On Saturday, December 11, Dan and I attended the Gorillaz concert at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, the 33rd of 36 dates on the 'Escape To Plastic Beach' World Tour 2010. Here is my review of the show along with some pictures we took – some have been massively zoomed in to show detail!
Gorillaz have come a long way from their days as a virtual band of four cartoon characters created by cartoonist Jamie Hewlett. It’s almost a decade since I first heard their single ‘Clint Eastwood’ in 2001, instantly recognizing the vocals of Blur’s Damon Albarn as the singer 2D, along with bandmates Murdoc the bassist, guitarist Noodle and drummer Russel. What once was just a virtual band is now one of the world’s best live bands and concert experiences.
The man DJing on stage who welcomed us all was Mase from De La Soul. He promised the crowd an evening of unforgettable music, and that’s what we got. Both the opening acts were affiliated with Gorillaz, since they have made appearances on two Gorillaz songs, including the new album Plastic Beach. First up was Swedish band Little Dragon, fronted by Japanese-born singer Yukimi Nagano. Their songs had some crazy synth riffs, as well as pounding drums you could feel in your rib cage.
Next was De La Soul, who did a number of their songs including ‘Me Myself And I’, ‘Stakes Is High’ and of course their 1991 single ‘Ring Ring Ring’ which was a crowd favourite. Trugoy and Posdnuos talked to the crowd a lot, saying they have been coming to Australia every year for 15 years. Finally, Mase yelled “Make some noise for the Gorillaz!” The Gorillaz sign lit up, and a video started playing on the big video screen. It showed Murdoc in a backstage room getting annoyed with 2D while he attempts to listen at the stage door. “Will you stop playing that sodding banjo!” Murdoc says. “If you play another bum note on that hillbilly instrument, I’m gonna stick it in your mouth!”
Cheers went up as the band took the stage. Not counting the guest vocalists, I counted 22 people on stage. Seven string players at the back, a five-person orchestra next to them, four female backing vocalists, and the rest of the band which included another one of my favourite musicians, The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite’s Mick Jones on guitar and his fellow Clash ex-bandmate Paul Simonon on bass. Both of them, and a couple of others, were wearing naval hats and T-shirts with black and white horizontal stripes. And of course Damon, who was wearing a black leather jacket and a T-shirt with red and black horizontal stripes – the same thing he has been wearing for the other shows on this tour.
The string section began playing ‘Orchestral Intro’ and then all of a sudden we saw Snoop Dogg dressed as a naval admiral on the big screen, not physically present but very much a part of the show to perform his part in ‘Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach’, the opening song with its blaring horns courtesy of the seven members of the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. For each song played, accompanying visuals were on the video screen, playing the music video for the song if there was one, or otherwise various Gorillaz still images or photos. It was all in time with the music and added another dimension to the experience – visual as well as aural spectacle.
The varying influences of rock, hip-hop, electronica, soul and funk can all be heard during the live Gorillaz set and there is no way you can go to one of their shows with a singular mind-set. If you’re into a certain genre of music, chances are you’ll hear it, but there are so many styles mixed into their music that it’s impossible to identify with just one.
“Good evening Melbourne!” said Damon, and they began ‘Last Living Souls’, followed by ‘19-2000’ which got nearly everybody on their feet and singing along. At the end, Damon said “It’s a great pleasure to introduce...Bobby Womack!” Everyone gave a cheer for the 66 year old R&B/soul singer and they knew exactly what song he was going to perform. There was a massive cheer when the first thudding beats of ‘Stylo’ filled the air. It sounds great on record, but being performed live turned it into an anthem. I have no idea what the lyrics are or what the song is even about, but it will definitely get you on your feet.
Damon picked up an acoustic guitar for the next song, ‘On Melancholy Hill’. When he wasn’t playing the guitar, he was usually standing at his keyboard, jumping up and down on the spot while playing, and when he was just holding the mic and singing, he was bounding across the stage with endless energy, a grin on his face, getting the crowd to raise their arms and slapping hands with those in the front row. ‘Rhinestone Eyes’ was next, with crazy arm-waving from the crowd, and then De La Soul came back out for ‘Superfast Jellyfish’, which was accompanied by still images of fast food shop signs on the video screen. Personally, I think it’s pretty awesome that someone has written a song about breakfast.
‘Tomorrow Comes Today’ sounded very chilled-out and slow, and then Little Dragon came back for ‘Empire Ants’ next, followed by ‘Broken’, which featured the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble that Damon said were from Chicago, Illinois. One of them had a tuba, which was pretty cool.
Everyone cheered as they recognized the opening notes of ‘Dirty Harry’, the only song with a video not to have its video played. Instead, the screen showed an animated sequence of the kids from the video singing along to their backing part. Bootie Brown, who had previously come on stage for ‘Stylo’, re-appeared to perform his thought-provoking rap for the song, one of the definite highlights of the Demon Days album and of this show as well.
The melancholy ‘El Mañana’ was next, then Damon went over to the aforementioned five-person orchestra at the back of the stage. “They’ve come all the way here from Damascus in Syria,” he said. Holding the mic up to the leader of the ensemble he said “Do you like it here in Australia?” “Very much, very much,” he replied. I knew what song was coming next; my personal favourite track from the new album, something I was really looking forward to hearing live.
Everyone clapped along as the ensemble performed a short instrumental piece, which was then followed by the amazing Oriental Arabic intro to ‘White Flag’. The song is a cultural blend; a testament to music that knows no boundaries. British ‘grime’ MCs Bashy and Kano, who perform on the album, were also on stage and the song closed with the Arabic section combining with the song’s electro beats and Damon weaving around the stage waving a massive white flag. The flag could be a mere prop, but on the other hand it could symbolize something; not surrender, but victory perhaps, or even a sense of unity like the lyrics suggest. Above them all the video screen showed a Middle Eastern dancer with two phrases written in Arabic. Awe-inspiring stuff.
There was another brief video clip showing Murdoc, still backstage, saying that the people on stage sound like a Gorillaz tribute band. ‘Dare’ was next, which everyone was either singing or clapping along with. Like Snoop Dogg, Shaun Ryder only appeared on-screen, but people seemed to be singing along to his part, as well. After this, it was a great treat to hear ‘Punk’ from the first album, a short burst of manic energy, with Damon once again jumping around. If I’d had an iPod in 2001, this song would be near the top of my ‘Most Played’ on iTunes by now. The first Gorillaz album holds special memories for me because I bought it the day before I went to Japan to live for a year, and I listened to it a lot while I was there. Even now, the songs on it bring back memories of my little apartment in the middle of the rice paddies.
‘Glitter Freeze’ was a chance for the band to show they could produce amazing sounds and energy, being mostly an instrumental, then Yukimi from Little Dragon came back to sing ‘To Binge’ with Damon. This restrained, introspective song has more than a touch of Blur in it and is one of Damon’s best songs. It was accompanied by visuals that best sum up the song: yellow liquid gurgling down a plughole, with two beer bottles rolling around in it at the end. The whole song’s lyrics scrolled up the screen, in Japanese. Ending the main set was ‘Plastic Beach’, sounding much louder and crunchier than it does on the album.
After a few minutes’ break, the band returned, as did Bobby Womack to lend his sombre tones to ‘Cloud Of Unknowing’. “This song was written by Mister Damon Albarn,” he said in his introduction. During this song, some disconcerting war footage was played, showing planes dropping bombs, exploding in fireballs and crash landing, and also footage of people pushing a helicopter off a naval carrier. It fit the music well though, and made a definite point.
Damon said he was really thankful to have worked with all these musicians, and that it was the fourth-last show of the tour, and they had been touring for three and a half months. Then he said “Now, you have to help me out here. This next man...I had the pleasure of DJing with him last night. We were in a really small booth, and it just has one window, and people were looking in...anyway, you have to help me say his name...Mase-ee-o!”
Everyone did, and the three members of De La Soul came out to do a frenetic version of the huge hit ‘Feel Good Inc.’ which maintained the high crowd enthusiasm. After this, Damon was joined by Mick and Paul at the front of the stage. He had a red melodica, which he had already used in a few songs. He only had to play two notes before the whole place erupted knowing it was the start of ‘Clint Eastwood’. Bashy and Kano substituted their own rap for the original one by Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, and the whole thing built to a climax.
During the encore Damon brought out Jamie Hewlett which surprised me – I didn’t think Jamie had any involvement in the Gorillaz concerts, but he was there all the same, wearing the same nautical outfits as Mick and Paul. He didn’t say anything, but waved to the crowd. The show closed on a calmer note with the two reflective songs ‘Don’t Get Lost In Heaven’ and ‘Demon Days’ which had people waving their arms. “Melbourne! Do you feel us? Do you feel us?” Damon yelled out.
The verdict: one of the best concerts I have ever been to. It made you feel something – a love of music played without preconceived genres, national borders or creative limits – rather than merely listening to loud music. This is how a concert is supposed to be.
