| "This was a groovy way to spend a summer’s evening in a beautiful location..." | | Andy Sutcliffe |
This was the first time I’d attended a gig at Westonbirt and the venue proved to be excellent. Access to and from the site was easy, relaxed and well organised. (More toilets would have helped - I missed Terry Callier's performance whilst queuing - otherwise no complaints.) The natural setting made and excellent contrast to the dark urban grooves, bass driven chill-outs and one-off dance tunes of Massive Attack. They took to the stage after a long pause following the on-stage collapse of Terry Callier which cut short his set.
 | | On stage at Westonbirt |
They told us later he was OK but he didn’t, unfortunately, make his promised extra appearance with Massive Atttack. However, several other voices did, including Liz Fraser formerly of the Cocteau Twins, the soft sweet voice of reggae star Horace Andy, and the excellent “Blue Lines” star Shara Nelson. The set contained many of their hits and spanned their long career including Angel, Karmacoma, Safe From Harm Teardrop, One Love, and the uplifting Unfinished Sympathy. The light show was minimal, but effective and consisted of massive banks of small flickering lights at the back of the stage.
 | | In the shadows at Westonbirt |
This meant that the band were hidden in the shadows virtually all the time. Whilst they come across as being “a bit shy” but their sound definitely isn’t! The PA was excellent and the bass sound was particularly impressive. Sporting two drummers and a host of electronic effects, the band had the youngish audience entranced. Despite a couple of short showers earlier in the evening, the weather held off and Massive Attack stayed “high” and “dry”! This was a groovy way to spend a summer’s evening in a beautiful location – I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for future events at Westonbirt and I suggest you do too! Review and Photos by Andy Sutcliffe | 
