Massive Attack
Live @ Fiesta - Roma 21/07/06

The Massive Attack are not stars but musicians and, first and foremost, normal people. While waiting to enter, in front of the Fiesta gates, I find them walking among the crowd dressed in t-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops, amused as they stop to observe the stands of Neapolitans with non-original t-shirts reproducing their logo, and they buy a good quantity, knowing that the sellers have not recognized them. A real gem!!

Once inside the arena, I can see the attendance is good; it's not overcrowded, but all spaces are occupied, about 10,000 people. A DJ is responsible for warming up the crowd, playing records for at least half an hour. Around 10.15 PM, the Bristol band takes the stage, and I expect a concert with a slow, relaxed pace, different from the usual show where everyone sings and jumps, but where the body sways and the brain travels hypnotized by the sounds and lights.
And so it will be, the acoustics are good, and the instruments are well distinguished. The choreography, although simple, is very effective, trying to make the most of the towers behind the band, which form infinite compositions of light that often hypnotize you. The references for the setlist are the latest 'Collected' and naturally 'Mezzanine'.

Del Naja and co. take turns at the microphone presenting their tracks that mostly defined their genre as trip-hop: "Angel”, ”Teardrop”, “Inertia Creeps”, “Karmacoma”, “Unfinished Symphony”, “Safe from Harm”, “Risingson”, “Mezzanine”, “Butterfly Caught”…. “Black Milk” is presented in the new 'Collected' version, although I prefer the original version contained in “Mezzanine”.

The live impact is different compared to the studio sound; there are fewer samples because on stage there is a real band, guitar – bass - drums and percussion, which make the sound with rock tinges and more direct allowing to play with dynamics. Del Naja on stage is the one who tries the most to entertain the audience, even flaunting some phrases in Italian, and indeed, unlike many foreign stars, he «apologizes to the audience for not being able to speak our language enough!»
The concert is very linear, with no particular drops in tension, and MA take advantage of it to express their dissent for the war in Iraq and the one erupting in Lebanon-Israel, flashing different numbers on the screens that provide an idea of the damage caused by each war (number of civilian deaths, economic damages, etc.).

Taking advantage of our world celebration hangover, they honor us by lighting the panels with the colors of the Italian flag and the words “Italia Campione Del Mondo”, well received by those present... even if when they try to raise the chorus po po po po po poo, few follow them, because we really can’t take it anymore!!! To close the concert, another piece from “Mezzanine”, Group Four, beautiful, and in this case very intense, with the relentless ending, faster and faster, almost wanting to suck you into a vortex.
They say goodbye and leave, knowing they have done their job well. For those like me who expected a “quiet” concert, where the dictum was to abandon mind and body to hypnotic rhythms and lights, dancing slowly, went home satisfied.

Those who wanted to jump, mosh or scream at the top of their lungs... perhaps picked the wrong concert.