Theaters, no matter how respectable they are, have always strived to allow the hidden, taboo or revolutionary to expose themselves in a safe way. "After all, it's just a show," people can say afterwards. So looking at theaters this way, perhaps the initial shock melts away after finding out that Tricky, one of the decade's craziest, darkest and most influential performers – namely for his role in the invention of trip-hop – will be performing at the Gorky MKhAT.

The concert, organized by Feelee (which recently paralyzed Moscow with the depressive depths of English electronic group Coil), will take place at one of Moscow's well-known theaters Dec. 20 and is already being talked about as the culmination of a very successful musical year in Moscow. According to the organizers, Tricky will bring along a few other musicians, one of whom is sure to be Hawkman, who performs on Tricky's latest album.

There is no way I would want to stick a cliche on Tricky, or make a psychiatric diagnosis of some sort – this task has been performed many times before in numerous magazine articles and reviews. I also wouldn't care to get caught in pointless conversations about this artist's strangeness or his potential danger to society. And no, I certainly don't aim to spread rumors about his drug addictions and about the period when he was a part-time weed dealer. I'm content with just mentioning them. After all, he is one of the most talented symbols of the last decade, so by using a cliche, I would involuntarily be discussing a whole generation and musical direction that is now ever more actively evolving.

So I'll just give you the straight facts, and if they're of no use, I'd simply recommend that you take the time to listen to a few of his tracks – to be in the know, so to speak. Or I would even recommend that you go to his concert and at least not miss the opportunity to look at a totally avant-garde MKhAT.

Act I

Thirty-three-year-old Tricky, a.k.a. Adrian Thaws, got his name from his quote, "I like being unreliable and not being what I'm supposed to be at the time." Tricky began his musical career in the mid-'80s as a member of an informal crew of MCs, DJs and singers based in Bristol, U.K., known as the Wild Bunch. This collective eventually mutated into the pioneering group Massive Attack, with Tricky – referred to in the group as Tricky Kid – contributing some of the most powerful tracks to the group's 1991 debut album "Blue Lines."

Although Tricky did participate in the group's recording of "Protection" (1994), he was dissatisfied with his colleagues' musical direction and decided to move to London to pursue his solo career.

Act II

The subsequent result of Tricky's solo ambitions delivered itself in his 1995 album "Maxinquaye," which received avid reviews from critics and became the artist's first real commercial success. This album is now regarded as one of the most influential trip-hop records, exposing the possibilities of the musical genre so craved for and so stylish since then.

This musical direction is strangely enough a product of just one city – Bristol, where Tricky, Massive Attack, Portishead and the influential Cup of Tea label evolved. Initially, trip-hop was considered to be a more lyrical, dancier version of dub, a cross between ambient and hip-hop. Always seen as an intellectual style, today trip-hop is constantly widening its borders, incorporating both heavier and, at times, gentler vibes.

Other successful projects followed for Tricky, like "Nearly God," a compelling side-project that saw the artist collaborate with guest vocalists including Bjork and Terry Hall.

"Pre-Millennium Tension," Tricky's second album, on the other hand, revealed a monstrous, tense sound that left critics at a loss.

Act III

Now that the new millennium is here, the times of Tricky's least-accessible album, "Angels With Dirty Faces," which was practically a pastiche of his darkest self and even frightened off some his most die-hard fans, seems to be over. Tricky's revival dates from his "Juxtapose" album, a joint project with DJ Muggs of the hip-hop group Cypress Hill.

This summer, Tricky's latest album "BlowBack" dived straight into the charts. The album presented, to the relief of many, a more relaxed, even slightly goofy Tricky collaborating with the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and '80s pop star Cyndi Lauper. Tricky says that he feels like his musical career is starting anew: Impossible bleakness is a thing of the past, and experimenting is his joker. It's really that simple. "I'm plain as a cheese sandwich," Tricky said.

What: Trip-Hop concert.
When: Dec. 20.
Where: Gorky MKhAT Theater.
22 Tverskoi Bulvar.
Metro: Tverskaya.
Tel: 252-0983.
Cover: 1,000-6,000 rubles.
When: Dec. 19.
Where: (St. Petersburg) Oktyabrsky Concert Hall.
Tel: 325-2266.