Favorites return for more shows
This weekend of concert activity brings to Greece two imported favorites, Massive Attack and the Tiger Lillies, both major attractions here, as previous tours have proven. Massive Attack, the innovative Bristol-based group that spearheaded a fresh dance-oriented sound and scene, dubbed trip-hop, in the early 90s, have drawn big crowds to the open-air Lycabettus Theater over the past decade. For their latest show here, tonight, Massive Attack have been booked for an even larger venue, the Karaiskaki soccer stadium in the capital’s seaside district of Neo Faliron. The Bristol act, whose pioneering work, a fusion of styles, such as reggae, soul, dub, and punk, helped pave the way for other acclaimed artists such as Portishead, Tricky and Beth Orton, proved extremely popular from their very first release, 1991’s «Blue Lines.» They have continued to generate interest with their ensuing work, as reflected by the sustained international popularity of the band. Despite their warped and eerie take on waltz-y, cabaret-type tunes, fronted by Martyn Jacque’s falsetto, the Tiger Lillies, also from the UK, have acquired widespread appeal here with their work. Just a couple of winters ago, the Tiger Lillies had played a very long stretch of sold-out shows at a sizable Athens club. This time, the act will perform at the Gagarin club over two nights, tomorrow and Sunday, with a third show in Thessaloniki on Monday at the Mylos club. Joining the cult London-based trio will be bassist Alexander Hacke of the German industrial band Einsturzende Neubauten. This latest performance by the Tiger Lillies with Hacke will be dedicated to American novelist H.P. Lovecraft, who gained posthumous fame for work largely fueled by his paranoid fantasies. The performance will include narration by Hacke based on stories by Lovecraft such as «At the Mountains of Madness,» «Cthulu,» and «The Rats in The Walls.»
