When musicians carrying any and every instrument hit the Hollywood Palladium stage for the second time in a row on Feb. 23 to perform Gorillaz’s new album, The Mountain, out this Friday, it was evident they brought with them their fair share of experience performing the project in full.
Gorillaz Announce North America Tour: Kong Card Holders Get First Access To Presale Tickets
Back in September, the virtual band – fronted by characters 2D, Murdoc, Noodle, and Russel but created by Blur frontman Damon Albarn and comic artist Jamie Hewlett – surprised London fans with The Mountain after playing their self-titled album, Demon Days, and Plastic Beach during standalone shows on prior dates.
Without that background information, it was clear this new project from Albarn and Hewlett, in large part inspired by trips to India following personal losses (in part manifested by multiple posthumous features), was the most self-assured Gorillaz album in years.
The evidence? Long before Albarn and the band retook the stage for an encore featuring their biggest hits, the crowd was still coming down from the “scriptures” of The Mountain, as stated by De La Soul’s Pos, who filled in for the late Trugoy the Dove on “Feel Good Inc.”
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That was true during “The Moon Cave,” a non-single that saw Albarn graciously introducing Asha Puthli. The legendary singer-songwriter matched the album’s overarching Indian influence, singing backing vocals against Albarn’s melancholic voice, void of his usual sarcasm. Immediately after, ‘70s duo and LA natives Sparks sneaked onto the stage, jumping into “The Happy Dictator,” a powerpop anthem brimming with Sparksisms.
Even on stage, the shared admiration between Albarn and the Sparks brothers left you wondering why the two parties never worked together. Their shared irony and sugary melodies got the crowd up on their feet following the meditative serenity of “The Moon Cave.” However, the Palladium’s liveliest moments were to come.
Among the many hands-in-the-air songs was “The Manifesto,” a song that lives up to its name for rappers Trueno and Proof while doubling as a testament to Albarn’s love for hip-hop. Trueno, hailing from Argentina, and Proof, a late Detroit emcee whose contribution comes from an old studio recording, both sound as natural as can be against the Indian percussion and string section.
Despite neither being present, the audience jumped as though both were hyping the crowd up themselves. Proof’s verse, in particular, signals a shift for “The Manifesto,” which momentarily ditches the Indian instrumentation for a hardcore hip-hop beat that never feels abrasive to the overall song.
Also absent was The Roots’ Black Thought, a major contributor to The Mountain who appears on three tracks. He is one of several musicians who pop up across the album, behind Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar, and Johnny Marr of The Smiths fame.
Although Albarn himself admitted he missed Black Thought, who was “getting back to New York” for “The Tonight Show,” his features (as well as another remote yet stellar verse from Yasiin Bey FKA Mos Def on “Damascus”) brought the Gorillaz back to their claim to fame as a multi-genre project that owes its existence to Del the Funky Homosapien, Bootie Brown, and other emcees.
Speaking of Del, he came out during the encore for both “Rock the House” and “Clint Eastwood,” the latter ending in a freestyle that ought to prove the Oakland native’s talent. His introduction also came with the original music videos backing the performers, putting Hewlett’s cartoons at the forefront.
As did Bootie Brown of The Pharcyde for “Dirty Harry,” who got everyone in the venue to throw their hands in the air. His verse also retained the same high-energy it had when it first came out in 2005, making him jump around the stage while the “Dirty Harry” visuals matched his intensity.
While the lore and animation from Hewlett no longer play as prominent a role in Gorillaz’s success as the music, fan enthusiasm for seeing the characters’ nostalgic designs was proof of what makes the band’s influence seismic compared to Albarn’s other projects or any group that came before or after.
Making a list of the concert’s best moments would be a real-time play-by-play rather than a sizzle reel without any filler. Whether it was the live horns on “The Hardest Thing” or the dizzying electronic production on “Delirium” featuring Mark E. Smith, the team assembled for Gorillaz’s latest outing touched on all bases of Albarn’s musical interests.
But the moment that encapsulated Gorillaz, more than the greatest hits or the highs of The Mountain, was the first encore song. Albarn fittingly played “California and the Slipping of the Sun,” a deep cut from The Fall that he dedicated to everyone who travelled in the crowd and in the band itself. The first half saw Albarn on acoustic guitar, singing like it was the early days of Blur.
Seeing him take center stage took a moment for attendees to adjust to after spending the last hour and a half watching a mini orchestra perform like a hive mind. In the spirit of The Mountain, Albarn was the guru putting the audience in a daze. That is, until the second half’s electric odyssey, powered by Albarn on synths, which put everyone in the room into a frenzy.
Plenty of songs from the Gorillaz discography do the same. But what the performance proves is that with Gorillaz, the unexpected is expected. And what you need is never what you think you need from Albarn and friends.
The Gorillaz’s immersive exhibition ‘House of Kong’ will open its doors on February 26 through March 19 at Rolling Greens in downtown L.A. Additionally, a ‘House of Kong’ merch shop will also pop up at the exhibition, featuring exclusive merch available for purchase in-store only.
