MASSIVE ATTACK: A LIVE SHOW BLENDING MUSIC AND POLITICAL COMMENTARY, FROM FAKE NEWS TO PALESTINE

Gorizia, Italy – Massive Attack has concluded their Italian tour dates, wrapping up in Gorizia as part of the major international concerts for Go!2025, Nova Gorica-Gorizia European Capital of Culture. Their performances have been a powerful fusion of their signature trip-hop sound and urgent political messaging.

Gorizia Concert Draws Over 7,000

Over 7,000 people gathered to witness their show in Piazzale Casa Rossa, Gorizia, and Massive Attack did not disappoint. Despite 15 years having passed since the Bristol band released a full album (with the exception of a 2016 EP), their live performance feels remarkably current. This holds true for their music—the dark, slow, enveloping bass-driven trip-hop they pioneered in the nineties—as well as their potent political message.

On the large screen behind Robert "3D" Del Naja, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Elizabeth Fraser, Horace Andy, Shara Nelson, and five session musicians, the audience was confronted with archival footage, AI-generated videos, algorithmic codes, direct questions, and stark messages that underscored the urgency of taking a stand.

From Fake News to Gaza: Addressing Current Affairs

The Massive Attack concert truly came alive after a screening of a Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) commercial. "Who are you?" "What is reality?" "Is nature chaotic or orderly?" Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall asked as they opened the show.

This was followed by a barrage of headlines featuring names of musicians and Hollywood stars, but not related to their art; instead, they referenced personal affairs or gossip, blurring into random letters and symbols to emphasize their emptiness. Then came a direct attack on the powerful (primarily Trump, Putin, Netanyahu, and Musk with his Neuralink experiments) and offshore entities, showing how they control people's lives, sometimes in unexpected ways.

The focus then shifted to war, first in Ukraine, but most prominently on Gaza. A massive Palestinian flag dominated the screen, followed by a raw and stark display of the conflict's staggering numbers: how many dead, how many schools and hospitals destroyed, how many bombs dropped, how much money spent and financed by the British and American governments. A seemingly endless tally, with figures already incredibly high and destined to rise.

The Setlist

Massive Attack's live performance primarily featured more recent tracks, though iconic songs from their earlier albums, such as "Risingson," "Angel," "Unfinished Sympathy," and "Teardrop," were not omitted. The concert opened with an almost unrecognizable version of Gigi D'Agostino's "In My Mind" (which also served as the closing track). This wasn't the only cover, as the band also performed versions of Avicii's "Levels," Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren," and Ultravox's "Rockwrok."

Here's the full setlist:

• In My Mind
• Risingson
• Girl I Love You
• Black Milk
• Take It There
• Future Proof
• Song to the Siren
• Inertia Creeps
• Rockwrok
• Angel
• Safe From Harm
• Unfinished Sympathy
• Levels
• Teardrop
• Group Four
• In My Mind