On Tour: Massive Attack's still got its tongue firmly in its cheek!
Formed in 1988 and hailing from Bristol, Massive Attack have never done anything like the others.
The undisputed leader of the trip-hop movement born on the banks of the River Avon (along with Portishead, among others), and the author of magnificent albums such as Blue Lines (1991) and Mezzanine (1998), this group is not really a group. It's more like a collective, with Robert '3D' Del Naja as the mastermind and conductor.
In fact, it's he who punctuates the concerts with a few thank-yous and brief introductions of his current acolytes. The venerable Horace Andy, the voice so characteristic of 'Angel' and 'Girl I Love You', Deborah Miller for their anthem 'Unfinished Sympathy' and, of course, Elizabeth Fraser who, in another life, was the fragile, ethereal singer of the Cocteau Twins. She takes centre stage for "Black Milk", the superb "Teardop" and "Song To The Siren", the Tim Buckley cover that the Cocteau Twins made their standard-bearer in 1983.
Often abrupt, even downright punk (the 1977 cover of Ultravox's "Rockwrok"!), Massive Attack never seek to smooth things over, but rather to destabilise and, above all, to awaken a social and political conscience. As in the credits of the iconic film "Matrix", they send out dozens of words designed to provoke debate: *Délivre driver* versus *Upper class*, *Reconstructionist* versus *Market focused*. To drive the point home, Massive Attack broadcast explicit images of Putin's war in Ukraine and Netanyahu's burning of the Gaza Strip. "Safe From Harm", sung by Deborah Miller, is even dedicated to the Palestinian civilians crushed under the bombs. Massive Attack are not about to perform again in Moscow or Tel Aviv!
In 2024, more than ever, Massive Attack are rejecting the easy way out as much as futility...
Upcoming concerts:
August 24: Rock en Seine Festival - Domaine de Saint Cloud - Paris (France)
August 25/26: Clifton Downs - Bristol (United Kingdom)
October 17: Roxy - Atlanta (USA)
October 18: Mana Lynwood - Miami with a.o. Juan Atkins, Justice and DJ Shadow
October 23: The Anthem - Washington (USA)
October 24: Roadrunner - Boston (USA)
October 25: Stadium- Forest Hills (USA)
(AK - Photo: © Music Belgium Photos)
Photo: Horace Andy during the Massive Attack concert at the Lokerse Feesten festival (Belgium) on Saturday 10 August 2024 (© Music Belgium Photos)
