Concert review: Gorillaz at UIC Pavilion

    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