Some people think we’re dark. Is this fucking dark or what? This is a proper adult pop show with visuals and issues! (3D at the close of the rather dark track Mezzanine)
Originally scheduled to be in the beautiful Belvoir Amphitheatre it was a shock and disappointment for many to read in street press three days before the concert that it had been moved to the “paddock” up above. With the upcoming Ben Harper concert suffering the same fate due to overwhelming increase in ticket sales many had assumed similar reasoning for Massive Attack, leaving those who had made the effort to get their tickets early with a bitter taste at missing out on the magical Belvoir Amphitheatre experience. Refunds were offered to those unhappy with the change and with rain looking likely on Saturday reports indicate that more than a few took up this option. When the band would later take the stage it was immediately apparent that the stage in the amphitheatre simply would not have been large enough to support the masses of equipment they had lugged halfway around the world. Had the promoters informed concert goers of such reasons I can’t help feeling that they would have firstly had less refunds to issue and secondly less people (me for one) complaining about the last minute change. BUT all of these were local issues and not to do with the band themselves, who as it happened managed to put on one hell of a show.
Arriving at around 6.30pm for a pre-show picnic it seemed very few had chosen to do the same. Not that it really mattered – a good spot was grabbed and we did our best human shield impersonations for the next couple of hours to prevent others from nabbing our turf too soon. After playing out a few albums a DJ took over and kept us going with an assortment of old school hip hop. Not too loud, a bit of fun and a bit of funk. Was it the advertised support act Koolism? I have no idea. The term support was taken quite literally as whoever was djing was unannounced and fairly well out of sight from what we could see. 
In these here crazy times if there was any one band most appropriate to tour then it would have to be Massive Attack. What other band had to change their name during the first Gulf War (to Massive)? And with Robert Del Naja’s (3D) high profile opposition to War with Iraq it was not a question of whether it would be mentioned, more a question of how. Like a musical preemptive strike it would later seem that this tour could not have been better timed as they prepare to launch their Massive anti-war Attack on the world. With the attack on Iraq having commenced towards the end of their Australian tour one suspected the later dates in Adelaide and Perth would have a significantly different feel to the first ones.
Dead on 9pm the huge screen at the back of the stage came to life with a clock appearing in the top right hand corner. The ambient music being played gave little clue as to what was about to happen as a few thousand people stood anxiously waiting and watching a few minutes tick by. Then the whole Massive Attack touring party took to the stage and formed a line at the front, 3D stepping up to the microphone. “Good evening. Due to the intense and devastating bombing of Baghdad City today we’d ask you to join us in a minutes silence in respect to the dead men, women and children, the innocent and helpless people of Iraq.” This request was duly respected by the crowd. In the few times he would speak with the crowd 3D was surprisingly upbeat in his manner. Seemingly relaxed on stage, from here on the banter would be kept to the stunning and extremely effective visual setup. The band then started the show off with Future Proof, the opening track from the new album 100th Window.
The second track Everywhere brought confirmation that once again they were traveling with regular Massive Attack vocalist Horace Andy. The guest vocalists are a big determinant of the success of the show and as to whether the tracks translate live. With Andy having been there since the beginning his appearance was a welcome one. In the same way hearing Isaac Hayes makes you want to drop everything to become a 70’s porn star, hearing Horace Andy has a melting effect on your heart as it turns to butter. It somehow penetrates through the heavy bass and straight into your soul. His appearance to sing the hauntingly beautiful Angel and the uplifting Hymn of the Big Wheel both proving popular, the latter in particular a personal highlight. 
Of the other vocalists; 3D had great delight in introducing Daddy G to the stage for Risingson, his presence seemingly having just as much effect within the band as to the loyal followers who made him welcome on stage. Shara Nelson (I think!) graced us for Safe From Harm, Big Wheel (with Andy) and for a brilliant second encore performance of Unfinished Sympathy. The real surprise, vocal wise, was Dot Allison who had the unenviable job of filling in for Liz Frazer and Sinead O’Connor. Sometimes with guitar in hand, as with her first appearance for Black Milk, other times without as with her stunning rendition of the now classic Tear Drop. With my biggest criticism of their last tour being the female vocals being drowned out by the ever present bass, Allison proved her self worthy for her own Massive Attack collaboration. 
“Apart from war and general madness, how you all doing?” (3D)
The show stealer for the night proved not to be any individual performer or song but a stunning visual show that accompanied throughout. With the stage being of the same sort used at outdoor festivals such as the Big Day Out it had been immediately obvious this setup would not have fit in the amphitheatre. The lighting rig within the stage was set up to give a precisely choreographed display of mood enhancing lighting. All of this was in support of what was happening on the giant screen behind all the performers. It was used to display everything from listings of periodic elements, stock exchange listings, news headlines, html code and the 
words “NOT IN OUR NAME” to name just a few. The audience appreciated the local touch when Perth suburbs and trains stations began appearing, GPS coordinates of where we were, demographic stats for Australia, arrival/departure times from the Perth International Airport for that day and local weather forecasts for the coming days were all included. These would all appear in lists or randomly all over the place. They would scroll, distort, manipulate and morph into something completely different. One of the most effective examples of this being during Safe From Harm when the screen was continually scrolling through a list of countries in order of their annual defence and weapons spendings. Starting with countries with expenditures around the $1b mark the song climaxed with screeching distorted guitars and flashing bombs as it reached the US total of $300b, the music and visual both going seemingly out of control to represent the madness of the situation. Check out ITM’s photo’s for a better idea, you really had to be there!
Exactly two hours after the show began it finished, after two encores, with an extended version of the ever building Group Four. I walked away from the concert in awe of the show I’d just seen. Having not yet been completely won over by 100th Window I was now inspired to give it another chance. With the various vocalists and an incredibly tight band (made up of a drummer, bass player, guitarist, violinist, and keyboardist) supported by a mind blowing visual show it set a new benchmark for live performance. For those that did cash in their tickets you missed one of the most mind-blowing shows to these shores in a long time. I’m sure most would agree it was worth every penny.
