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