When Massive Attack announced they would be performing a special tour of seminal album Mezzanine, they promised it wouldn't be a typical nostalgia trip.
Founding member Robert Del Naja said: “The show is a deconstruction of the entire album with the original songs and samples being performed live...This isn’t a greatest hits show, don’t expect a Hollywood ending."
Mezzanine was the album that almost broke Massive Attack back when it was released in 1998. It saw them move away from their hip-hop roots into post-punk territory. Andrew Vowles quit the band after its release, unhappy with the direction they were heading.
It must have been an unsettling time. The result of this means that rather than this being a 20th anniversary celebration trip down memory lane, the band have re-imagined the album to reflect this surreal time - resulting in a haunting, ethereal show.
The trip-hop trio have enlisted filmmaker Adam Curtis to create visuals to accompany the performance. It becomes clear they are just as important as the musicians playing on stage. The visuals look at the current unrest dominating politics, the rise of social media and our reliance on computers. Old footage plays in the background while phrases such as 'There are no enemies anywhere' show up on the screens. The effect leaves you feeling uncomfortable and as if you will never like a post on Facebook again.
The tracks are not performed in the order of the album too to reflect that this is a re-imagination. Some surprising covers are also thrown into the mix. They open with Velvet Underground cover I Found a Reason, while covers of 10:15 Saturday Night by The Cure and Rockwrok by Ultravox also make up the set list.
Long time collaborator Elizabeth Fraser joins to sing the vocals on Black Milk, Teardrop and Group Four. Her lovely voice adds to the dreamlike quality of the gig, with the lyrics much more noticeable when performed live. Jamaican roots reggae singer Horace Andy, another long term collaborator, sings on tracks Man Next Door and See a Man's Face. His distinctive voice echoes around the arena as he mouths the lyrics to the ever-haunting Angel.
The tracks making up Mezzanine still sound new and modern 20 years later since it was released. The themes of political unrest, as Brexit negotiations continue in Parliament, are still just as relevant in 2019. It probably was not necessary for Massive Attack to emphasise the need for a re-imagination of the album and to have just performed it as it is.
Sometimes it feels as if the film is the main focus rather than the music and the band are just providing a live soundtrack. However, to present an album released 20 years ago as something new with a brand new message is an impressive feat which they managed to pull off.
