Despite the fact that it’s mid-May, it’s pretty chilly as we join the queue to enter London’s Troxy, an amazing Art Deco venue hidden away in Limehouse. Boasting a split-level standing area (which confuses people when they first arrive) and an upper seating area, it’s not, perhaps, ideal as a live venue – and it must surely become increasingly difficult to see the stage, the further back you get on that flat upper standing level – but fortunately it’s not too full tonight and we snag a space close to the barrier, where we can both see (insofar as it’s possible… but more on that later) and hear everything.
We’re here for Tricky, who’s out on a fairly substantial European & US trek (see dates below), bringing a mix of old and new material to the stage, some of it in wildly different form, and with a show that captivates some in the audience while alienating others.
This is hardly surprising.
Tricky’s relationship with fame has been an uneasy one. Like fellow Bristolians Portishead, his debut release, Maxinquaye, was feted (all the more for arriving on the back of his work with Massive Attack), with Pre-Millennium Tension achieving similar heights and a slew of awards. The results – large, noisy crowds, predominantly only familiar with the hits – would unsettle most, and it instilled an anti-star ethos in Tricky that has persisted to this day.
In practice, this means stages draped in darkness, minimal interaction with the audience (although Tricky does regularly thank the crowd tonight), and short, concise shows that run the gamut from big hitters to covers and alternate versions of well-loved tracks. If you’re looking for music that inspires and challenges, you’re in the right place. If you’re looking for an artist bathed in light, mugging for the audience as they gamely charge through the hits, well, you may as well go home now.
We arrive at the venue at around 8:15, following a fairly slow progress through security. They’re friendly, for the most part, and appear to be doing a thorough job, but they have a policy to search everything and search they do. In consequence, it’s not clear whether Marta played a set, but the venue is relatively empty when we get in, and the stage is draped in darkness, so we grab a drink from one of the many well-appointed bars and wait.
It’s 9:00pm sharp when Tricky, Mitch Sanders, Marta Złakowska and the band (comprising keyboardist, drummer, and guitarist) arrive on stage. Those expecting a blaze of light are disappointed, for the stage remains resolutely backlit, with only a single blue spotlight occasionally highlighting one of the musicians. Tricky himself, a mercurial presence at the best of times, is rarely seen except in silhouette.
The show opens with a track from Skilled Mechanics, rather pointedly named I’m Not Going. It sounds amazing but it’s a short piece that ends abruptly, confusing the audience, who clap somewhat uncertainly. It’s followed by New Stole, a throbbing highlight from the uneven Ununiform, which gains a certain heft thanks to the presence of a live guitarist. Further confusing the crowd, Because I Don’t Know (this one fronted by Mitch), is not even out yet, although it is a great song, not a million miles away from the direction Massive Attack took on Heligoland. It seems typical, insofar as anything Tricky does is typical, that the show should start with a mix of the unusual and the unreleased.
In other words, this is a set that dances to Tricky’s tune and his alone. Tricky himself, much as he has been for years now, is more master of ceremonies than central figure. Sometimes seen dancing at the back, sometimes wondering to the wings, leaving his band to take the strain, he’s always felt, existing as an ominous presence driving proceedings instead of dominating them. The result is a hypnotic show where you can safely close your eyes for long periods of time and let the music wash over you.
Needless to say, for some in the crowd who were expecting… well, given Tricky’s history, it’s hard to know what they were expecting; but, at any event, they respond by rudely talking through large portions of the show, making you wonder why on earth they showed up in the first place. For others, ourselves included, it’s an amazing experience where the music is placed front and centre, while its creators fade into the background – possibly a nod to Tricky’s sound system roots.
And, for those willing to experience something different, there are many brilliant moments across the night. A cover of Marta’s Moving Through Water is deeply engaging; an electrifying Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos still sounds huge; while a violinist and cellist are bought out to augment a lovely Nowhere. It’s a difficult and arty setlist, but then Tricky’s albums have followed a similar trajectory, so this should hardly be a surprise.
Nevertheless, it is inevitable that the largest cheers of the night are saved for material from Tricky’s still unimpeachable debut and, tonight, we are treated to both Overcome and Pumpkin (the latter in its Reincarnated form) from that album, before the main set concludes after just forty-five minutes with an eerie Piano.
When the band do return, it’s alongside violin and cello for a lengthy encore that includes a brilliant Out Of Place and (another track from Maxinquaye), the reincarnated version of Strugglin’. Better still is the skittering Nothing’s Changed from False Idols, before Tricky wraps things up with a massively expanded Vent. Nearly three times its original length and delivered with a grungy intensity that helps to explain the Nirvana and Hole covers that pepper Tricky’s later releases, it’s a ferocious finale, with Tricky only caught in glimpses against the strobe lights, flailing at the mic as he loses himself in the performance.
And then he’s gone.
At this stage, you would imagine that Tricky’s proclivities would be well known. This is an artist who turned his back on the trappings of fame before they ever really got a chance to take hold, carving out his own unique sonic niche that rarely stays still long enough to drop into any particular pigeonhole.
Yet, paradoxically, it is the success of those early albums – specifically Maxinquaye, Nearly God, and Pre-Millennial Tension – that enables Tricky to continue playing venues of this size, pretty much guaranteeing that frustration must be felt on both sides. For at least some in the audience, it’s the desire to hear only the biggest singles (and, indeed, you can imagine there are plenty in the audience who never made it past the Naked and Famous set); while, for Tricky, it’s the need to continue reinventing himself and his band if he is to make the experience worthwhile.
Despite some of the excoriating criticism directed at Tricky’s wilfully anti-commercial live shows, given his trajectory it is difficult to see that he could perform in any other way. Even in the early videos for the Maxinquaye singles, he was a barely seen force, often appearing in brief snippets rather than hogging the limelight. It would be entirely artificial for him to take to a stage bathed in light and work his way through the “hits” and, while there are those in the crowd who may wish for that, it would be a soul crushing experience for all concerned. As such, Tricky adheres to the notion that art is about giving the audience what they need rather than what they want and, for those willing to let the power of the music do its work, tonight’s set is dark masterclass in intensity.
UK AND EUROPEAN TOUR 2026
Sunday 10th May, Nottingham, UK The Palais [CANCELLED]
Tuesday 12th May Dublin, IE Vicar Street
Friday 15th May London, UK Troxy
Saturday 16th May Manchester, UK Aviva Studios
Sunday 17th May Bristol, UK Beacon
Saturday, 23rd May Bydgoszcz, PL Drums Fusion Festival
Sunday, 24th May Brussels, BE Ancienne Belgique
Monday 25th May Paris, FR Trianon
Tuesday 26th May Lyon, FR Radiant
Thursday 28th May Antwerp, BE De Roma
Friday 29th May Nijmegen, NL Doornroosje
Saturday 30th May Maastricht, NL Muziekgieterij
Monday 1st June Den Haag, NL PAARD
Wednesday 3rd June Groningen, NL De Oosterpoort
Thursday 4th June Berlin, DE Huxleys Neue Welt
Friday 5th June Warsaw, PL Progresja
Sunday 7th June Prague, CZ Meet Factory
Monday 8th Vienna, AU Werkstätten- & Kulturhaus
Tuesday 9th June Budapest, HU A38 Ship
Thursday 11th June Bucharest, RO Guesthouse
Friday 12th June Sofia, Bulgaria FOMO the club
Saturday 13th June Zagreb, HR Boogaloo
Sunday 14th June Zurich, CH Kaufleuten Zurich
Tuesday 16th June Bern, CH Bierhübeli
Thursday 18th June Hamburg, DE Mojo Club
Saturday 20th June Copenhagen, DK Vega
Wednesday 24th June Cologne, DE Kantine
Friday 26th June, Malmo SE, Slagthuset
Saturday 27th June Uppsala, SE Parksnäckan
Sunday 28th June Gothenburg, SE Filmstudion
Thursday 9th July Milan, IT Giardino della Triennale
Sunday, 23rd August, Wales, UK Green Man Festival
Saturday 29th August Bristol, UK Forwards Bristol
Thursday, 3rd September Riga, LV Spelet Concert Hall
Friday 4th September Narva, EE Station Narva Festival
