Gorillaz First Stadium Show: A Spectacle of Eclecticism
Damon Albarn's Gorillaz delivered a staggering hi-tech mini-festival at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, their first stadium show, lasting two and a half hours. The event featured a seemingly endless stream of high-profile guest stars, including Johnny Marr, Little Simz, Shaun Ryder, Sparks, Yasiin Bey, Bootie Brown, and Fatoumata Diawara. The audacious ambition and military precision of the performance stemmed from Albarn's fecund imagination and magpie mind.
From Virtual Band to Live Extravaganza
Gorillaz, originally a mildly gimmicky virtual band co-conceived with graphic artist Jamie Hewlett, has evolved into a sprawling expression of Albarn's musical curiosity and rampant eclecticism. Gone are the days of holograms of 2-D, Murdoc, Noodle, and Russel. Instead, Hewlett's striking graphics played on giant screens while Albarn, bearded in a combat jacket and beanie hat, acted as the grinning ringmaster and MC of this dazzling circus.
Indian Musical Motif and Guest Stars
The performance featured a stream of virtuoso Indian musicians, reflecting a motif of Gorillaz's recent ninth album, The Mountain. Anoushka Shankar's fluid sitar patterns and Ajay Prasanna's skittering flute were highlights. Albarn also infiltrated the falsetto, rococo pop of support act Sparks into the pulsing, melodic The Happy Dictator. For The Moon Cave, veteran cosmic-pop diva Asha Puthli, in a silver cape, shimmered alongside The Roots' loquacious Black Thought. Little Dragons singer Yukimi, splendid in a blue ballgown, gave way to twerking, helium-voiced soul star Moonchild Sanelly and, on the thrumming Casablanca, a prowling Johnny Marr and Paul Simonon.
Themes of Mortality and Loss
Mortality and loss were major themes of The Mountain. On Delirium, the guttural bark of the late Mark E Smith bounced around a stadium full of both greying first-generation Blur fans and their excited kids. Both generations got off on effervescent Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara's keening harmonies and gorgeous traditional attire.
Strong Rap Presence and Indian Tribute
There was a strong rap presence, from the urgent Yasiin Bey (trading rhymes with Syrian icon Omar Souleyman) to Bootie Brown appearing on the verge of self-combustion and Little Simz spitting words like bullets. When the focus shifted back to India, singer Zanai Bhosle filled the shoes of her grandmother, Asha, who recently passed away.
Encore and Finale
For the encore, Gogglebox's own Shaun Ryder materialised to growl through Dare before the charismatic Posdnuos from De La Soul ignited the giddy delirium of Feel Good Inc. The night ended as Gorillaz began, 25 years ago, with the sly, loping melodies of their insouciant debut single, Clint Eastwood. The evening was an extraordinary triumph, and it's certain that Damon Albarn will have been planning what to do next as soon as he got backstage.
