Gorillaz In The Mist

When reading the reviews of the Gorillaz performance at the Apollo Theater, it seems that Sunday night was press night, and unfortunately for the Gorillaz this was the night that they experienced technical difficulties. The Gorillaz decide to play at an ancient theater effectively bringing loads of money to a historical site that is still undergoing renovations, and when something goes a bit wrong with the technology, the critics are outraged? Is the Gorillaz music nothing without its animation? When the animation was introduced in hopes of making it more about the music and not the personas in the band. Once again the genius of Damon Albarn is overshadowed by the critics constantly shifting focus, I am sorry that Damon has exercised some bratty behavior in the past in his band Blur. As someone that attended the show on Wednesday night, I dare to focus solely on the live performance to demonstrate what Albarn seems to be begging for. I will also remain unfettered by the notion of a temperamental rock star and a technological mishap at a 100- year-old theater.

In the past year I have been to several concerts that played the game of “how many people can get on stage at once?” Although I was impressed by the Canadian orgies that are Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire, as soon as the curtain lifted at the Apollo Theater to reveal a 14 piece string section, five back up singers, three guitarist, two drum sets and an upright piano, I thought, this is how it done. Opening with the “Last Living Souls” the string sections instantly shined with a lush, memorizing sound.

As the concert continued, there was so much to watch on stage, the animation was simply in the background. When I did take a look Jamie Hewlett brilliant creations, I was not disappointed. His dark apocalyptic stories compliment Gorillaz’s music but this was the concert that was purposefully engineered to finally let the fans pay attention to the man behind the curtain, so I did just that. When collaborators on the Demon Days album showed up for guest performances I was fixated.

Nenah Cherry, Ike Turner, De La Soul, Roots Manuva and Dennis Hooper, to perform spoken word, were all in enthusiastic attendance. No matter how short their performance it was sticking to show’s commitment to keep every note live and authentic to the album. Sure they could have petitioned one woman and one rapper to do every little part, but this would take away from the point of a collaboration, The Gorillaz’s were smart to take advantage of the only venue and city that could accommodate these fine details

The stage reached full capacity when first a children’s gospel choir, and then an adult gospel choir came out to sing and dance. Their non-celebrity status and their, “we don’t give a fuck” spastic dancing, made the crowd even wilder then Hopper and Turner. Throughout the concert Albarn remained unlit at his upright piano, and from time to time he would awkwardly bounce up and down on his bench. When is came time for the encore, after a couple Gorillaz puppets were ironically controlling the crowds applause, the curtain opened a second time and Albarn could be seen kneeling next to a drum set with his head down. It was if he was mentally preparing himself before he sang his only song with the spotlight on him. Perhaps the years of bad press paralyzed this poor man. Surprisingly he managed to exude a comfortable stage presence, but I have a feeling it took every muscle in his body.


I thought long and hard about how heavily the animation weighed on the overall entertainment of this concert. If I had been there on Wednesday night would I have joined the critics in their unsympathetic pans? I say no. The animation is for the videos, the packaging, and to be used as a disguise. At the Apollo theater, Oz was revealed live, who needs the projection.