From Irene McC Sent Sat, Oct 10th 1998, 19:42
From Irene McC Sent Sat, Oct 10th 1998, 19:42
MASSIVE ATTACK MEZZANINE TOUR Last night I donned my laminated VIP beetle/bug badge (sorry, but I just HAVE to glow :-) ), and after checking out the local support group Trans.Sky for half a song, came back to hover by the free drinks bar, sadly uninspired by what rates as one of our top acts. Much of the audience were too torpid to enter the hall and just stood outside or in the foyer during the first half. Just before the 9 o'clock scheduled starting time for Massive Attack, the pressure was on and I left the rest of my party sitting up at the top (mezzanine actually) special area and squashed my way through the crowd to about 5 rows from the stage (I just need to hug a bassbin). Reggae started pumping over the speakers and everybody's mood charged - the stage darkened and there it was ::: the unmistakable sub-sonics and throb of "Angel" and Horace Andy <the man!> right up there in front of me. WOW ! It was just like the day I brought home the CD unopened from the shop and pushed 'play' and heard the exact same sounds. What a RUSH <sorry>. There was a surprising number of people on stage - for what's reputedly a 3-piece band, there were 6 members onstage all the time. A huge cloud of ganja* just hung there in the air, people were lighting up where they stood (is this a South African 'thing' or does it happen this openly the world over??) *dope, grass, weed, spliff :-) There was a tangible feeling of general elation in the crowd, who greeted each new track with roaring enthusiasm. I didn't wait long to hear Man Next Door - which Horace delivered spot-on brilliantly. The female vocalist, while no Nicolette or indeed Liz Frazer, did the job adequately and I admired her lack of frantic antics - often just standing still allowing the lights to play on her. The lights were excellent, the sound tight, the material well chosen and flowing. My favourites were all there and I was happy to hear "Safe from Harm" and can't say I specifically missed anything vital from their back-catalogue.. They came back for two sets of encores, at the end of which one of them (dunno who's who?) came forward and shouted "you're terriffic" out to the audience. And he seemed to genuinely mean it :-) They played for just under two hours, going off a few minutes short of 11pm. An additional date (happening tonight) was announced on Friday morning, due to last night's only scheduled performance selling out completely. How much more accessible, real and interactively emotional this performance was compared to U2's overly slick-'n-plastic super stadium schlock-fest of the impersonally glossy PopMart tour. Now I've got a nasty blister from manic dancing in my big Cats, even though I was right up front and packed a bit tight to do "real" manic dancing ... Right, and now Cape Town's on stream for Chris de Burgh and Luther Vandross ... and crying because Michael Bolton cancelled due to a throat infection. Oh, and Janet Jackson's here too, this is quite the nexus of the universe- - - let it rip !! I * "just as long as my baby's safe from harm tonight"