Beck's Fusions - Castlefield Arena - 05/09/08 - 06/09/08 by
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Beneath the back drop of industrial
Manchester complete with its old factories and train
lines a gathering of like minded people took place all
bound by a common love of music in whichever form it
happened to take from DJ’s to live acts to a mixture
of the two. God and Mother Nature also seem to be music
fans to as the torrential rain that had plagued the
city stopped once the main acts of the festival began
to weave their magic for the sheer entertainment of
a slightly disappointing audience, but those made the
effort would have more than got their moneys worth,
if the tickets hadn’t have been free!
Due to circumstances beyond organisers control Sonny
J’s live set was unable to be given to an audience who
had created an atmosphere of relaxed anticipation for
the evenings events. Despite the no show Sonny J’s replacement
Cassette Jam DJ’s more than made up for the absence
with a set including Justice’s DVNO and Kasabian’s LSF.
Fusions wasn’t only about the music as an array of things
not usually seen at festivals such as a hut made entirely
of old front doors, a post office and several modern
art installations proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Back to the music, The Presets took to the stage clad
in pastel colour blazers which coupled with their love
of driving beats could possibly see them over take Klaxons
as Britain’s premier dance band, or if not that an electro
Ting Tings, who knew 2 guys, a drum kit and a key board
could be so joyous. With a drummer who bares more than
a passing resemblance to Ex West Ham midfielder Michael
Hughes and a front man who could announce boxing matches
they appeal to those who appreciate the more surreal
side of life.
One track begged the question ‘are you there?’ and those
who were able to answer yes to the aforementioned rhetorical
question they will remember an outstanding set for some
time to come, especially a some what manic couple who
danced the whole way through as if not entirely in control
of their own limbs. No finer example of two men in musical
harmony together has surely ever been witnessed, they
were having the time of their lives and their enthusiasm
spread to the gathered masses.
Once The Presets had left the stage to riotous applause,
anticipation for Hercules and Love Affair reached fever
pitch. Unfortunately for all congregated in the picturesque
venue the Americans failed to live up to the standard
set by the proceeding act, seeming going through the
motions. Where The Presets had energy and virality,
Hercules and Love Affair whined monotonously through
an uninspiring show verging on boring, to be fair they
may have been jet lagged but even in that case they
were still unworthy headliners.This weeks NME suggest
that ‘everyone was talking about’ them, presumably the
majority of conversations centred on how disappointing
they were given the hype that had built up around them.
Saturday night saw a much larger crowd turn up, which was hardly surprising with Massive Attack headlining and playing their first Manchester show for the first time in years. It was billed as United Visual Artists vs Massive Attack, to fit in with the whole Fusions theme, but seeing how UVA have been doing the visuals for their tours for years, it would have to be something special to live up to the extra billing. To be honest, it wasn't particularly, and other than some arty stuff projected onto a screen at the start, it could have been any gig, which could have been a little disappointing.
Of course, it wasn't, because, as well as being free, it was still Massive Attack playing live, and a great opportunity to see them in relatively close quarters, playing all of their classic tracks plus a whole load of very impressive-sounding new material. It's been a long time since they released the slightly tepid 100th Window, so it's encouraging to hear so much new stuff that sounds like they've really got their mojo back, which has to be put down to the increased input of Grantley 'Daddy G' Marshall, as the last album was almost entirely the work of Robert Del Naja and lacked the magic of Mezzanine.
The new stuff, like All I Want and Marakesh, all sounded very much like that classic album, full of atmosphere, tension and edge, but with great tunes to back them up. Hopefully the boys will finally get around to putting them on a new album at some point soon. Of course, it's very difficult to play a gig with so much so-far-unreleased material and still keep the attention of a crowd who haven't paid to get in, so it's not surprising that attention does occasionally seem to drift away from the stage, with the spellbinding performance of Teardrop one of the few tracks from the first hour of the set to really captivate the audience as a whole.
All of that changes with Inertia Creeps though, not least because the visuals finally start to also grab people's attention, with slogans, statistics and political statements crashing along behind the band. This builds up to a climax on an apocalyptic version of Safe From Harm, which is as close to perfection as any gig in Manchester will get this year. After that, Horace Andy's second cameo of the night on Angel is another highlight before the inevitable and triumphant Unfinished Sympathy. The visual effects may not have been as ambitious as they maybe could have been, but there is no doubt that Massive Attack's performance made this whole little festival a triumph.
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