18th April 2003 - Brixton Academy, London, UK
THERE’S nothing like being dragged through the tabloid mire for putting a little fire in the belly of a band. Robert Del Naja’s well documented recent run-in with the law may have provided him with some perfectly justified moral indignation but he hardly needs that at the moment. Anyone who has heard Massive Attack’s latest album 100th Window will soon hear that it’s already shot through with enough creeping paranoia and anger without any extra help from the local constabulary. That said, apart from a couple of choice words against the gutter press he seems delighted to be back and seems in fine spirits. And if anyone had any doubts about whether the skeletal and slight tunes from 100th Window would come across well enough live, they were immediately put to rest with opening track Future Proof.
It’s classic Massive Attack with a slow rumbling start which builds to a crescendo a couple of minutes in when the bass and drums really arrive. It’s an uncompromising start which sees them clearly set out their agenda - they’re a very different proposition from their sound system days in Bristol. Long-time collaborator Horace Andy then enters the fray for the minimalist and sombre Everywhen - once again a huge leap forward from the straightforward reggae tunes that featured him on Blue Lines. Daddy G appears from the wings for Rising Son, a standout track from Mezzanine, and is greeted like a returning hero. His bassy vocals remain the perfect counterpoint for the halfwhispered delivery of 3D. In the absence of previous collaborators Liz Fraser and Sinead O’Connor, it’s left to former One Dove frontwoman Dot Allison to take their place - something she does with some style. She even manages to improve on Fraser’s previous live versions of tracks like Dissolved Girl where the Cocteau Twins singer often struggled to be heard above the band. As with Massive’s last tour, Angel proves to be one of the high points of the set. Once again it’s the slow building tempo which makes it such a compelling and mesmerising track.
Horace Andy leaves the stage wearing a broad grin, acknowledging the song’s already modern classic status. Latest single Special Cases is beefed up and fares well but it is the next two tracks Butterfly Caught and Name Taken which show how the band aren’t about to make it easy for the crowd. This is challenging stuff - no hooks and little melody, just atmospheric beats and cut-up lyrics. But they’re back on safer territory with a superb version of Teardrop and the crowd visibly breathe a collective sigh of relief. And from here on in it’s plain sailing for them - with the difficult new material out of the way they plough through Mezzanine’s title track and Andy returns for a triumphant Hymn of the Big Wheel. But it’s Safe From Harm complete with a revamped balls-to-the-wall ending that provides the most goosebump-inducing moment of the night. The back-projected costings of the US military adds to the poignancy of the song and is typical of the attention to detail that goes into all of the visuals. Inertia Creeps proves that 100th Window isn’t the giant ar tistic leap into the unknown from Mezzanine that some people have said and is a perfect crystallisation of where the band are at now, and have been for some time. Despite neglecting tracks from second LP Protection altogether, Massive Attack are canny enough to realise they’d be lynched if they left without playing Unfinished Sympathy. And it certainly didn’t disappoint.
Debbie Marshall, their stand-in for Shara Nelson pulled out all the stops and delivered a belting version making veteran fans have dewey-eyed flashbacks to 1991 all over again. Still not finished, Massive return for a second encore and provide us with one of the most powerful endings to a show that I’ve seen in a very long time. Group Four builds to a huge throbbing climax with Angelo Bruschini’s distor ted guitar taking centre stage. With visuals to match, this was complete information overload and a superb barn-storming finish. Perhaps this will kill off that bloody ‘trip-hop’ misnomer once and for all.
Review by Andrew Perry from The Bristol Evening Post Newspaper dated 21st April 2003
This show was part of a five night residency by Massive Attack in London at Brixton Academy. This fact is quite historic as they were the very first act to sell out Brixton Academy for five nights in a row.
With Sinead O’Connor departing the tour after her very brief stint at the shows in Glasgow and Manchester, the setlist reverted back with the Brixton Academy shows, to one used in Australia and Japan in the previous month, without What Your Soul Sings and A Prayer For England. This setlist is what would become the standard at the majority of the remainder of the 2003 tour.
Dot Allison would provide support for this show in the form of an accoutic guitar performance.
The official site for the Brixton Academy is located here.
These photos were taken by Annabelle Dalby. Some of these images are taken from the other four Brixton dates, as part Massive Attack’s record-breaking five night residency in London. Click on the thumbnails below to view a larger image.
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