Massive
Just got back from Berkeley where I saw Massive Attack for the first time. They are one of my all time favorite bands, ever since I heard the track Unfinished Sympathy of the Blue Lines album. Yet, I have always missed their shows, always leaving the country too early or arriving too late - all until tonight when I finally got to see them.
More or less, that is. What with Massive Attack being down to two instead of three, and one of those two having just heard of the birth of his son, we were left with Robert Del Naja (aka "3D"). A quiet fellow he was basically shrouded in darkness most of the time and had an odd way of dancing that seemed to be basically punching and drumming in the air. I was surprised at the size of the band they brought on, but it worked out quite well. The were backlit by banks and banks of large LED's which undululated and hid the faces of the band. At the footlights they had a scrolling marquee with statistics comparing the Iraqi economy and our own, among other things. The net result was a bright sea washing over the faces of the crowd into the pines behind the amphitheatre.
The suprise of the show was DJ Shadow who opened for Massive Attack and (despite the "Bay Area's Own!" jingoism) was really good. I was quite impressed - unfortunately it's too late to really discuss any of it and I need to sleep.