Massive Attack, April 30, Coachella 2006
this entry brought to you by massive attack, "angel"
When I first heard that Massive Attack would be performing at Coachella, I was not especially looking forward to seeing them. Their last full album, 100th Window, was produced solely by founding member 3-D (real name Robert Del Naja), and I didn't like it at all. Admittedly, I'd only given it two full listens, but it seemed too much like it was meant to be danced to, and it bored the hell out of me. I felt essentially like Massive Attack had become a lost cause, and after a peripheral listen to the so-so Danny The Dog, their 2004 soundtrack, I instead dug into the older albums before Mezzanine that I'd missed.
A friend of mine talked me into seeing them, saying that I would be doing myself an injustice if I missed them that night. Once I'd had my mind hesitantly set on catching their performance, I was expecting a DJ set over in the dance tent. Imagine, then, my surprise when Massive Attack took the stage with a full band, two drum sets, and an impressive, giant digital equalizer-balance as a set piece that would periodically scroll text of, say, information about the war in Iraq during "Safe From Harm". The band focused mostly on Mezzanine, and what was amazing about watching Massive Attack was how well all the samples and loops and other studio trickery translated into being played live. The jittery drums of "Risingson", the bottom heavy dwell of "Angel"; everything came across vibrantly, as if the songs were originally created to be played live, when even a half-listen to the albums shows that they clearly were not. The band was phenomenal, and extra props go to the guitarist who manage to make the aching, deliberate guitar throughout the songs, and pushed them to their gritty limit.
3-D himself seemed nervous between songs, but it's impossible to tell if that was just natural British humbleness or if he was genuinely intimidated by playing to such a giant audience, especially when knowing a good portion had never heard Massive Attack before. Nevertheless, as a performer, he was very professional, and essentially the definition of "cool", with his deadened, serious stare, his stern frown, his slow rock from side to side with his cold whisper of a voice. Delightfully, 3-D brought several of the much-loved guest vocalists from the various albums along with him for the ride. Long-time friend Horace Andy sounded absolutely pitch-perfect and looked surprisingly alien, wearing a matching gray camo basketball jersey/pants combo, his salt-and-pepper dreads pulled into a ponytail, the wire to his double ear piece coming way off to the side of his head like antennae; he did a slow-mo karate chop dance during the instrumentals of "Angel" and "Man Next Door". The voluptuous and, as 3-D introduced her, immensely talented Deborah Miller joined him for "Safe From Harm" and a few other songs. But the real highlight of the set was when the very delicate Liz Frasier rook the stage for an absolutely spine-shiveringly perfect rendition of "Teardrop", which got Massive Attack's biggest applause of the night.
As the night grew on, and Tool's set (which was to start 30 minutes after Massive Attack's ended) looming closer and closer, the meatheads of the Tool fan base began to grow crabby and impatient, a few idiots up front shouting "Tool!" between songs. But whether or not the idiots could appreciate it or not, Coachella needed a band like Massive Attack after the rock & roll highlights of Sleater-Kinney and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, after the insanity that was the Madonna set. We needed a band that, in the now cool breeze of the night air, could creep up under our skin, lull is into an introspective calm. Massive Attack were the perfect band playing during the perfect time that night. And my friend ended up being right: I would have been doing myself a disservice if I hadn't seen them.
-----
with love from CRS @ 10:53 PM
Sunday, May 07, 2006
When I first heard that Massive Attack would be performing at Coachella, I was not especially looking forward to seeing them. Their last full album, 100th Window, was produced solely by founding member 3-D (real name Robert Del Naja), and I didn't like it at all. Admittedly, I'd only given it two full listens, but it seemed too much like it was meant to be danced to, and it bored the hell out of me. I felt essentially like Massive Attack had become a lost cause, and after a peripheral listen to the so-so Danny The Dog, their 2004 soundtrack, I instead dug into the older albums before Mezzanine that I'd missed.
A friend of mine talked me into seeing them, saying that I would be doing myself an injustice if I missed them that night. Once I'd had my mind hesitantly set on catching their performance, I was expecting a DJ set over in the dance tent. Imagine, then, my surprise when Massive Attack took the stage with a full band, two drum sets, and an impressive, giant digital equalizer-balance as a set piece that would periodically scroll text of, say, information about the war in Iraq during "Safe From Harm". The band focused mostly on Mezzanine, and what was amazing about watching Massive Attack was how well all the samples and loops and other studio trickery translated into being played live. The jittery drums of "Risingson", the bottom heavy dwell of "Angel"; everything came across vibrantly, as if the songs were originally created to be played live, when even a half-listen to the albums shows that they clearly were not. The band was phenomenal, and extra props go to the guitarist who manage to make the aching, deliberate guitar throughout the songs, and pushed them to their gritty limit.
3-D himself seemed nervous between songs, but it's impossible to tell if that was just natural British humbleness or if he was genuinely intimidated by playing to such a giant audience, especially when knowing a good portion had never heard Massive Attack before. Nevertheless, as a performer, he was very professional, and essentially the definition of "cool", with his deadened, serious stare, his stern frown, his slow rock from side to side with his cold whisper of a voice. Delightfully, 3-D brought several of the much-loved guest vocalists from the various albums along with him for the ride. Long-time friend Horace Andy sounded absolutely pitch-perfect and looked surprisingly alien, wearing a matching gray camo basketball jersey/pants combo, his salt-and-pepper dreads pulled into a ponytail, the wire to his double ear piece coming way off to the side of his head like antennae; he did a slow-mo karate chop dance during the instrumentals of "Angel" and "Man Next Door". The voluptuous and, as 3-D introduced her, immensely talented Deborah Miller joined him for "Safe From Harm" and a few other songs. But the real highlight of the set was when the very delicate Liz Frasier rook the stage for an absolutely spine-shiveringly perfect rendition of "Teardrop", which got Massive Attack's biggest applause of the night.
As the night grew on, and Tool's set (which was to start 30 minutes after Massive Attack's ended) looming closer and closer, the meatheads of the Tool fan base began to grow crabby and impatient, a few idiots up front shouting "Tool!" between songs. But whether or not the idiots could appreciate it or not, Coachella needed a band like Massive Attack after the rock & roll highlights of Sleater-Kinney and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, after the insanity that was the Madonna set. We needed a band that, in the now cool breeze of the night air, could creep up under our skin, lull is into an introspective calm. Massive Attack were the perfect band playing during the perfect time that night. And my friend ended up being right: I would have been doing myself a disservice if I hadn't seen them.
-----
