Massive AttackMassive Attack’s arrival in Australia has come with a bang, leaving the audience of 9,000 with a lot to digest.
16 years since their last Australian tour, it’s fair to say they come with a sole mission: using their responsibility as artists to make an impact. From the moment they began their set, the three large screens behind the stage were an assault on the senses, showing the depravities taking place around the world.
Massive Attack were not simply planting the idea of corruption, greed and carnage; they were downright beating it into us.
It might be too earnest to say that real art should make you feel something, but there was undoubted impact made in Brisbane last night. When the final track Teardrop ended, and the audience began to spill out, you could catch conversations about how they thought the show was, with debate, support and blatant shock rippling through.
Questions about whether there should have been trigger warnings, consent from the audience, and frustration for those who “just wanted to escape and enjoy one of my favourite bands.”
Although anyone disappointed with how politically charged the show was may not be familiar with how Massive Attack actually started and what they have stood for from the jump. They first formed in 1988 and mainstream music was straight onto them, pressuring them to change their name to simply Massive as the Gulf War was still in the minds of the world.
This might have been a pivotal moment in their political stance, emboldening them to go on to protest loudly against the 2003 Iraq war. In recent years they have been heavily connected to the Free Palestine movement, but this is nothing new, as Massive Attack has refused to play in Israel since the ‘90s and appears to help organise benefit efforts for medical aid in Gaza.
Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter
While the current political climate, which encompasses the bombing of Iran and horrors seen in Gaza, there were many other areas that the group took aim at through the show. Ozempic, climate change, the algorithm, clickbait, and the droning trends seen on TikTok… there wasn’t much respite between these strong, pointed statements.
Palantir Technologies (the US software company that builds data‑integration and AI analytics platforms used by government agencies) was another key focus of the show, informing the audience of their purpose and the blatant power they hold in surveillance and targeting individuals.
Their first song, In My Mind, was paired with an incredible demonstration of this, when the black screen showed a basic coding output, asking the computer to find individuals meeting a range of descriptions.
These included people standing too still, people with face piercings, people with tattoos on their neck, people taking selfies, people screaming, and so on, with many more not included here. And then, to the shock of the audience, those characteristics were targeted within the crowd and then their faces were on the screen with a red square around them and their identifying attributes attached to their picture with bold text.
They then took it a step further with a giant globe filling the screen and showing where the Palantir head office is and where all the Equity fund managers that have invested in the software reside.
It was a sober realisation that every single country had a private financial stake in this ubiquitous software which is being used at Coles and Woolworths, and God knows where else.
Of course, the music was the reason we were there, and it did not disappoint. 3D and Daddy G did not communicate with the audience much beyond thanking them for coming and saying Free Palestine many times over.
When performing, they were kept shrouded in darkness, with their silhouettes seen against the large screens – a notable point in making sure their message was the focal point and not them. When their long-time collaborators took the stage, the screens were more generic in their designs and far less flammable.
In My Mind was the first song played, setting the scene and demonstrating that an entertainment centre is the perfect venue for a trip hop show. Black Milk was a show-stopping performance from Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Fraser, with 3D welcoming her to the stage with huge applause.
Fraser also performed Song To The Siren, Group Four, and the final song of the show, the immaculate Teardrop. Inertia Creeps was a memorable performance, due in part by the utilisation of the stage and performers, but it was also felt heavy with the meaning of the song tied to toxic relationships and apathy.
Deborah Miller’s vocals on Unfinished Sympathy were absolutely beautiful, as she swayed on stage with a tambourine and sang beautifully to a song that has meant so much to so many.
Massive Attack fever has been high since they first formed, with many stating they formed the Bristol music scene and created trip hop as a genre in of itself.
With their acclaimed five records, they have a timeless value. Their last record, Heligoland, was released in 2010, followed by a global tour. Unfinished Sympathy has also been voted Greatest Song of All Time in an NME poll.
At no point did two players ever stand under a light or within a clear vision at any point. They truly melted into the four grounds shrouded in darkness with only the silhouette scene against the giant screens.
They have forwarded their collaborators a place on stage that was well lit, but for themselves they were dedicated to stepping back and putting forward their message instead.
To say that the Massive Attack show was not for the faint-hearted would be a gross understatement. It would be fair to say that they have chosen to tour to impact their message on the masses, given that they have no music out and the force and production value with which they have woven.
As a result, this narrative almost made the music secondary.
