Massive Attack returns
For reasons beyond the music, the timing of British act Massive Attack’s current world tour – which includes two shows in Greece on July 14 and 15 at the Lycabettus Theater, the band’s third visit here – has not left it without controversy. Back in February, when the act was preparing to embark on its tour in support of its latest album, «100th Window,» detectives had seized computer equipment belonging to band member Robert 3-D Del Naja during a raid of his Bristol home, as part of a national crackdown on child porn. The allegations against Del Naja were eventually dropped but Del Naja, who still had to face audiences nightly with doubt hanging in the air, later described the period as «the hardest time in my life.» Some of the tour’s early shows, in Australia and New Zealand, were subsequently rescheduled. Preceding all this, this extremely popular and influential band member had made the news as a leading British anti-war campaigner during the leadup to the recent war in Iraq. Not surprisingly, these anti-war sentiments have spilled over onto the stage during the band’s current tour. One-minute silences, in protest against the war, have featured at shows and, moreover, fans have been given vent for on-stage expression. By visiting the band’s www.100th window.com website, interested fans can post their thoughts, some of which will be selected for integration into local shows as part of the visual imagery projected on a giant on-stage screen. Tickets are on sale at Metropolis music stores; Tickethouse at 42 Panepistimiou Street, tel 210.360.8366; Ticket Hellas, tel 210.618.9300; and the Rodon Club at 24 Marni St.
