Info

You are currently browsing the Wetshadows weblog archives for the day 26. June 2010.

June 2010
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« May		Sep »
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30

Archive for 26. June 2010

Massive Attack current tour & the highlight of the show, “Atlas Air”

26. June 2010 by admin.

I saw Massive Attack on their current tour recently. They did a mix of songs from the current album, “Heligoland” and some of their back catalog. The song they didn’t do that I wish they had was “Protection”. I wasn’t thrilled with all of their song selections and the sound system at the venue I saw them wasn’t the best, but that wasn’t really their fault.

Massive had a great lighting setup and stage set. They had an LED (I think) ribbon display behind them and used it to great effect—using it to make statements about peace, world affairs and U.S. affairs. While the mixing of political activism and entertainment may annoy some people, I thought it was actually well done and welcome. People need to be aware of what’s going on in the world.

While most veteran bands build towards a climax in their live shows, saving the best for last, as it were, Massive really did a grea job of not only building to a climax but of taking their songs to the next level within the songs themselves.

Case in point was “Atlas Air”, one of their final encores. First, the song, though great on record, was much better live. Second, they kept a plateau in the song that was at ‘10’ on the energy dial from the start. Third, about a 1/3 of the way into the song, they raised the level to ‘12’ and then again halfway in, to ‘14’, and then kept the energy going at a level I didn’t know they could reach in the first place.

Here’s a version that approximates what I heard live, though nothing recorded is going to do it justice. It also gives you some idea of how the led display was used.

I look forward to the next album/tour, but echo what some reviewers have said about ‘”Heligoland”: more hits please—some of these songs are too esoteric.