Damon Albarn started Gorillaz over 20 years ago with visual artist Jamie Hewlett as a way to dissolve his own image behind the guise of a cartoon band, allowing him to break free from his association with Britpop – which had become a little stale as we transitioned into a new millennium – and find new freedom in experimenting with new forms of songwriting in electronic and hip-hop mediums. As the band – comprised of the fictional 2D, Noodle, Murdoc, and Russell – caught on, it exposed the former Blur frontman to new audiences and a wealth of collaborative opportunities. It’s become something like a badge of honor to do a track with Gorillaz.
2020’s Song Machine was the perfect example of this: every track features at least one guest artist. That album felt like Albarn was actively trying to write tracks in the style of the guests. For the band’s upcoming release, Cracker Island, they’ve scaled back a bit on the guest features, though not completely. Beck, Stevie Nicks, Thundercat, Tame Impala, and Bad Bunny are set to make appearances, which is an enticing lineup of guests.
In preparation for that album’s 2023 release, Gorillaz have been touring the US, and they brought their show through the TD Garden earlier this week, with support from Atlanta rap duo Earthgang (who worked with Albarn on Song Machine’s “Opium”).
Earthgang kicked the night off with a high energy performance that included “Proud of U,” their hit with Young Thug, and a handful of other tracks, mostly from their 2022 release Ghetto Gods. The tandem of Olu and WowGr8 have a lot of exuberance and enthusiasm to match their lyrical talent. No doubt this stadium tour will give them good exposure to an even wider audience. Backed by a live band, their set was easily able to fill the space of the Garden.
While they’ve got Cracker Island in the pipe, Gorillaz are only playing a couple songs from it on their tour repertoire, perhaps an effort to keep some surprises in store. The main section of their nearly two hour set list includes most of the big cuts that you’d want to hear from Gorillaz: “19-2000,” “Rhinestone Eyes,” “On Melancholy Hill,” “Dirty Harry.” Of course, for the encore, they busted out megahits “Feel Good Inc.” (with an assist from THE De La Soul) and “Clint Eastwood” (first the standard album version, followed by a raucous turn into the UK garage flavored Ed Case/Sweetie Irie remix to send everyone home for the night). Of course they brought Earthgang back on stage to play “Opium,” and even brought along Malian singer/actress Fatoumata Diawara for “Désolé,” another track off Song Machine. Her voice especially was a privilege to hear live.
While they’ve been varying up the setlist for each show on this tour, they mainly dip from their first two albums, the self-titled debut and Demon Days. To fill in the cracks, they’ve added a selection of tracks from their subsequent releases. If you’re a big fan of Humanz or The Now Now, don’t go in expecting too much representation there, as they only performed one song from each (“Andromeda” and “Tranz,” respectively). But, if you’re good with strictly the hits, then Gorillaz is never a bad time. While Albarn sings lead on most tracks, there are plenty of times when he makes himself scarce – taking up residence on a small upright piano – to give spotlight time to guest performers or the insanely skilled chorus of backing singers that fill in on tracks that are “sung” by Noodle (notably “DARE,” another Demon Days banger).
Check out our photos from the show below.
