Meltdown Festival
Royal Festival Hall, London, UK (16.06.03)
   
   
about 180 mins.
vocals: Tricky, Costanza, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Brinsley (from Aswad), Radanna

here's a review from Bertrand:

What an amazing gig it was... 
The Mad Professor opened up the show up with a fierce roots reggae tune with some vocals from Bob Marley's 'Punky Reggae'  and afterwards a dub warrior reggae number from Sly and Robbie...  The MC performing with him later treated us to a wonderful performance on steel drums accompanied by the Professor. Also with them was a cool dreadlocked sistah who performed on the soon to be released single 'Building Snowmen in Winter' I think,...she was magnificent and 
really had some very reggae groovy rythmic dance moves.. 

After an interval Tricky arrived..the announcer had earlier told us Tricky had a sore throat after a gruelling tour schedule and an 18 hour journey from Berlin on the tour bus but was determined to give us a great show which he did. 

The sound had been tuned up to the highest level so you can imagine the thundering effect when Tricky started his set...you could feel the vibes through the chair. The opener was You don't Wanna with Costanza who did the vocals. He played almost all the songs from the Vulnerable album among others all wonderfully enhanced for the live performance, all extended versions...it was a monumental assault of great rocking music.  The amazing Costanza was excellent, her voice sweetly soaring to highest level over the bombastic sounds. He played a version of Where I'm From in which he used the vocals from Search, Search, Survive. Two sensational guest performers, rapper Radanna and singer Brinsley (from Aswad) joined Tricky to perform a new song; 'Catch me If You Can'. Tricky really got in the groove performing some amazing dance moves...it was quite a sight...and he was full of so much energy that people rushed down to the side of the stage to rock with him. A lady managed to get on the stage dancing but was taken off by some of the minders. 

He and Costanza teased us for a few seconds with some of the old stuff like Black Steel, and heavy drum based version of Overcome but abruptly stopped and launched into the new stuff. 

After playing a great selection Tricky said goodnight and left with his band members but came back later to play an amazing climatic show ending selection...the audience went wild. 

He was joined by Lee 'Scratch' Perry to a thunderous applause and they performed a version of Ghetto Youth...Lee Perry was great with some cool rap/singing and echo effects and a few reggae dance moves here and there...and they both exchanged compliments now and then.. 

Lee Perry remained  on stage rapping during the other songs including Car Crash (with the lovely Costanza), The Moment that I Feared and Six Minutes after which he bid us good bye and left the stage. Tricky included some of the Spanish or Italian lyrics on one of the songs like he does on the Anti Matter Remix.. Tricky then closed with a mostly instrumental hard knocking version encore of Where I'm From and sincerely thanked us as he had throughout the show and bid us goodnight. Costanza did a little bow. 
It was a really exciting stormer of a show.. sensationally excellent band..,.a very detailed set of about 3  hrs + of great music. Better to catch Tricky's live show because the versions of the songs he plays are quite something. Here are some of the tunes I remember but not necessarily in this order: 
You Don't Wanna 
Stay 
Dear God 
Where I'm From 
Six Minutes 
Hollow 
Mellow 
Moody 
Ice Pick 
How High 
What is Wrong 
Anti Matter 
Black Steel, Overcome..few teaser seconds 
Catch Me If You Can with rapper Radanna and singer Brinsley From Aswad
Movies don't move Me..part of. 
 

see these two photos here and here:

Tricky


Lee Scratch Perry & Tricky

this backstage photo is taken from here:

   Robert Smith & Tricky & Lee Scratch Perry 

 

   
 

 


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concertography
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