6 August 2026 – Brisbane Entertainment Centre – words by Bec Harbour – pictures by Justin Ma
Massive Attack are trip-hop legends and their first show in 16 years at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre is sold out and rightfully so. In the 1990’s their albums Protection and Blue Lines set the trip-hop template. With a cast of guest vocalists on Protection (Tracey Thorne from Everything But the Girl, Horace Andy) and, on the previous album Blue Lines, (Shara Nelson and Horace Andy again), as well as Protection being the last album with Tricky as a member of the group, they set the pace for everyone else.
Tonight, there are tour shirts everywhere and, for a sold-out show, the line is surprisingly short. Grabbing a drink is easy and we wait to be allowed into the arena. Once inside I make my way to my seat and settle in for the support act. I will say, if they do pull down the BEC, the one thing I will NOT be sorry to see go is the seats. I don’t know how or why they are so uncomfortable but they feel like they are doing nerve damage while you are sitting there.
The support was a DJ; DJ PGZ. It was a DJ set and I did not recognise a single song, however many in the crowd seemed to and, during the transitions, cheered and generally had a good time.
I am always surprised when people say that they don’t know that a band is “political” (read caring human beings that give a shit about terrible, devastating events happening around the world). For those unsuspecting souls, they were in for a geo-political history lesson set to an absolute shit-hot soundtrack. Massive Attack are anti-war and have been protesting the occupation of Palestine since forever. They have been boycotting performing in Israel since 1999, front man Robert Del Naja has been arrested protesting the occupation as well as taking clear demonstrable action against other wars. On this very tour, the band were banned from re-entering Singapore for displaying the Palestinian flag last month.
Massive Attack – BEC – photos by Justin Ma
They also actively work to determine the carbon footprint of the music industry, partnering with agencies to collect and analyse the data. They are anti-greenwashing, speaking out about companies and venues prioritising profits over actionable climate policies. They also speak up for Indigenous rights.
The whole venue goes dark and the screens behind the stage flicker to life. The stage remains dark (as it does through most of the set) with the screens doing the visual heavy lifting tonight. There is a collective hum that goes through the venue as the first notes of ‘In My Mind’ begin. Images of statistics and devastation start playing on the screens and do not stop until the last song.
We move through ‘Risingson’ from 1998’s Mezzanine and then something happens that I cannot quite believe, they introduce Elizabeth Fraser (Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil) for ‘Black Milk’. I actually think I might cry at this point as I never thought I would hear Fraser live in any capacity.
Massive Attack – BEC – photos by Justin Ma
Then Horace Andy comes out for ‘Girl I Love You’, before the band take over for a cover of Seo Taiji and Boys’ ‘Regret of the Times’, with the historical lesson on the screens telling us about the dark events that kickstarted K-Pop. Searching for these events online proves to be quite challenging. Of course, this is also what Massive Attack are telling us, the cleansing of history is impacting us in ways we have no idea about.
Coming next are ‘Take it There’ and ‘Future Proof’, followed by a cover that I thought I would never hear live; ‘Song for the Siren’. Originally a Tim Buckley song and later covered by the 4AD “house band” This Mortal Coil with Elizabeth Fraser on vocals, Fraser’s vocals soar through the venue, while this Massive Attack version is fuller and more rounded than the other versions.
‘Inertia Creeps’ gets a huge reaction from many in the audience and an Ultravox cover of ‘Rockwrok’ comes next. Then Horace Andy is back for ‘Angel’, before Deborah Miller takes over vocal duties for ‘Safe From Harm’ and ‘Unfinished Sympathy’.
Massive Attack – BEC – photos by Justin Ma
Then comes an Avicii cover, ‘Levels’, which I am pretty sure we all know collectively as the K-mart song here in Australia. Fraser returns for ‘Group Four’ before a fade-out of ‘In My Mind’.
You have Elizabeth Fraser on tour with you so of course you finish your set with the song that helped Massive Attack break through commercially, ‘Teardrop’. The statistics become minimal on the backdrop and the lighting changes to the flicker of the heartbeat that introduces and runs through the song, with dual strobes lighting up Fraser. Hearing this live, the whole crowd is spellbound.
There is no encore, there does not need to be. The crowd knows this and moves quietly and quickly to the exits. Outside in the cool August night, people tell each other what songs they are glad made the set and, despite, or perhaps because of, the heavy topics addressed while Massive Attack played, there is an aura of peace around the crowd.
