They played at the Sound Academy in Toronto on May 7, 2010. The Sound Academy is a small venue in an industrial port. I partly walked there in the pouring rain and my clothes were soaked when I arrived, but that didn't discourage me. In fact, it helped make the night a bit of an odyssey.

I've been to six concerts in the last year and a half. This one was easily the most politically motivated. The singers didn't talk about it, but instead there were messages, quotes, and numbers on a digital background screen at least 60% of the time. They had to do with freedom, rendition, war, government, etc. It was up to date since Prime Minister Stephen Harper mentioned he wouldn't bring up abortion for the upcoming G8 summit, next month. It wasn't a bad thing that they did this, though. I liked that they mixed politics and music together. The audience members who weren't politically aware could take an interest. There was a lot of food for thought. It was just too bad I didn't bring a camera with a video recorder because I would've liked to re-watch sections of the screen, especially during "Girl I Love You" when prices of things, like one of the bank's bailouts, were shown.

The music itself was great and very loyal to the album versions. I don't own all of their albums, but I was familiar with most of the songs. Sometimes, they were dreamy, like "Teardrop"; dark and mystifying, like "Risingson" and "Future Proof"; and maybe you could say a combination, like "Atlas Air". That song had a globe, departure times, and flashing logos (during the lengthy instrumental ending) on the screen. It was the second to last song of the concert, but it would've been a terrific way to end it. "Karmacoma" did it, instead. "Happy Birthday to You" was then sung to the guest vocalist Martina Topley-Bird before the band departed. Not bad at all.

I was completely into it. Like any audience member, I clapped along, sang the lyrics, moved around, nodded my head, and threw my hands in the air. The digital background screen didn't compare to the awesomeness of the Nine Inch Nails concert in Hamilton, November 2008, but I can't complain. This Massive Attack concert was not only fun and energetic, but also thought provoking. One of the most interesting concerts I've been to.

9/10

[ View more in Music News ][ View all News & Blogs ]