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[SIMG] http://forum.interference.com/gallery/data//585/11265massiveattack-sml.jpg[/SIMG]
By Carrie Alison, Editor
2006.10
It's been a full eight years since ground-breaking British trip-hop/electronica outfit Massive Attack—Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall—last graced US shores to groove with and greet its adoring fans. Now touring in support of its recent greatest hits compilation "Collected," released this past April, and ahead of next year's planned release "Weather Underground," Massive Attack unleashed a rapturous assault of sound at Roseland Ballroom on Wednesday night, in the middle of an ambitious three-night stand in New York City.
Having weathered a disappointing (and let's be honest, dull, but that could've have been because the visuals weren't working, didn't care for "Demon Days" and I couldn't see Damon Albarn) tour opener show of Gorillaz' five night-stand at Harlem's famous Apollo Theatre in April, I didn't know what was in store, given the technology-reliant tinge both groups share and the tendency to let guest players and vocalists do the legwork, instead of the famous band members we adore and follow through thick and thin, side project to side project.
Joined onstage by a full band, two drummers and famous contributors Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins, Horace Andy and enchanting vocalist Deborah Miller, Massive Attack did more than just disprove the notion that a concert built around electronic music—for those outside the world of raves and laptop symphonies—can't be warm, inviting and, well, humane. For the enthusiastic, undulating crowd in attendance, however, 3D and Daddy G are rock stars, not just two guys that make a living because of their technical know-how in the studio.
Unlike Albarn who held court in the very back of all Gorillaz' performances, Massive Attack's principals remained front and center, lit by a glittering wall of lights and scrolling LED banners. The backing musicians were so potent and natural, you'd never know that Massive Attack wasn't also a studio band in the tradition of REM and Radiohead.
First up was a tense and claustrophobic rendering of "False Flags" that gave way to a brilliantly smooth "Rising Son" off of 1998's popular "Mezzanine," featuring Del Naja and his suave vocal intonations. It's a favorite song of mine, and one that transports me to the period of time in Bristol when both Massive Attack and other trip-hop pioneers Portishead were getting their starts. I can feel, taste, smell the endless nights in grimy clubs, blanketing myself in dub, drum-n-bass and dirty synth.
Cocteau Twins' Fraser came to the stage next for a relatively sedate and innocuous "Black Milk," but to hear that otherworldly voice she possesses is a gift in and of itself, regardless of the distance I'm feeling to the music, or the chill the probing red lights are creating in me. Andy appears next, eliciting a jubilant crowd reaction, and dives right into a perfect "Man Next Door," arguably a theme song for any family man in Tribeca or Park Slope with a crazy neighbor who just won't quit with insane ramblings in the stairwell or those frightening loud noises you are too scared to investigate or call the building manager about.
A transcendent "Karmacoma" featuring Daddy G on the mic (a tour surprise given the recent birth of his child) followed from 1995's "Protection." After solid performances of "Butterfly Caught," "Hymn for the Big Wheel," featuring Andy and Miller, and "Mezzanine," Fraser once again appeared from the shadows to tackle the immensely popular "Teardrop." Uneven vocals marred the performance, however, and what would have been a showstopper, merely limped by.
A positively serpentine "Angel" with Andy followed, feeling like a scene from 2004's "Open Water," just watching that dorsal fin approach; your heartbeat pounding in time to the cathartic bass lines, and hypnotic reggae-tinged vocals.
"Future Proof," all shimmering lights and dazzling wall of sound, gave way to a fiery, rousing "Safe From Harm," replete with a lead-in rant by Del Naja about a right-wing Tony Blair and the crisis in Darfur, closed out the main set, allowing an exhausted audience to catch its heaving breath.
A note-perfect and slippery "Inertia Creeps" launched the encore, but it was a rapturous performance of "Unfinished Sympathy" with stratospheric vocals by Miller that brought the house down. A gutsy, near 10-minute rendition of "Group Four" brought the show to an end, keeping the crowd surging and grooving the entire time.
Though recent reviews have suggested that Massive Attack's current tour lacks energy or appeal, my sheer fatigue and utter satisfaction today leave me with no other opinion than wishing I had tickets for the band's third and final New York show to do it all again. This is powerful stuff, my friends, and truly a can't miss experience if you love to just close your eyes and let the music envelop you.
For more information on Massive Attack, visit the band's official official website.
By Carrie Alison, Editor
2006.10
It's been a full eight years since ground-breaking British trip-hop/electronica outfit Massive Attack—Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall—last graced US shores to groove with and greet its adoring fans. Now touring in support of its recent greatest hits compilation "Collected," released this past April, and ahead of next year's planned release "Weather Underground," Massive Attack unleashed a rapturous assault of sound at Roseland Ballroom on Wednesday night, in the middle of an ambitious three-night stand in New York City.
Having weathered a disappointing (and let's be honest, dull, but that could've have been because the visuals weren't working, didn't care for "Demon Days" and I couldn't see Damon Albarn) tour opener show of Gorillaz' five night-stand at Harlem's famous Apollo Theatre in April, I didn't know what was in store, given the technology-reliant tinge both groups share and the tendency to let guest players and vocalists do the legwork, instead of the famous band members we adore and follow through thick and thin, side project to side project.
Joined onstage by a full band, two drummers and famous contributors Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins, Horace Andy and enchanting vocalist Deborah Miller, Massive Attack did more than just disprove the notion that a concert built around electronic music—for those outside the world of raves and laptop symphonies—can't be warm, inviting and, well, humane. For the enthusiastic, undulating crowd in attendance, however, 3D and Daddy G are rock stars, not just two guys that make a living because of their technical know-how in the studio.
Unlike Albarn who held court in the very back of all Gorillaz' performances, Massive Attack's principals remained front and center, lit by a glittering wall of lights and scrolling LED banners. The backing musicians were so potent and natural, you'd never know that Massive Attack wasn't also a studio band in the tradition of REM and Radiohead.
First up was a tense and claustrophobic rendering of "False Flags" that gave way to a brilliantly smooth "Rising Son" off of 1998's popular "Mezzanine," featuring Del Naja and his suave vocal intonations. It's a favorite song of mine, and one that transports me to the period of time in Bristol when both Massive Attack and other trip-hop pioneers Portishead were getting their starts. I can feel, taste, smell the endless nights in grimy clubs, blanketing myself in dub, drum-n-bass and dirty synth.
Cocteau Twins' Fraser came to the stage next for a relatively sedate and innocuous "Black Milk," but to hear that otherworldly voice she possesses is a gift in and of itself, regardless of the distance I'm feeling to the music, or the chill the probing red lights are creating in me. Andy appears next, eliciting a jubilant crowd reaction, and dives right into a perfect "Man Next Door," arguably a theme song for any family man in Tribeca or Park Slope with a crazy neighbor who just won't quit with insane ramblings in the stairwell or those frightening loud noises you are too scared to investigate or call the building manager about.
A transcendent "Karmacoma" featuring Daddy G on the mic (a tour surprise given the recent birth of his child) followed from 1995's "Protection." After solid performances of "Butterfly Caught," "Hymn for the Big Wheel," featuring Andy and Miller, and "Mezzanine," Fraser once again appeared from the shadows to tackle the immensely popular "Teardrop." Uneven vocals marred the performance, however, and what would have been a showstopper, merely limped by.
A positively serpentine "Angel" with Andy followed, feeling like a scene from 2004's "Open Water," just watching that dorsal fin approach; your heartbeat pounding in time to the cathartic bass lines, and hypnotic reggae-tinged vocals.
"Future Proof," all shimmering lights and dazzling wall of sound, gave way to a fiery, rousing "Safe From Harm," replete with a lead-in rant by Del Naja about a right-wing Tony Blair and the crisis in Darfur, closed out the main set, allowing an exhausted audience to catch its heaving breath.
A note-perfect and slippery "Inertia Creeps" launched the encore, but it was a rapturous performance of "Unfinished Sympathy" with stratospheric vocals by Miller that brought the house down. A gutsy, near 10-minute rendition of "Group Four" brought the show to an end, keeping the crowd surging and grooving the entire time.
Though recent reviews have suggested that Massive Attack's current tour lacks energy or appeal, my sheer fatigue and utter satisfaction today leave me with no other opinion than wishing I had tickets for the band's third and final New York show to do it all again. This is powerful stuff, my friends, and truly a can't miss experience if you love to just close your eyes and let the music envelop you.
For more information on Massive Attack, visit the band's official official website.
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