fantastic as always, the dubby, trippy groove of 'Karmacoma', dedicated to multi-culturism, was so laissez-faire it almost fell over and 'Inertia Creeps' is still the sonic equivalent of being locked in a dark room while millions of jack-booted soldiers hunt you down. And then there was 'Hymn of The Big Wheel'. Now I love Blue Lines, it's one of my favourite albums, but I just don't ever remember 'Hymn...' being this, well, joyous, so hopeful, so quietly confident. With the incomparable Horace Andy dancing like someone nailed his feet to the floor and he needed to get out of the way of a fast approaching large object, getting the crowd to clap and sing along (a sing along? At a Massive Attack gig!?) it was a startlingly unexpected moment, a ray of hope bursting through an otherwise dark and hopeless fog. Not that I'm complaining about the fog, thats what Massive Attack do best.
They'd lost the huge video screens of the last tour, so we weren't entertained/lectured about U.S defense spending and the current world total of cars produced, but the slightly more low-tech lighting arrangement still worked pretty well. The electrocardiogram representation of 'Karmacoma's' deliberate beat was spot on and illuminating 3D in laser light during the last track was just plain fucking cool.
The set leaned heavily on Mezzanine, with the usual suspects from Protection and Blue Lines but at 10:50pm they still had done nothing from 100th Window. Ah, I thought, I can write about how the band seem to be distancing themselves from it, it's always the ultimate kiss of death when artists don't play any of an album, but then they closed with 'Future Proof'. Goddamn musicians, spoiling my clever point. Anyway, it was probably one of the weakest moments of the night: during the opening verses 3D's vocal and the accompanying instrumentation seemed on ¼ speed, causing more than a few people to turn looking for something more interesting to do, and it was only when the big 'lets-all-play-our-instruments-as-loud-as-we-can' finale that attention was recaptured. That same metaphorical shrugging of shoulders also happened during ‘Bullet’, which seemed to go on for a not inconsiderable time whilst sounding remarkably like a soundcheck.
It’s easy to forget about Massive Attack. Easy to forget their influence, easy to forget what just fucking great songs they've got, easy to forget that out of four albums they’ve made three bona-fida classics. But, to be honest, they can't really afford too many more performance like this. Coasting. Going through the motions. It was good, but it sailed worryingly close to parody. A Massive Attack tribute band. Judging by the large number of, increasingly desperate, touts outside the venue it wasn’t a sell-out and if interest and affection for Massive Attack is dwindling here in Bristol, then it may just be the death knell for this band. However, if they can get it together, get into the studio as threatened and just get on with it, there is no obvious reason why album number five can’t scale the heights again. Here’s hoping.
Review by Tim Lee