Massive Attack

Debbie and I arrive fashionably late missing all the support bands except to catch what I assume is most of the set by Air which is a nice introduction to the gig and we recognise some stuff but it's not enough to keep us in the crowd so we wander off in search of other amusements. This is another festival taking over a park, well, some of Victoria Park, and the main stage is the only place with music as a big top is empty. Indeed the whole place seems less crowded than you'd expect at 9 pm. The best mobile festival chippie isn't here this year so we simply sit in the last of the sun sipping our drinks and people watching. Which is very interesting as a mix of young and old and mostly trendy with a sort of up market Windmill style. Debbie is of course looking her usual stylish self and I am sporting Harrington (of course), grey camo combat trousers and DM shoes (well, lookalikes) set off by Bruised Banana socks. With red cannon motif of course. By this time it's got very crowded and what were walk-in loos have long queues. I switch from lager to Debbie's rum and cokes.

Someone takes the stage to introduce Khalid Abdalla (actor, known by us, last seen in Nowhere at the Battersea Arts Centre) who gives a passionate plea to support the Palestinians in Gaza against the atrocities they are experiencing. For the second time in two weeks we are in a park with tens of thousands chanting Free Palestine. Soon enough Massive Attack take the stage to thank Khalid and then to treat us to a great set of classic tunes and a few I didn't know. Their style of trip hop with that great dub edge still sounds fresh and gets the crowd dancing and skanking with smiles and waving arms. The video show perfectly fits the psychedelic yet activist vibe. We are treated to a few songs sung by Massive Attack's long time collaborator the roots legend that is Horace Andy. A couple of others also guest vocals although I don't know who they are. A great rendition of Unfinished Sympathy though. A glorious ending and then they are off. And so are we for the usual soft shoe shuffle out of Victoria Park and down the road to Mile End tube. Debbie and I are surprisingly let onto the road by a steward but then stopped by others from getting into the tube so we are in no mans land on the Mile End Road. Debbie niftily dances round her steward and I tell the one manhandling me to lay off or I'll have them up for assault. A bit extreme but seems to work and I reach Debbie. Safer than having us out in the middle of the road. A good trip home despite the dire warnings by stewards near the festival that the Mile End tube is shut (it wasn't) and major delays on the Central and Northern lines (there weren't). So a great Friday evening and we were trying to remember where we'd both seen MA before. Maybe decades ago but my memory bank (blog) reminds me we saw them together at Bestival in 2009. Either they weren't on form then or we weren't in the mood as I wrote "back to main stage to see disappointing sets by MGMT and Massive Attack – both seemed low key and so did the audience – only the best known stuff seeming to get much reaction." So glad we saw them on form, and us too, this time around.

Some shots below including Khalid...