Bristol and Massive Attack ACT1.5
We had tickets for the recent Massive Attack Event taking place in their home town of Bristol. My partner and myself took advantage and had a long weekend in the city. We have been to Bristol before but never had much time to look around. We had a great couple of days - Bristol has a nice vibe to it and we were fortunate to be staying in the very cool Cotham area which was buzzing with loads of good bars cafes and restaurants.
Whilst there we visited the city museum to have a look at the infamous statue of Bristol slave trader Edward Colston which was torn from its plinth and dumped in the river during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. Since being salvaged from the water the battered and graffiti covered statue now resides in the museum alongside the story of Colston, the Bristol Slave Trade, and the protest which led to the statue’s removal. The exhibition makes neat links between the old history of the city and its recent history of protest.
Massive Attack ACT 1.5
Gaza Protest - Massive Attack ACT 1.5
Climate Change Protest - Massive Attack ACT 1.5
Organised by Bristol’s Massive Attack, ACT 1.5 was an attempt to stage a mini-festival and open-air gig that was totally carbon neutral. All power was supplied by batteries loaded up from renewable sources. All food on site was vegan and transport laid on from around the city was via public systems including a number of very cool black electric double decker buses.
The title of the festival ACT 1.5 refers to the need to keep Global Warming below an increas of 1.5 degrees. At the festival site you could visit a number of stands promoting climate action and watch debates and interviews with activists etc.
Given Massive Attack’s long-standing support for Free Palestine there were also a number of installations focussed on Gaza and the need for an end to the war, the occupation of the Palestinian Territories and dismantling of apartheid in Israel.
The main event though, was of course the first live performance by the band for a number of years. It was well worth waiting for. Over the years we have seen them a number of times but this night they were on fire! The line up also included a number of their former and regular collaborators including Elizabeth Fraser, Young Fathers and the incomporable Horace Andy - at 73 the oldest person on the stage but still the coolest. Great music set to the ever changing electronic backdrop of words and images which is a hallmark of the band.
A brilliant experience and a benchmark for other bands about how to move beyond political slogans and seek to make a real difference in the way you go about things.
Horace Andy ACT 1.5