Because after such a show, pictures are more suitable than words... at this hour at least.
What a special, magical and unexpectedly surprising evening.
Massive Attack at their best, in Paris, Le Zenith.
First act, of course, Young Fathers:
MA Opening: 'United Snakes'
'Risingson'
Messages and more messages
Enchanting 'Future Proof'
Martina Topley-Bird somewhere sings 'Teardrop'
'Angel' with Horace
'Inertia Creeps'
While singing with Martina a wonderful version of new single 'Take It There':
Young Fathers are back for 'Voodoo In My Blood' and 'He Needs Me':
Amazing ending with Deborah Miller joining for 'Unfinish Sympathy' then Horace back for 'Splitting The Atom'
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And, for the final notes, Giles Duley's powerful pictures from refugees in Lesbos, Greece, taken for the UNHCR, U.N. Refugee Council:
Hi Melissa. Were we at the same gig? Because the one I went to was far from magical. It was disjointed and broken. Not, perhaps, entirely the fault of the band but all the same it was a HUGE disappointment compounded by the band's apparent indifference and lack of respect for the audience. Such a shame because the message got lost. Frankly I felt that the right message fell flat because everything else went so wrong. The crowd gave as much goodwill as they could (and post-Bataclan, I think they were very generous) but sadly, they didn't get much in return apart from maybe the last 20 mins of the set when the sound was finally sorted out. But really, it was a case of "too little, too late". Massive disappointment.
ReplyDeleteI was at both nights and the second night was absolutely flawless, intense and engaging, it's true, more than the first one. Which makes me feel even more for the band's first night, when the heavy technical problems did stop the show, yes.
ReplyDeleteBecause the band put together such a daring show, offering no less than five new songs, reinterpretations from classics, etc. It is a challenge to be so many on stage and to switch between singers so often but that's the unique side of Massive Attack.
They are also real perfectionists and I could sense they were disappointed themselves, hence the breaks. They've never been talkers on stage...
The sound, the voices, the involvement, the message, the quality and the visual creativity are at such high, how could the audience be mad at some delays due to technical failures they are not responsible for? That's my view, at least.
Well it's good to hear the second night went perfectly! Please don't misunderstand me - I love Massive Attack (I first saw them at Glastonbury over 20 years ago) and I agree that it's an ambitious show. It's rare to see such a big band so politically engaged but to quote the old cliché, "the medium is the message". That message was inevitably weakened by all the stops and starts, and I don't think the audience can be begrudged their disappointment. A lot of people came for the music, not the politics. Having said all that, sometimes shit happens. What can you do? I wish them, and you, all the best. Mark
ReplyDeleteThat's the thing, a technical failure happened, a blockade in the computer system, probably due to an electric failure... What could they do? Instrumentalists and vocalists were really at their best. For once, the machines let them down. Sadly.
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