Up On The Downs, Part One

I spent Bank Holiday Sunday (25th) at the ACT 1.5 climate action accelerator event in Bristol, organised and headlined by Massive Attack, for what was billed as their first hometown gig in 5 years...and potentially their last.

 

And event is an understatement. You've probably read about it, as they were all over the media in the lead up, but this was an attempt to stage the lowest carbon show of its size (capacity c. 36,000 people). On the ground, bar the odd hiccup, it felt like they delivered and then some.

ACT 1.5 was situated on Durdham Downs, in the north of Bristol, a short walk from the old Zoo and Clifton Suspension Bridge. Except all of the promo referred to it as Clifton Downs. I haven't lived in the city for a decade and a half and everyone I knew back then referred to it as simply "The Downs". Secret Bristol attempted to dig deep into the origin of the name though, in the end, it's all the same: a 400-acre flat expanse, and a perfect setting for the event.

I drove to a rail station a few miles from home and about ten miles from Bristol and travelled into the city via train. I purchased tickets via Train Hugger, which included access to a free (electric) shuttle service to The Downs and, at the end of the event, a shuttle service to each of Bristol's main stations to get one of five special 'after hours' trains that had been specially laid on to get attendees back home. 

It's been a while since I've been in Bristol so on arrival at Temple Meads station, I skipped the shuttle and walked the 2.5 miles through the city centre, up Park Street and Whiteladies Road to The Downs. It was a nostalgic ramble, even though many of the places I frequented in my younger days are long, long gone.

Arriving around 2.15pm meant that there was very little queuing to get in, and a chance to do a site recce before taking my pitch. There was plenty around the site opposite the stage, from a programme of speakers and interviews, a tent offering the chance to create DIY Merch with Peter Kennard and Cat Phillips, the Hell Bus by Darren Cullen to a Fire Sale shop selling Massive Attack prints. And of course the Merch Stand if you wanted a quick change into a T-shirt to prove you were there whilst you were there.

 

No food or drink (apart from refillable water bottles) could be brought into the gig; the event had water stations and a range of vegan only food stalls on site. Even more amazing, for a gig of this scale, not the sound or smell of a diesel generator. All I could hear as I approached the stage was DJ Milo doing his thing.

DJ Milo aka Milo Johnson is a local legend, part of the Wild Bunch collective back in the day and continuing to release music as DJ Nature (2023 Otherwhere was a highight of the year). I missed the first quarter of his hour-long set, but it was super slick - as were the between-gig segues - and a perfect scene setter. My favourite moment was a sequence of low-tempo house sandwiched by two 1980s classics: Crockett's Theme from Miami Vice by Jan Hammer and superlative Propaganda B-side Frozen Faces. What a perfect set up.

At 3.00pm, Sam Morton - the person and the band - took to the stage. Samantha Morton is a superb actor, but the prospect of a thespian turning their hand to music is path that I frequently approach with caution, and with good reason. However, the debut Daffodils & Dirt has been a rewarding listen, even if the narrative is frequently challenging.

A collaboration with XL label head Richard Russell, the duo double in size for their live performance. It's not the most dramatic set up: three musicians sat behind a long table like an interview panel, with Samantha front and centre at the mic; an ironic nod to a Britain's Got Talent-style stage, perhaps? Probably not, but all eyes are on Samantha anyway as they perform Daffodils & Dirt in its entirety. 

 

Apart from high winds which buffet the musicians and at one point blow over Samantha's music stand, it's a fine performance. Her vocals are pitched somewhere between sprechsang and nursery rhyme but it's perfectly suited to the narrative and the music. 

 

Despite some brief flashes of intense sunshine, the sky is generally full of ominous looking clouds, which somehow seems fitting. The shortest set of the day at 45 minutes, entirely down to the material available I guess, but appreciated by me and the few hundred that got there early.

It's hard to pick a favourite as I enjoyed the whole performance. Broxtowe Girl is a highlight on the album, focusing on the narrator's love of UB40's Labour Of Love II and featuring a restrained guest vocal from Ali Campbell. Sadly, no sign of Ali on stage today but none the poorer for that. Double Dip Neon is also worth a mention for it's dubby, uptempo vibe which at times channels One Dove, which is no bad thing.

 

Two hours in, seven and half hours and three acts to go. This is inevitably too big for one post (or two, for that matter). Part Two will share my experience of the remaining support acts, when things got a lot busier and took an unexpected turn.