It's been 18 years since the release of Massive Attack's debut LP Blue Lines, and nearly 3 since '100th Window' hit our ears. Now, minus the presence of Andrew 'Mushroom' Vowles, but armed with the promise of a brand new album for 2010, The Wild Bunch performed for the third and final consecutive night at Brixton's 02 Academy.
What struck me first about the venue was how civilised the whole place was. There were a few small and orderly queues for toilets and merchandise, but otherwise the place was uncrowded and completely relaxed. The arena itself offered a unique blend of space and intimacy. The sloped floor leading to Brixton's huge stage meant that a good view could be had from almost any spot in the room, reducing the need for elbow-bargy bitchiness at the barrier (although admittedly that kind of behaviour does have its place in certain gig circles!).
After a few drinks the support act came on. Martina Topley Bird, complete with perm and sparkly outfit, failed to impress me. The songs of this soul-less Goldfrapp, middle-aged La Roux or self-conscious OMD started and stopped without a discernable beginning or end, and no one tune was particuarly distinguishable from the others. The sound engineering for the first couple of songs was pretty awful too, but once this was sorted the band seemed mundane at best. They warm up a little towards the end of the set, with their last two songs taking a rockier, drum-centric edge, but by then they had already lost the interest of the audience. We were simply too eager to see the band we'd paid £30 for.
After a refreshingly short break, Massive Attack finally graced the Academy's titanic stage. There was no repeat of the previous act's sound issues. With two drummers, DJ, synth, bass and cacophony of vocalists amongst the line-up, the band were on top form. Massive Attack got the balance between fresh new sounds and crowd-pleasing classics just right. It was great to see Daddy G back in on the action and engaging in some quality audience interaction - 'This is dedicated to all the starving models in the world' - as well as performing alongside some rather funky guest singers. Disappointingly, Damon Albarn did not make a repeat appearance (he turned up on friday) but the roots-reggae greatness of Horace Andy more than made up for this. I was sceptical of Martina's vocal presence in some of the songs (including the seminal 'Teardrop') but aside from her attention-seeking tottering about the stage she did a pretty good job.
To my delight, the guys played 'Future Proof'. As a 14-year old I used to light incense and meditate to 100th window, and hearing this played granted me a nostalgic epiphany that took me right back to 2004. The absolute climax, however, came during 'Angel', the first track from the phenomenal 'Mezzanine' where I lost myself completely in the shuddering bass and beams of light. MA are undoubtedly still on form, but I doubt if they will ever reach the dizzying musical heights they reached on that album again.
The accompanying lightshow that night was beautiful. Old school stereo-style 'strip' lighting was used on the backdrop, with displays ranging from red and white sparkles to videos of anti-war marches and even live 'trash' news feeds. This was paired with some rather impressive 'beam'-style lighting reminiscent of a sea anemone a la Blue Planet, which granted the songs a visual as well as an aural climax.
The gig was absolutely fantastic, with the boys fiercely defending any suggestion that they're too old for this business. Their new music was exciting and their old classics still held strong. Like 100th Window, new songs from the '5th LP' seem a lot more centred around smooth synth sounds and vocals rather than their previous tendency towards a heavier, more rhythmic approach.
It was a totally inspiring evening. I really wanted to ignore the fact that playing at the 02 Academy was totally hypocritical when set against all the jibing anti-capitalist messages that they spread across their backdrop and more subtly in their tunes. This occurred to me during 'Unfinished Sympathy' and as a result I don't think it will ever have quite the same resonance.
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I really wanted to ignore the fact that playing at the 02 Academy was totally hypocritical when set against all the jibing anti-capitalist messages that they spread across their backdrop and more subtly in their tunes.
ReplyDeletei doubt the actual artists that form massive attack have much say in where they play. it's supply & demand. the band wants to play, the little people around them (PR) find them a venue of a reasonable size to the expected capacity. this venue happens to be owned & funded by o2, most likely to stop it from being shut down. just because someone is playing there, doesn't mean they endorse this.
you should probably be thankful they played somewhere like brixton academy. i doubt you would have been able to purchase tickets if they played at a smaller, independent music venue.
isnt it good that o2 are helping the music scene? what with illegal downloads etc live performance is the only place bands can make money. and after all, we all need money to live.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you're saying, although you cannot deny that preaching such political messages in this setting is hypocritical.
ReplyDeleteAny good 02 is doing for the music industry is neutralised, in my opinion, by the harm it is doing to independent (and perhaps more interesting?) music venture.
In Berlin, for example, 02 have just bought out the entire strip along the River Spree. (More info can be found here ) This is currently home to dozens of small, quirky and diverse music venues, soon to be swallowed up in favour of one huge commercial music centre. I personally prefer the former setup even if it's not as cost effective.
Also, given the number of 02 venues MA are playing at (6 out of 9!) I find it difficult to believe that this choice is not a product of some sort of sponsorship deal rather than a random selection.
ReplyDeletenot really, considering. although playing in a supposedly 'corporate' venue, it will cost massive attack & their record company & all the workers behind them a fuckload of money & time to change their backdrops to suit the surroundings they are playing in. artists do not need to compromise their personal messages and beliefs depending upon their environment.
ReplyDeletewhat harm is the 02 doing to 'independent music venture'? if i want to see a band at a smaller venue, i can. however, some bands are popular so they have to play bigger venues in order to see them.
if say, radiohead, played a small music venue (like the time they tried to play rough trade) thousands of fans would be disappointed (like that time they tried to play rough trade) as the space can be filled a thousand times over because people want to see them. although this is essentially good as it gets people into smaller venues & more intimate gigs, bands are human. i doubt someone like franz ferdinand would like to play somewhere like the luminaire, but in order to please all their fans, they would most likely have to play 50 nights in a row if they did not play a bigger venue. again, it's supply & demand.
i am aware of the 02 arena in berlin, as i have seen it for myself. i am also aware of the hundreds of music venues in berlin. dude, that article was dated from last year - that shit has already happened.
besides, you have said yourself that the music scene in berlin is thriving, so obviously the arena has caused no damage to the scene. once again, the o2 serves as a venue to please the masses, so largely popular bands can play thousands at a time. if these small, quirky venues in this space did not fill each night, there's no demand & therefore, no money. everyone involves loses out.
if a band is playing & people can see them, what is the issue? it makes people who like music happy.
02 world in berlin has been build, but they have yet to expand along the entire spree - the damage to the indie clubs/berlin music scene remains to be seen. As far as I could see the small clubs were well-attended - they just didn't accumulate the lump sums that 02 could by making it one big site.
ReplyDeleteWhilst artists should not have to tailor their messages totheir environment, they most certainly should tailor their environment to suit their beliefs. If they believed that the corporate machine really was an evil evil thing, they should not have allowed a deal with 02 to be struck under their name. PR minions may be doing the organising but MA could have simply refused if they cared that much about it.
There are also quite a few (although admittedly dwindling) large indie venues knocking about that they could have chosen to play at. Alexandra Palace was more than big enough to accomodate Franz Ferdy and fans when I saw them - The Junction in Cambridge and Reading Hexagon also spring to mind.
Ultimately, though, the gig was great and the academy is a great venue. I just wish the contradiction of messages wasn't there!
reply to your second comment; i doubt it. the 02 venues mentioned on the tour poster are the venues previously sponsered by carling - all of equal size. haven't you noticed that when a lot of bands tour england, they generally tour venues of equal size (aside from london occassionally as it is a capital & more demand)? usually because they assume that in each city, a similar amount of people would want to see the band live, which is most likely dependent on certain numbers from like, record sales, press mention, etc. i think you're reading a bit too much into this to make your point valid.
ReplyDeletethe damage to the 'scene' is something that is not visible - can you really prove this from a week's visit? unless the o2 are personally vandalising the clubs going 'HAHAHAH WE DON'T OWN YOU SO YOU SUCK' perhaps they expanded it to accommodate the people wishing to attend. again, you seem to be missing the fact of life; SUPPY & DEMAND.
ReplyDeletealso, if the venues are well attended, they obviously have no problems with the existance of the o2 arena. if o2 has bought the land, that's fair & square if the owners of the land have decided to sell it. those who run their clubs can easily find somewhere else to host their nights, seeing as the occupation of empty buildings in berlin seems to be 'quite the thing' at the moment.
how do you know they have that power though? as a musician, you have to be pretty damn confident in yourself & your power to bring in an income to say no to your record company. did you stop to think perhaps massive attack used those particular visuals in protest to the decision of their record company? to be playing in regular-sized venues like the o2 academies at this point in their career, it seems as though they do not have the confidence to make these choices, so they didn't. in my opinion, i think that's pretty damn smart of them if it is the case.
of course, they may have chosen to play a larger venue like alexandra palace, but again, you're forgetting the SUPPLY & DEMAND aspect here. if they booked to play there, but did not fill it, they lose money. for a band like massive attack that who, although popular, may not always pull a large audience, to play in a smaller venue like o2 academy, it's a safer bet to know the show will sell out & therefore achieve all the potential profits they can make. besides, nothing sounds better in press reviews than a sell-out show.
what I meant by the Alexandra palace remark was that, should they have wanted to opt for a larger independent venue instead of an 02 to meet 'supply and demand', they could have done so, as such places do still exist.
ReplyDeleteGood point about the visuals-as-protest. Though what they're doing with EMI if they care so much is another question. Yesyes we all need money but at the end of the day if you're also gonna try and be morally against the establishment you risk looking a little silly (Bono syndrome!)
Niggle point: sell-out show...won't that disappoint some fans? :P
they could, but again, it's risky. if it didn't sell out, they'd lose money, the venue would lose money, etc. your gig ticket pays for more than the pleasure of seeing the band. although they could have, if they can't fill it, it'll just be like sticking an tape player in a warehouse - no audience, no atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteit can't always be about principle. you're digging a big, big hole if it is. although principle matters, personally i think calling out a band on their choice of venue clashing with their message is nitpicking. to flip is around, if you're against the 'establishment', why did you buy a ticket to see a band play the o2 academy? by doing so, you have oiled the cogs of the corporation.
ha ha. disappoint a lot less people than if you shoved them in the coronet.
I'm cerainly not claiming to be anti-establishment enough to boycott 02 - I'm just nitpicking MA's choice after their fierce enforcement of lefty views. Ahhh yes the coronet - why didn't they think of that!? :)
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