Massive Attack at Lido Festival
Lido Festival started its first year at Victoria Park with the legendary trip-hop and electronic band Massive Attack being the headliners for the opening day; they are best known for their universally acclaimed 1998 record Mezzanine, which was lauded as one of the best albums of the 1990s and even by some as one of the greatest and most influential of all time. Despite having not released an album since 2010’s Heligoland, the band still has a die-hard and loyal fanbase.
Their support acts included the French electronic duo Air, conscious hip-hop artist Yassin Bey, the English singer-songwriter Tirzah and the Palestinian electronic group 47Soul. The strong lineup created the anticipation for a day of incredible vibes full of entertainment.
Massive Attack, who are lauded for their unwavering support of Palestine, commenced the evening on a sombre, yet particularly important note by displaying a two-minute video on the big screen on stage highlighting the suffering of the Palestinian people including statistics on the death toll, amount of people displaced as a result of the bombs that are given by Western governments, homes and hospitals destroyed by bombs and the humanitarian crisis which has led to a vast majority of their population unable to feed themselves. They also debuted their collaboration with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, with all donations going towards the movement. The band led chants of “Free Palestine!” to which everyone in the crowd joined. The band dedicated every song performed towards the people of Palestine.
Massive Attack reminded us that they are not just socially conscious but are also a colossal force as musicians with a stunning cover performance of Gigi D’Agostino’s In My Mind, and the audience were emphatically dancing along and pumping their fists. The crowd was immersed in a dark yet introspective atmosphere when the psychedelic and trippy Black Milk was performed, with Elizabeth Fraser using her signature breathy vocals to convey the feeling of an altered state of consciousness while dealing with the theme of love. During the performances of songs and during interludes, the band continuously showed images of people suffering from genocide in Palestine, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan on the big screen, then even made the crowd laugh by showing conspiracy theories on the big screen.
Fraser had another impressive performance with her cover of Tim Buckley’s Song to the Siren, a tale of destructive love. Other memorable moments of the evening included: Yassin Bey’s enthusiastic performance of I Against I, a collaboration with Massive Attack about internal conflict and struggles, which he performed for the first time since 2018, Massive Attack paying homage to the late, great Avicii with a cover of his song Levels Deborah Miller showcasing her incredible vocal capabilities by belting and maintaining a high note for around 10 seconds while performing Unfinished Sympathy and the performance of their biggest song to date Angel with Horace Andy received the biggest ovation.
The show’s production was fantastic, the lighting and smoke on the stage were well-presented, the mixing of the vocals and the instruments were done to perfection meaning that the vocals were clean and audible, while vocal effects such as delays and echoes were used, everything was performed live in its original key and with minimal pitch correction. Each instrument played had clarity, and the wide screens ensured that audience members towards the back could see a close-up of the performers in action, and most importantly, there were no technical issues that affected how the evening ran.
If there was a complaint, it would be that four of the 15 songs in the setlist were cover songs and that seven of those 15 songs included collaborations with other artists, playing only four songs exclusively involving the band members, a surprise for music artists with an impressive catalogue. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable evening for all involved and Massive Attack proved that political and socially-conscious messages can be executed alongside fantastic musical performances to not only give everyone an enjoyable show but to also educate those in the crowd and people that would inevitably see the videos on social media about the atrocities in Palestine and Congo, raising awareness to try and affect positive change, something that the group are passionate about doing.
Glory Matondo
Photos: Miguel de Melo
For further information and future events, visit Massive Attack’s website here.
Watch the video for the single Teardrop here:
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