Massive Attack are back, and Wednesday night played their first show since their two-night stand at NYC’s Radio City Music Hall in 2019. It was also their first show since the death of guitarist Angelo Bruschini. The concert happened in Gothenburg, Sweden at the Gothenburg Film Studios and they had a few old friends join them for the show, including Elizabeth Fraser and Horace Andy, and Young Fathers.
Of course, with Fraser on hand — she’s married to Massive Attack drummer Damon Reece — they performed “Teardrop,” their best-known song, and “Black Milk” and “Group Four” (also from Mezzanine) but they pulled out an amazing surprise early in the set by covering “Song to the Siren” which is originally by Tim Buckley but the most famous version is This Mortal Coil’s 1983’s cover which featured Fraser and her Cocteau Twins bandmate Robin Guthrie. It was the first time they’ve ever done that together and you can watch a short clip of that below. Lets hope a full video turns up.
UPDATE: While full video of “Song to the Siren” from Sweden hasn’t materialized, you can watch Song to the Siren from Denmark’s Northside Festival:
Horace Andy came out for “Hymn of the Big Wheel,” and “Angel,” Young Fathers were on hand for “Voodoo in My Blood,” while longtime live member Deborah Miller joined to sing on Blue Lines‘ “Unfinished Sympathy” and “Safe From Harm.” Before “Safe from Harm,” 3D (Robert Del Naja) said, “Traditionally this is a song of protest, tonight it is a song of solidarity with the Palestinian people.”
Some of the video projections at the show were made frequent collaborator and filmmaker Adam Curtis. Watch clips from the Gothenburg show, and check out the setlist, below.
Massive Attack are playing EU/UK dates this summer, including a show in their hometown of Bristol on August 25 with Killer Mike, Lankum, and more. Current dates are listed below.
SETLIST: MASSIVE ATTACK @ GOTHENBURG FILM STUDIO 6/5/2024
Risingson
Girl I Love You (with Horace Andy)
Black Milk (with Elizabeth Fraser)
Hymn of the Big Wheel (with Horace Andy)
Take It There
Future Proof
Voodoo in My Blood (with Young Fathers)
Song to the Siren (Tim Buckley cover) (with Elizabeth Fraser)
Inertia Creeps
ROckwrok (Ultravox cover)
Angel (with Horace Andy)
Safe From Harm (with Deborah Miller)
Unfinished Sympathy (with Deborah Miller)
Karmacoma
Teardrop (with Elizabeth Fraser) (Intro)
Levels (Avicii cover)
Group Four (with Elizabeth Fraser)
Massive Attack – 2024 Tour Dates
13 JUN 2024 Oslo, Norway Piknik i Parken
15 JUN 2024 Stockholm, Sweden Rosendal Garden Party
27 JUN 2024 Tilburg, Netherlands Spoorpark Tilburg
7 JUL 2024 Hérouville-Saint-Clair, France Chateau De Beauregard
13 JUL 2024 Mantova, Italy Piazza Sordello di Mantova
15 JUL 2024 Montreux, Switzerland Montreux Jazz Festival
20 JUL 2024 Bontida, Romania EC10
23 JUL 2024 İstanbul, Turkey Parkorman
10 AUG 2024 Lokeren, Belgium Lokerse Feesten
21 AUG 2024 Saint-Cloud, France Rock En Seine
24 AUG 2024 Saint-Cloud, France Rock en Seine
24 AUG 2024 Saint Cloud, Mauritius Domaine de Saint-Cloud
25 AUG 2024 Bristol, United Kingdom Clifton Downs
29 AUG 2024 Lisbon, Portugal MEO Kalorama
02 SEP 2024 Torino, Italy TODAYS Festival