Saw Tricky at Warsaw Basen on Monday night, this being the third time I've seen him over the years. The first time I saw him was at his legendary early Saturday evening appearance at Reading Festival in 1995, when the whole 'Maxinquaye' thing with Martina Topley-Bird just seemed to perfectly soothe and relax everybody: it was a really fantastic experience, so I still clearly remember it now.
So, after a full day of EFL teaching around Warsaw, why did I go to see Tricky on Monday night? Well, I'd seen him about three years ago at Warsaw Palladium, and hadn't been that into it to be honest, but after repeatedly playing the recent 'False Idols' album, mainly as background music while working on the computer, it just naturally grew on me, and I quite naturally decided that I must go and see Tricky.
About the concert itself Monday night, well, Tricky and his band did a really great 2-hour set, obviously doing the 'False Idols' material, but mixing it in very nicely with older stuff, for me, noticeably tunes like 'Overcome'; 'Black Steel'; and 'Hell Is Round The Corner' from the 'Maxinquaye' album (for me, 'False Idols' is a good album, but still not as good as 'Maxinquaye'). Below, there is a kind of picture of the controlled bedlam when the party-piece version of Motorhead's 'Ace of Spades' was being done (still remember seeing Motorhead as a 14-year-old schoolboy on the 'Ace of Spades' tour at Manchester Apollo):
Yes, Tricky and his band, especially the elfine-looking Francesca Belmonte with her impish-like dance moves, were excellent, but the flip side was that the Basen was badly overcrowded with, unfortunately, a few 'knobheads' scattered here and there amongst the majority of normal people (e.g. I saw a couple of 'knobheads' optimally goading a smallish doorman and pushing a much older guy, about 60, to the ground, although the latter was also a 'knobhead'). Also normally don't get (or only get lightly) searched going into the Basen, but, as I'd expected, there was a heavy search for this, and I was even asked to turn my pockets out, although this may've been a wise move given the obvious small number of 'knobheads' amongst the crowd.
Maybe also the first time I've seen a makeshift metal barrier patrolled by security at the front of the Basen stage. Really hope that this doesn't become the norm at the Basen, as the usual lack of barrier between band and crowd makes the Basen a pretty special place, as noticed by Icelandic band, Mum, when playing there in early October.
Anyway, despite a few venue discomforts (in fairness, the first time I've experienced them at the Basen), the concert was really good, at times positively hypnotic - the desired concert effect, and I guess that's the main thing.
My favourite track from 'False Idols'? Well, that would have to be 'We Don't Die' which is genuinely sublime:
No comments:
Post a Comment