Concert review: Gorillaz at UIC Pavilion
Midway through Gorillaz concert Saturday at the UIC Pavilion, the cartoon character/rock star Murdoc popped up on the big video screen looming behind the band and vented his exasperation.
“How much longer is this warm-up band gonna hog the stage?” the green-tinted bassist snarled.
The creation of cartoonist Jamie Hewlett and Gorillaz mastermind Damon Albarn, Murdoc is Albarn’s alter-ego. On the virtual band’s first tour a decade ago, flesh-and-blood musicians played behind a scrim while the cartoon band led by Murdoc took center stage.
The roles have been reversed on the current tour, and while Murdoc has undeniable charisma in the snaggle-toothed tradition of Keith Richards, he was no match for his “warm-up band.” Albarn was accompanied by more than 30 musicians and singers, including a core group built on former Clash members Mick Jones and Paul Simonon.
That Jones and Simonon shared the spotlight was only fitting because the Clash’s experimentation in cross-cultural blending -- hip-hop, dub reggae and Eastern music all factored heavily in the punk band’s arsenal – provided a template for Albarn’s own genre-hopping. After leading one of the most important Britpop bands of the ‘90s, Blur, Albarn has turned into a globe-trotting master of musical collaboration, working with artists from Africa, China and the Middle East.
In many ways the current tour is the most ambitious showcase yet for an artist who has evolved into a visionary, routinely making music that breaks down categories and forges new connections between audiences, musicians, cultures. There was the recruitment of the forward-looking Clash expatriots, a string section, several guest hip-hop MC’s (including De La Soul) and soul vocalists (most notably Bobby Womack), a horn band (Chicago’s Hypnotic Brass Ensemble) and an eight-piece Syrian ensemble, plus video cameos by rapper Snoop Dogg and Happy Monday’s singer Shaun Ryder.
“White Flag” wanted it all – hypnotic trance grooves straight from Damascus, jumping strings, rap vocals, even a white flag much like the one Bono waved when U2 played the same arena in the ‘80s.
With all these disparate elements flying around, the two-hour concert could’ve easily felt like a jumbled variety show. But Albarn -- as singer, keyboardist, orchestrator and emcee – was a strong enough presence to hold it together. He and many members of his band were outfitted in various pieces of nautical garb, in keeping with the Apocalyptic island theme of Gorillaz latest album, “Plastic Beach.” Murdoc and the other cartoon Gorillaz provided a running visual counterpoint to the show; they were hunted, bombed, strafed, sunk and left bereft. It was dire stuff, even for a cartoon, with references to end-of-the-world movies such as Stanley Kramer’s “On the Beach” and “Planet of the Apes.”
Albarn’s elegy for a dying planet had its wistful moments, particularly in the ballad “Broken” and “Tomorrow Comes Today” with its haunting melodica strains. “Don’t think I’ll be here too long,” he sang.
But more often, the dire pronouncements were tucked inside tunes with squirming keyboards, syncopated beats and deep-pocket bass lines (all hail the mighty Simonon). “Superfast Jellyfish” compressed a bubblegum chorus with De La Soul’s hip-hop verses, and “Stylo” found Womack rhapsodizing the urban blues over an expansive blaxploitation-style soundscape.
Though Albarn’s worldview could hardly be considered optimistic, it’s hardly self-pitying. If we’re going down, he seemed to say, we’re going down dancing.
greg@gregkot.com
Gorillaz set list Saturday at UIC Pavilion:
1 Orchestral Intro
2 Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach (with Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
3 19/2000
4 Last Living Souls
5 O Green World
6 Stylo (with Bobby Womack)
7 On Melancholy Hill
8 Rhinestone Eyes
9 Superfast Jellyfish (with De La Soul)
10 Kids with Guns
11 Tomorrow Comes Today
12 Broken (with Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
13 Dirty Harry
14 El Mañana
15 Dare
16 White Flag
17 Glitter Freeze
18 Plastic Beach
Encore:
19 Cloud of Unknowing (with Bobby Womack)
20 Punk
21 Feel Good Inc. (with De La Soul)
22 Clint Eastwood
23 Don't Get Lost In Heaven
24 Demon Days
good review. show was amazing. im glad they dont hide behind the giant screens anymore.
Posted by: mike | October 17, 2010 at 02:39 AM
Good review, although I was generally impressed with the show, I thought the crowd was dead. No energy at all. I'm not expecting a Metallica crowd, but at least some enthusiasm would have been nice.
Posted by: Mike Owens | October 17, 2010 at 03:14 AM
Where were you at, Owens? Mad energy in the first section... At least by my friends and I.
Posted by: Jeremy Farmer | October 17, 2010 at 11:51 AM
musically it was a great show and the videos were amazing. i thought the crowd energy was good, but there were A LOT of douchebags in my section. the UIC pavillion has assigned seats and the tickets were very expensive, $100 each, but they felt like $10 lawn seats with all the morons around me. the problem was the people next to us kept trying to take over the area in front of our seats as if it was a general admission show and then acting like entitled frat boy idiots when we asked them nicely to be more considerate. the row in front of us had about 8 people crammed into 4 seats which was also annoying because they were rubbing up against us the whole show. maybe this should be cross posted in the craigslist rants & raves. never going to UIC pavillion again unless they get bowie or something amazing. if they are going to charge so much at least have some people checking tickets.
Posted by: j | October 17, 2010 at 01:46 PM
Scruffy Paul Simonon looked a lot like Dr. House last night.
Posted by: d | October 17, 2010 at 03:00 PM
great show. loved the setlist but missed empire ants (no little dragon?) and N.E.R.D. completely sucked & also ruined Clint Eastwood with their spotlight grabbing mushy rap...
Posted by: RBS | October 17, 2010 at 03:21 PM
N.E.R.D. didn't guest on Clint Eastwood, that was Bashy and Kano, and it was pretty sweet. Why would they do Del's rap?
Posted by: Jeremy Farmer | October 17, 2010 at 08:26 PM
yes....missed "Empire Ants"....but what a great show....
Posted by: Scott | October 18, 2010 at 12:46 PM
Awesome show - Albarn is a genius (and I don't use that word lightly). Too bad no "Sweepstakes" but prolly cause there was no Mos Def. Bangin tune.
Posted by: dch | October 20, 2010 at 12:21 PM