Headlining the very first day of Victoria Park’s brand new LIDO festival, Massive Attack brought their Act 1.5 live show to London on Friday. Following their pioneering eco-friendly day festival on Bristol Downs last year, Victoria Park has turned green, serving vegan food and powering the main stage with solar-powered batteries. Massive Attack and their band also travelled by train to the festival and encouraged others to do so too. Ushering in a new era of festival management, the lineup consisted of similarly boundary-breaking artists.
Everything Is Recorded, the brainchild of Richard Russell, XL Recordings boss (Fontaines D.C., Radiohead, King Krule), opened the second stage. Featuring an all-star band (including singer and percussionist Georgia) and guest appearances (including Mary in the Junkyard’s Clari Freeman-Taylor), the group performed to an enthralled audience. An electronic experience with interpolations of R&B and soul, every track worked as well live as in studio versions. Though the bass was a little high over the vocals, the performance was a very solid opener to start the day with.
Mad Professor followed up on the second stage, playing a selection of tracks from Massive Attack albums Mezzanine and Protection in dub. With bass reverberating through bodies and live steel pan instrumentals, the crowd truly became alive. Not a single soul in the tent was still. By far the most upbeat artist playing on the day, Mad Professor rehashed the crowd’s favourite songs in his own unique and recognisable style, seamlessly blending genres into one big dance party.
Yasiin Bey (fka Mos Def) and The Alchemist surprised the audience with their new project Forensics at LIDO, debuting unreleased tracks from their upcoming album. Despite a fifteen-minute delay due to sound issues, Yasiin’s captivating performance made up for it. He took the stage in a trench coat, sprinkling rose petals and spray painting a sheet in front of the DJ. Though the sound mixing was subpar, Yasiin’s blend of rapping and singing showcased his talent, making the collaboration a memorable experience despite the technical challenges.
French electronic duo Air warmed up the main stage before Massive Attack with a hit-heavy hour-long set. The first half showcased songs from Moon Safari, while the rest spanned their discography. Unfortunately, their daylight performance felt underwhelming due to the limited stage space and lacklustre lighting. The sound system also struggled to compete with the audience chatter, making it hard to fully appreciate hits like ‘Sexy Boy’ and ‘Cherry Blossom Girl.’ Despite these challenges, Air delivered a captivating experience, closing with ‘Don’t Be Light,’ their standout performance, as they received great applause from the crowd.
Prior to Massive Attack’s arrival on stage, poet Inua Ellams and actor Khalid Abdalla took to the thronging crowd of thirty thousand. In a moving 5-minute-long speech dedicated to the people of Palestine, Abdalla called for solidarity and for the end of the suffering in Gaza. Emotional calls of “Free Palestine” reverberated across the park as a cohort of Palestinian flags assembled between the stage and the sound desk. One of (if not the) most politically active bands of their size, Massive Attack have consistently advocated for struggling and suffering minorities, both through fundraisers like their shirts in collaboration with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and during their live shows.
Massive Attack took the stage as the sun set behind clouds, starting with a cover of Gigi D’Agostino’s ‘In My Mind’ and moving into ‘Risingson’ amid cheers. The incredible light show featured LED screens displaying political messages, including poignant statistics on American investment in Israel and modern conflict zones, along with surreal graphics mimicking facial recognition. Special guests Horace Andy, Elizabeth Fraser, and Deborah Miller joined for various tracks, while Yasiin Bey surprised the audience with ‘I Against I,’ wearing a bulletproof jacket. Due to a strict 11 pm curfew, ‘Karmacoma’ and ‘Group Four’ were cut, but Fraser’s haunting ‘Teardrop’ provided a fitting conclusion to the reflective performance.
Each and every musical performance on LIDO’s debut was of an excellent standard, with masterful musicians creating empyrean instrumentals over which skilful vocalists intricately wove their lyrics. Musically, I could not fault the festival at all. However, the mixing was sub-par throughout the entire day (other than during the headliner) which detracted more than a little from the overall listening experience. A relatively awful crowd, combined with far too overpriced food options and lengthy toilet queues yet again undermined the sincerity of the festival. Better things were to be expected from the first ever iteration of LIDO, which is organised by AEG Presents (who have plenty of experience in running Victoria Park’s All Points East). Despite this, it was a fun day out nonetheless, and a pleasant start to this year’s festival season for many.