Yahoo News Massive Attack 'so proud to be in Liverpool' as fans cheer at M&S Bank Arena
There's a thick haze in the arena as we make our way to our seats. You can sort of see that the floor is filling up, but trying to figure out if the stands opposite us are full or not is nigh on impossible.
What isn't difficult to work out is the air of anticipation, fans eagerly taking their places so they're ready for when Massive Attack appear on stage. The trip-hop legends are playing the second night of a very special event that's taking place in the city - The Act 1.5 Climate Action Accelerator.
Punk rockers IDLES kicked off the three-night Act 1.5 on Thursday, and the legendary Nile Rodgers will close out the event on Saturday. Act 1.5 aims to show that music events can be staged in an environmentally-sustainable way, using 100% renewable energy to fuel the shows, serving zero meat at the venue and encouraging fans to take public transport to the arena.
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The gigs are also a way of celebrating Liverpool being named the world’s first UN Accelerator City for climate action. Wanting to feel like we'd played our part, we jumped the train to Liverpool and walked the 15 or so minutes from James Street to the Kings Dock.
We sat down just as the giant screen behind the stage sprung to life, a litany of fantastical headlines running past, all read out in a robotic monotone. There's zombie squirrels, lettuce raincoats, glow-in-the-dark moss, alligators in the Mersey, and Kerry Katona then the voice falls silent, the lights dim and the band appears.
Launching straight into Risingson, the smoky haze lifting from the floor to reveal a deceptively simplistic stage set-up. Robert Del Naja's voice sounds as good as it did when I first heard this song on the band's incredible Mezzanine album - which is now, depressingly, 26 years old.
As the song ends there's a brief interlude, Robert thanking the crowd for coming out and saying just how proud the band are to be in Liverpool tonight. There's cheers of appreciation, and then the stage is bathed in red and reggae legend Horace Andy joins the group.
He launches into Girl I Love You with an effortless grace, the screen behind him teeming with red words that move so fast I struggle to read them - stupidly leaving my glasses at home didn't help the situation either. The track ends with the screen filled with images of individuals in the crowd, mocked up as CCTV surveillance images, captions above the footage declaring people to be "lively", "reliable", "prepper", "fossil hunter" and a myriad of other things.
The next guest to join them on stage is Elizabeth Fraser to perform Black Milk, images of Gaza and Ukraine before the respective conflicts broke out initially playing behind her, interspersed with video of bombs being made and ending in scenes of heartbreaking devastation.
The next guests on stage are Scottish hip-hop stars Young Fathers, who perform Gone, Minipoppa and Voodoo in My Blood. Elizabeth Fraser returns to perform a cover of Tim Buckley's Song to the Siren, and then Robert is back on vocals for Inertia Creeps, and a lively cover of Ultravox's Rockwrok, before Horace Andy returns to belt out Angel.
For this song, even sat in the upper tiers I can feel the bass pounding against my chest. I can only imagine how intense it must have been for the hundreds of brave souls standing in front of the stage.
Massive Attack have never shied away when it comes to being vocal on issues such as the climate crisis, human rights violations and overall injustice, and their activism is at the very heart of the arena show. Del Naja said: "We dedicate this next song to the Palestinian people, we will never stop protesting until there is a free Palestine and justice for the Palestinian people."
The band launches into Safe From Harm, featuring the incredible Deborah Miller, stats and figures about the ongoing Gaza conflict and the history behind it playing out on the screen behind the stage - it's a powerful combination. But they don't stop there, flowing straight into Unfinished Sympathy, a track that has the arena on its feet.
A sea of phones record the performance, as Deborah Miller's incredible voice fills the arena. It's a song which always gives me a frisson, my skin tingling as the music washes over me, and hearing the song live has the same effect. It's an incredible experience.
Karmacoma and Teardrop are next on the cards, followed by a cover of Avicii's Levels, which segues into Group Four, a visual assault of images and light bombarding the crowd for what feels like ages, abruptly stopping, and plunging the arena into darkness.
The gig has a self-imposed 10pm curfew, designed to give fans plenty of time to make their way home via public transport, so when the band leave the stage to roars and thunderous applause, the audience knows there's no point in calling for an encore. Considering Massive Attack only returned to playing live this summer - having taken a five-year break - it was a remarkably slick show.
Part concert, part art installation, it was a stunning evening of entertainment and hopefully one that will help to shape how the future of live music looks in the UK.
