The purveyors of Act 1.5, a new climate change festival, and sonic activists Massive Attack brought their attention to Liverpool for the first time this past Friday, but will their groundbreaking performance be enough?
Purveyors of Act 1.5, a new climate change festival series, and legendary trip-hop activists Massive Attack brought their sonic dispatches to Liverpool, but I’m not quite sure that their visceral communiqués will hit in a city so lost within itself.
Massive Attack have been spreading their voice, as loud as the disrespect that their messages voice against, for over thirty years, and oddly enough, haven’t played Liverpool before tonight.
Their Act 1.5, coinciding with the UN claiming Liverpool as an “Accelerator City“, is a shot in the dark, their attempt to keep the band’s impact going with climate action that is sorely needed in the UK.
Whether or not Liverpool will be a catalyst for climate change in the UK remains to be seen, but shows that focus on renewable energy to run, timings to suit local transport, and efforts to stop waste, are really something that should be begged to continue on, and get louder.
However, it’s not specifically Massive Attack‘s climate action in Liverpool that sparked something here; it’s the act’s incendiary performance itself that asked questions of the city that many maybe aren’t comfortable asking.
Massive Attack are notably the first band that’s following the UN‘s Race to Zero idea, as all of their performances follow the Paris Agreement’s 1.5° de-carbonization measures, something that they’re strong on, a keystone to Act 1.5‘s creation and goal, and the UN‘s declaration of Liverpool being an Accelerator City is tied to the idea that the city can be at the forefront of de-carbonization of much of the entertainment and live music industry within the city.
That allows the pondering of the first question here; what industry? If I’m being honest and frankly, a little cynical, it will work like a charm to de-carbonize live music in the city where it’s struggling to exist.
The UN Climate Change’s Entertainment and Culture for Climate Action (ECCA) programme has specifically chosen Liverpool for the task, all because of its rather laughable moniker of “Liverpool Music City“.
Climate Action has to be taken in all areas of the city, but the idea of using “music-washing”, as if Trojan Horsing climate action inside arena gigs may do the trick, is a bit absurd.
Liverpool, once a supposed bastion of creativity and rebellion, now claps along to cover bands while the arts suffocate silently. The UNESCO City of Music title? It’s about as authentic as the grass in Chavasse Park.
Again, it will be fine to do this when the North West has suffered the most venue closures of the year, and weekend slots at the surviving shrines are taken by tribute acts like The Fillers, or Guns 2 Roses (which no shame on them; but there’s a serious problem when the city’s locals will go see a fake Axl Rose over any touring young band).
Perhaps we can find a way to utilize the UN‘s ECCA program or our newfound Accelerator City status for our next “we did Eurovision once” 3rd anniversary concert on the Pier Head, or maybe a way that we can capitalize on The Beatles again?
Even before they reached the stage, the visuals began, decoded messages touting fake headlines that showcase our society’s fallback on mixed messages and faux information. You immediately get the sense that tonight is something else; you’re not simply here to watch an artist perform for an hour and return to your life afterwards, there’s something in the water.
“Risingson” opens; that’s the signature sound out of the gate, and it sounds so great, and amongst that, within the first few songs of their set, you’re in Massive Attack‘s collective space, with early introductions to collaborators such as Horace Andy (“Girl I Love You“), and of course, the ethereal Elizabeth Fraser (“Black Milk“).
The collective that are the inhabitants of Massive Attack‘s creative world are truly out in force, as shown by Young Fathers‘ back-to-back-to-back attacks of brilliance that are genuine.
It’s been nearly a decade since Massive Attack have released anything, the aforementioned Young Fathers collaborations being close to the last thing they dropped, but that really doesn’t matter if you’ve got something to say.
They do.
Tonight really shows how unique and special Massive Attack truly are; dancing between powerful missives, and ethereal anthems, “Voodoo in my Blood“, “Karmacoma“, slices of unusual rolls like Ultravox‘s “Rockwrok“, Avicii‘s “Levels“, and of course, Elizabeth Fraser‘s otherworldly “Teardrop” execution, and Deborah Miller‘s lush “Unfinished Sympathy” take.
Massive Attack noted weeks before about their work with the Paris De-Carbonization policy, stripping their production back, being able to travel much lighter, which you could think may expose them in a large venue like the M&S Bank Arena, but it works.
The band’s set-up, including all their instrumentation, two drum kits, electronics, and a simplistic light-based visual screen behind them, really works tightly and brings home the point of tonight.
If anything, it’s a point that they really believe in the cause and their actions.
They’ve always refused to remain in a box, and live, they show every side of themselves, a candle in the dark, brought together with their engaging and warning visuals.
Del Naja once said on climate action in the industry that we don’t need talk, we need action. That feels indicative of the band’s overall live identity rather than that one point.
Their sound, iconic and breathtaking, is backed by the band’s multimedia assault, crafted with filmmaker Adam Curtis and the United Visual Artists collective, with the results being aggressive, meaningful and important.
The visuals sparking thoughts on Gaza, Ukraine, even Bosnia, are there to try to reason with people’s foregone conclusions that everything is fine. It’s not, clearly.
But that’s something else; you’d think that Liverpool would get it, right? You would think that if anywhere in the world that Massive Attack‘s voice would echo the loudest, it would be us, but that plays a little sour with me.
Outside the confines of this venue, Liverpool‘s self-proclaimed “socialist” identity crumbles faster than the closed doors of Jimmy’s and Melodic Distraction.
The city that once wore its leftist heart on its sleeve now flirts with Reform UK, leaving Massive Attack‘s message echoing in a void of indifference.
Liverpool is a city of myth and contradictions. There’s a belief that we fight for the working class, yell fuck the Tories, help anyone in need, a haven for the arts and those who come off boats in search of something in a city like this.
It’s bullshit in 2024. It’s a city that allowed the burning of libraries in poor Walton, allowed riots based on racial identity, allowed Reform UK to get 2nd in the General Election. It’s a city that chants for Mo Salah, the Pride of the Arabs, whilst simultaneously allows hate for immigrants and Muslims.
In fact, the only real questioning of Massive Attack‘s tactical game here is the irony of feeling sensitive to the current state of Palestine.
Massive Attack‘s messages are one of hope that one day Palestine will be saved and will be free, the folks on the floor with the Palestine flag are adding,
It’s the right stance, Palestine‘s plight from its enduring politicide and genocide at the hands of the illegally occupying Israel is felt daily, the message cannot slow down, and artists such as Massive Attack are doing their part, but again, it is ironic with the message so loud and vivid being brought to you live in a venue that’s sponsored by M&S, a brand whose history is directly tied with Zionism so much that one of its fundamental objectives of M&S is to aid the economic development of Israel.
Champions of Palestinian rights, performing in a shrine to Zionist commerce, trying to ignite a spark in a city that’s forgotten how to burn bright. It’s enough to make you question reality, or at least your choice of gig venues. I mean, it’s a fair point when it was only a few years ago that Massive Attack decided to back away from the Liverpool Act 1.5 date due to the venue next door having an Arms Trade Fair, yet here we are.
After “Karmacoma“, and “Teardrop“, the show felt as if it went past a logical conclusion, adding in a sliver of Avicii‘s “Levels“, “Group Four” (again with Fraser), and their closer, “In My Mind“, their own take on Dynoro and Gigi D’Agostino‘s version of the song.
It all concludes before 10pm, as promised by the Act 1.5 guidelines, a promise to hold us to take public transport. If I’m being honest as someone in their late 20s, concerts ending at 10pm is a wonderful sight. I wouldn’t say no to a Mezzanine matinee.
Although, as it concludes, I’m left thinking that Massive Attack‘s message bounced around a city more concerned with its past than its future, where “socialist” is just another marketing term, and the spirit of rebellion has been neatly packaged and sold off to the highest bidder.
As the lights came up and the crowd shuffled out, you couldn’t help but wonder: was this a concert, or a eulogy for a city’s soul?
If anyone could lead the prayer for Liverpool’s identity, I wouldn’t have wished for anyone other than Massive Attack?
SOUNDS FROM NOWHERE 
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