Massive Attack, Co-op Arena, 5th June. 4/5
When a gig provokes anger, boredom, (limited) joy, frustration, and - crucially - discussion well into the following days, you know you've attended something that won't be simply forgotten in the annals of gig going.
There is always a debate on what people think a 'gig' should be - albums lovingly (slavishly?) reproduced for adoring paying fans, artistic interpretation of classics, messaging platforms, social gatherings and constructs, joyful outpourings of song and dance in a tough world and more - but Massive Attack certainly went on the attack at the Co-op with an unrelentingly painful message of the current state of global affairs.
To the ire of many - a steady trickle of fans were leaving the co-op from 40 mins onwards (including 2 of our group of 7) - Massive Attack started with climate change speeches and then spent 100 minutes of MK-Ultra-esque messaging on war, corruption, social media brainwashing, conpsiracies and more. For 45 minutes I missed a lot of the music, which tended towards lesser known tracks from Mezzanine, Heligoland and strange covers of Jeff Buckley and Ultravox, as i was brain dumped endless misery on Gaza and Israel.
Much like the Bob Dylan debate, I am of the opinion no band should simply do as the paying crowd demands, they are their own artists who can do exactly as they please as long as the can take the debate/backlash, and so going down this path was their choice. Massive Attack have never shied from controversy in this manner, but even I was slightly taken aback at the unrelenting and slightly torturous nature of the visuals. I think in there resided a point.
My patience and, dare I say, appetite for this sort of artistic license is pretty deep but even i was left feeling a little miffed when, finally, Unfinished Symphony rolled out to zero video background to heighten the musical experience but i was feeling a little hollow and couldn't properly appreciate finally seeing one of my favourite all time songs live. It took Karmacoma to settle and Teardrop was delivered with utter perfection. In fact, away from the visual assault, the music, and in particular the vocals (Horace Andy, Deborah Miller & Elizabeth Fraser), were top notch throughout.
I left feeling i'd seen something. My criticism would be that while messaging and awareness raising are very important, and Massive Attack have form, this was a gig without much hope or joy. Comparing it to Ezra Collective of 2 months earlier felt like polar opposites. Also the visuals did detract from the music, without doubt. There's a place for everything in art, and many will be disgruntled with shelling out £60 for that, but you couldn't deny they did something.
