Massive Attack, 3 Arena, 24th Feb 2019

threein99 wrote:

People yapping at gigs is ahead of global warming as the single biggest wrong committed by our generation.

Worse than camera phones?

Very dissappointing gig, was up near top and vocals were way too low....it lacked something, my second favourite band ever but last night was pretty poor overall....

thought it was average at best, sound was pretty good where we were though. Sadly we were seating and had a bunch of people talking ****e throughout. Conversation ranged from what drugs they used to take and the grapes of wrath ? They spilled a two drinks on the people in front of them also. Absolute ass hats.

If you read the comments on the Guardian review I posted yesterday, they're very much a mixed bag..

Oh please. I’ve had enough of these sycophantic reviews praising utter pretentiousness. The gig was tone deaf, visually void, and painfully impersonal. They totally missed the mark. My romance with Mezzanine will forever be a late-night lounge affair. The album has always been, and will always be, a twisted midnight tryst; it’s for a particular moment and a particular feeling. Neither were etched upon Friday night. Naturally, the crowd were totally unengaged. Which, combined with the OTT lighting, led to a paradoxical nightmarish boredom and eventual chitter chatter.

You're wrong, you know. It really was a stroke of genius. One of the best gigs I've ever been to. For me Massive Attack have always been about taking risks. Each new album, with the possible exception of Protection, gave you something new, something ahead of its time. It would always have been easy to just go with something that kept people happy, more of the same (like just playing the album the way it is on record would have been). Instead, they've always pushed things, and led the way instead of following. They did it again on Friday. The sound was intense, the moments completely immersive

Sorry to hear so many were disappointed, but hoping I'll be in the latter camp after seeing them Friday..

can they not make an announcement on the big screen before gigs?? like they do in cinemas

"Patrons please refrain from talking loudly during performance and switch off all mobile phones, thank you"

*and in addition to that close the bar when artists are performing...

...and if people don't like it and act up... chuck them out

Lotus Flower wrote: »

Pity there's a lot of people disappointed. The music for me was brilliant, loved the cover of Bela Lugosi's dead

Thought it was fantastic myself. And that version of Group 4 at the end, Wow!

^^^^^^^^^^^^

make the announcement serious or comical i don't care as long as they get the message across

its getting beyond a joke now

Ken Tucky wrote: »

Yep it was epic. Then they just walked off lol!

Im glad i went but will look forward to the next time they play an 'ordinary' gig.

F*ck it, just decided that it was great.

I'm not directing this to you but...a lot of people didn't seem to realise that it's a structured show. One girl in the beer queue in front of me was showing her friend the video for 'Unfinished Sympathy' (had her friend never heard Massive Attack?)
and I nearly said that they weren't going to play it.

Some aul fella and his dolly bird were asking us if we enjoyed it on the way out (we thoroughly did) and he was complaining about the lack of interaction/encore.

Half jokingly I told him to go see Nathan Carter next time instead. :pac:

Massive Attack review: Elizabeth Fraser shines amid the paranoia and late-night alienation

4 star review in the Irish Times..

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/massive-attack-review-elizabeth-fraser-shines-amid-the-paranoia-and-late-night-alienation-1.3804639?

Spot on. I was sitting right up at the back and the sound was terrible from the start. Almost impossible to hear any of the vocals throughout.

And as for the assholes chatting and climbing in and out all night to stock up on their gargle.....especially the 3 30-something males right in front of me who spent the entire evening talking, laughing and "playing the air-drums" .....why bother spending money on tickets if that's what you're going to do for the duration of the show?

THe concept of the show was great but sadly let down by very poor acoustics and too many liggers who really should have spent their sunday night somewhere else.

I went to this with my brother. We drove down from Donegal for it. I loved it, but there seemed to be an awful load of a**holes there alright. Between people ferrying drink like it was their last day on earth (and if they drank enough, it might just save them!), thru the 'could hardly stand up' drunk and thru the ubiquitous slabberers as alluded to above, there were a lot of distractions. I did really enjoy the vibes, the visuals (thought provoking) and the ethereal vocals of Liz Fraser. And, to be honest, having driven from Donegal, it's a great venue to get to. Very convenient.

just seeing this thread now..

I was at the gig too last night - was soo looking forward to this but overall I left feeling v underwhelmed.. wasn't at all what I was expecting.. the ending was so abrupt - i couldn't believe it was over.. would have preferred a different running order - maybe with Mezzanine at the end.. I dunno - something with a crescendo.. the whole thing felt v disjointed.. didn't gather momentum at all.. for me..

I was standing near the back... vocals were great but overall not loud enough..

I get what they are doing in terms of looking back at what has happened since making the album - but found it v indulgent of them.. it wasn't a gig for the fans.. it was for them.. more avant garde than nostalgia..

I loved the covers - gave a bit of dimension to the album but it didn't feel like a celebration of same.. left feeling v sad actually.. for sure the footage was thought provoking but I don't think it was the time or place for it..

I dunno - I liked elements of the gig (Liz's vocals were unreal) but like I said, left feeling rather sad and underwhelmed..

I think having a United Liverpool match earlier in the day may have led to a few groups having too much to drink.

I thought it was a very disappointing gig, very self indulgent. You can do self indulgent if you're playing to uber fans in a small venue, but asking people (like myself) to pay for a show in the Point is taking the p**s - I'm not going to spend weeks researching their backstory, I came to be entertained.

The strobe lights were excessive and tried to make up for the lack of excitement in the music. The vocals were barely audible. The band made a good stab at getting some excitement going.

I haven't a clue what the message was supposed to be in the movie, but I'm sat in the 3Arena after paying a good bit for a ticket, drinking 7 quid beers, and they're flogging t-shirts upstairs. If they'd sold a 50 quid tshirt with "down with capitalism" I wouldn't have been surprised. Some **** about data, I don't know.

I like how the crowd hopped up at the end, just in case someone tried to ask for an encore few of us wanted.

i was disappointed.

There was no support and their own set was less than 1hr 30min with no encore
visuals were awful cringeworthy ****e---
i questioned the amount that was actually played live.
Sound was ok but vocals too low in places

i was left emotionally empty from the experience which is strange because its one of my favorite albums ever.

This is a money making tour pure and simple using contrived political statements to appear edgy...which the band don't really give a ****e about anymore.

hmmm wrote: »

I think having a United Liverpool match earlier in the day may have led to a few groups having too much to drink.

I thought it was a very disappointing gig, very self indulgent. You can do self indulgent if you're playing to uber fans in a small venue, but asking people (like myself) to pay for a show in the Point is taking the p**s - I'm not going to spend weeks researching their backstory, I came to be entertained.

.

But to be fair, It was never billed as a greatest hits show, it was very clearly labelled a Mezzanine 21st anniversary show.