Adrian Nicholas Matthews Thaws, better known as Tricky, was formerly part of the band Massive Attack. Through his career, he and his bandmates have produced numerous hits. Some of those songs you know, even if you don’t realize who the artists are. The music crosses genres and includes trip-hop, electronic, and rapping. Honestly, I hadn’t been following his solo career for a while so I was surprised he released a new album, and more surprised when I saw he was touring.
Earlier in the day, before the concert, I searched and read that Marta Złakowska was opening for him. That name was new to me and I found out she had released an album with Tricky. Very much the same trip-hop vibe of some of Tricky’s earlier work. However, waiting in line at the venue we were told there was no opening act, despite the doors opening at 7:00 p.m. and Tricky starting at 8:30 p.m. It’s odd to have that long between doors opening and the first act going on. Friends and I figured maybe the venue had it wrong or that he would start early and do some songs with Marta. Nope! In fact, Tricky came on at 8:40 p.m., ten minutes late.
The next odd thing was the concert starting with a dark, cobalt-blue lighting. I expected the regular lights to come on at some point and they didn’t. In fact, almost the entire concert was in that lighting which meant you couldn’t see the musicians at all. At least, not from the balcony. The set included several of his more well-known songs along with some from the new album. Two vocalists assisted Tricky through the concert including Marta and Mitch Sanders. The guitarist and drummer were announced but I couldn’t make out the names.
After ten songs or so, only 50 minutes, the band left the stage for a few minutes. Since the lights didn’t come up they were waiting for applause and an encore performance. That lasted 20 minutes and consisted of six songs, one that went really long. For two of the songs the cobalt-blue lighting gave way to overhead strobe lights. That was our only opportunity to see the band at all. During that time, Tricky often had his back turned and the other two singers had stepped back for various songs, out of the light completely.
The only true downside were a couple songs where the music overpowered the vocals too much. But, $50 for a one hour and 20 minute concert is still a good deal these days. I’m glad I got a chance to see him perform live.
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