Massive Attack 

Live reviews

• Massive Attack

  I came here with slight concern at how I was going to cope with the O2, a venue I have been to only once before and hated it. It was like going to a gig in a really horrible corporate shopping centre. Well, it was even worse than my previous memory of it. Massive Attack are a band I've loved for years and I last saw them at Eden Project in 2018 which I can safely say was one of the best gig experiences I've ever had. This gig, on the other hand, was literally one of the worst. The queue to get in the venue was around a mile long, and I imagine those at the back of it didn't get in until halfway through the gig. There was only one bar and the queues were also ridiculous, with the most awful range of drinks. The band's performance to me seemed disconnected and in it's own weird little bubble, with patronising political visuals that I thought were pretty out of touch and reminded me of something I would have made in a Year 9 art project. I don't disagree with the political messages they used but it was pretty unsophisticated and amateur visual communication considering it's 2019. We ended up stood towards the back as being short, I couldn't see a thing if I was stood in the crowd. I was dismayed when they played Teardrop and you could barely hear it from the back of the standing section. Really poor quality sound compared with many other gigs I've been to and particularly disappointing knowing that this band are usually known for their strict adherence to quality. The highlight for me was hearing Horace Andy's incredible voice on Angel and Man Next Door. He brought the soul to this soulless venue and disconnected performance. I will not be returning to the O2 again, no matter how tempting the artists are.

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  by hadiasaeh

• Just saw them this evening at Radio City/NYC. Folks...as good as the Mezzanine CD is...do NOT waste your time on watching them live. This was the WORST EVER LIVE PERFORMANCE I HAVE EVER BEEN TO (and, trust me, I have been to a gazillion and have traveled the globe to see favorites even if they were not playing in US.) Here are four reasons why I WANT A REFUND! -

  1. They were late. There's no opening band. Do NOT waste time then

  2. The strobes are a bloody lawsuit in the waiting. The ticket should have a RED disclaimer on it about the incessant use of strobe as they can cause seizures for those who are prone to it. SERIOUSLY!

  3. CUT THE CRAP WITH THE POLITICAL MESSAGING BULLSHIT! We already KNOW this stuff, do not need Social Media 101 class videos playing in the background and how it is impacting us - do NOT insult your audience - we ALREADY know this. The whole imagery/video/messages treat you as if you are a kid. What a put-off.

  4. AND, finally, ENGAGE! Engage with the audience. Welcome them! Acknowledge us! Say a WORD to them as in "THANK YOU!" We are paying for you to be here, we made you who (you think) you are. These fucking morons didn't even have the decency to either say, "hello, thank you," or "goodbye"....Even bigger names like Depeche Mode, Tool and Metallica, at least, acknowledge their audience with a simple "thank you" if not their full-fledged stage bows. All of these (less than) massive folks came off as purely arrogant and a waste of our time. ONE AND DONE! Never will consider seeing them live again. Cheers.

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  by pseudonomer

• Having celebrated a quarter-century together last year, Massive Attack are well and truly old hands these days - not that it’s had any negative impact on the adventurousness of their live shows. Last year saw them continue to push the boundaries of audiovisual entertainment with their experimental collaboration with filmmaker Adam Curtis at the Manchester International Festival - 1500 people in an old train station that went out of commission two years before the band even formed, utterly engrossed by films at once arresting and heartbreaking and soundtracked by an array of cover versions that saw the Bristol duo draw upon every shred of musical ingenuity they have. Away from the more esoteric side of their live incarnation, their more conventional shows remain awesome spectacles, too; with giant LED screens allowing them to apply their music to political and social backdrops, and an expanded live lineup that features a revolving selection of guest vocalists, the brooding disquiet of most recent studio effort Heligoland has been weaved in seamlessly alongside cuts from nineties classics "Mezzanine" and "Blue Lines." Having evidently mastered both the recorded and live sides of their craft, Massive Attack’s staying power has moved them beyond simply being one of Britain’s most vital musical groups - they’re edging towards institution status.

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  by Joeg_67

• Famous in the musical world for being the go-to locale for trip-hop in the '90s, Bristol's reputation was helped along by artists such as Portishead. Arguably the biggest force in those circles was Massive Attack, who were one of the pioneering groups in the scene at the time. Famed for merging electronica, dub, post-rock and dance, the (now-)duo of D and G (Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall) are one of the biggest electronic forces around today, and have been at that zenith for almost two decades.

  Boasting hits like Tyson, tracks like the darkly erotic “Angel”, psyched-out acidtronica anthem “Unfinished Sympathy” and one of the world's most covered tracks, “Teardrop” (as also seen on the House OST), Massive Attack's sets are studded with pinnacles. You may not even realise quite how much you know by the outfit – their music often creeps into film soundtracks or on TV shows. Live, they focus on creating an intense atmosphere, using darkness as an essential tool. Lights are also prominent features, and the band themselves often lurk in the shadows, preferring to use visual effects like video clips, montages, and strobes as focal points. They cultivate an aura to lose yourself in. It's dance music, but it's the most emotional, soul-touching, mind-boggling dance music ever made.

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  by larryday

• While MA still inventively play with music codes, there is some major flaws in that show. The concept based on random visual «Youtube» sampling to illustrate how badly we managed inequalities on earth is creating rather interesting and weird moments : like when the public is applauding/shouting because they like the song while what they see on the screen are images of bombing. This is disturbing...but and artistically relevant. The main problem is simple, it's the set list : MA are progressing more or less in a binary mode : one song from Mezzanine, one cover song that most of the public doesn't know. It's cool to acknowledge their influences, but the public is there to hear MA, not songs they don't know by bands they don't know. This is disruptive, which could be interesting, but in fact it's just a bummer, the show just doesn't work in that form. The concept is taking over the actual show and that's not cool. MA should realize that and adjust. When you do a show where the public is super high for the first songs and they finally sit down on their chair calmly by the middle of the show instead of getting higher and higher, well, it's kind of problematic. That said, there are some nice ideas here and there and their political message is positively refreshing in a way.

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  by nicolas_bernier

• As soon as Massive Attack announced their new tour, I've managed to buy the pre-sale tickets for their first London show.

  It was my first time inside the O2 Academy in Brixton and at first I was quite surprised by the venue: the stalls floor is not flat but is pending towards the stage, giving a chance to see something even to the short ones like me.

  The supporting band already playing on stage was the "Young fathers", and I have to say they could be much better with a good sound engineer, as their voices are great but no good ensemble with the drums.

  Finally at around 21 Massive Attack arrived on stage and it has started: two drums, one base, two synths and many turning at the microphone.

  The background video screening was quite impressive, bright (too bright!) and psychedelic at the beginning, but very powerful, transforming the concert into a whole exhibition.

  The sound was just amazing from my position (middle-center of the stalls).

  They started with some new songs then played some old ones, together with hits like Karmacoma, Teardrop, Angel..

  It was simply fantastic.

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  by doruchan

• I agree with other comments here, there was no interaction with the public. I actually felt like that was the message they wanted to come across. This is what we have to say and we are not playing 20-year-old music that is out of date, we have a message to come across, deal with it. Like it or not, they kinda shoved it in everyone's faces. I don't think many people enjoyed the message and actually even cared for it, they just went there for a pint a bit of a night out. I was seated the whole time and people were walking around, getting beer and popcorn like they didn't give a shit at all. It was hard to concentrate with people going around and getting food and drink every 2 minutes. I don't understand well why this is permitted when it completely takes from the experience of the performance. just go out for a pint and listen to the album or something, ruining other people's experiences really is bad. and also, soooo many people leaving after teardrop, so many people leaving in the middle of the concert or falling asleep. Seriously, THIS MAKES NO SENSE!!

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  by raquelrmarques88

• Massive Attack´s performance at Mad Cool 2018 was cancelled at the last minute, supposedly because of sound interference from one of the other stages. None of the other bands had a problem with sound interference, and as far as I understand, other bands agreed to drop their levels/delay their performances to allow Massive Attack to go on, but no agreement could be reached. Also, what band expects to play at a festival with no other bands playing on other stages, unless they´re closing the main stage? No announcement was made until after their performance was supposed to be finished, meaning the 25,000 people waiting couldn´t even go and see another band instead. Obviously I can´t know exactly what went on, but from the outside it appears like they got annoyed because they were in the dance tent instead of on one of the main stages and decided at the last minute not to play. Poor, poor show. A lot of very disappointed fans, and handled terribly.

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  by katita_campana

• Excellent, Exquisite and Emotional.

  The music of Massive Attack is distinctly identifiable and seeing them live lived up to expectations.

  With certain orchestral and no-lyric aspects to their music, any visual display show that accompanies Massive Attack becomes important. In this case it was spectacular and the lights complimented the music well. There were heavy political comments and imagery, particularly focusing on the war in Syria. Undoubtedly much of the audience were surprised by this with many not sure how to feel about it. But if you're an artist with a message why not take the stage and do something with the thousands of people at your mercy!

  Overall a great night out. Word must be mentioned towards the fantastic venue that the Brixton academy is. A perfect place for this gig (and many others!)

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  by hedonisticmungke

• They have been my favourite band since the 90s, their show and performance was great and as usual their political messages and feeling of unity that they create was strong, but it wasn't loud enough, it was like listening to a car radio from outside the car. Too many tickets sold, in my opinion, thousands of people queuing for over an hour to get food and drink, I could see people leaving while they were playing looking disappointed, as it was hard to see anything. We left during the last song as We didn't want to get stuck getting out, after all there were 27,000 people in a very small space, We weren't the only ones, thousands of others had the same idea. Such a shame that the organisation was so poor, I look forward to seeing Massive Attack again in better conditions.

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  by BristolFletch