Oasis may be selling out stadiums around the world, but the clear winner of the “Battle of Britpop” is Blur’s Damon Albarn, who’s somehow managed to have a second act more interesting and fulfilling than his first. At least that’s what it looked like at TD Garden last Thursday night (October 1), where the beret-clad, multi-instrumentalist frontman seemed to be having the time of all times onstage with Gorillaz, who are waist-deep into their tour in support of this year’s brilliant new LP, The Mountain.
Gorillaz have always existed somewhere between a band and a multimedia experiment, but seeing the whole thing unfold in person made it clear just how far that idea has come, turning a sold-out arena into a place where hip-hop, dub, indie rock, animation, puppetry, and a guy playing a wooden flute all make perfect sense together. That probably wouldn’t have happened if it were the same band that previously saw its live counterparts hidden behind a screen during concerts while the animation played out as the primary focus.
What makes the current project work so well live is how much is happening at once without feeling like too much. There’s the expansive band, a bunch of backup singers, and a steady stream of guest vocalists, while sometimes Albarn is out on the arena floor wandering around the guardrail and occasionally into the crowd. Still, there remains the enormous visual component that shaped the Gorillaz identity from the outset.
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Images – now projected behind the players – dominated in a way few acts are able to pull off convincingly, credit to artist Jamie Hewlett, who was on hand for the proceedings and took a final bow at the show’s conclusion. Each song was matched perfectly to what was happening on the screens, whether thematically or simply by mood. The animated characters received loud cheers of recognition, but the presentation has evolved well beyond the original idea of a band that barely existed outside the virtual realm.
Real musicians get the spotlight these days instead of merely being part of the show. Albarn was surrounded by a full ensemble, including guitarist Jeff Wootton, bassist Seye Adelekan, percussionists, and Indian flutist Ajay Prasanna, whose wooden bansuri was an unexpected crowd pleaser. During “Last Living Souls,” Albarn began one of many strolls to the floor to interact with the audience, signing items, taking selfies, and genuinely just looked to be loving life for as long as possible before making his way back to the stage.
Then there were the additional guests. Support act Little Simz took over the show when she first came out, full of verbal fury, during “Garage Palace.” Kara Jackson joined for “Orange County,” Bootie Brown of The Pharcyde stepped out on “Stylo” and “Dirty Harry,” and Del the Funky Homosapien – pulling double duty as part of openers Deltron 3000 – turned up for “Rock the House” and “Clint Eastwood.”
There were plenty of songs from The Mountain, but Gorillaz didn’t forget “Tomorrow Comes Today,” “19-2000,” “Rhinestone Eyes,” and “On Melancholy Hill,” while deep cut favorite “5/4” made its tour debut. A highlight came toward the end of “Kids with Guns,” when Michelle Ndegwa stepped out from the assemblage of backing vocalists and drew awe with her soaring voice, another reminder that there were talented people everywhere on that stage, all of which likely could’ve had a scene-stealing moment. Kind of like Posdnuos of De La Soul, who joined for “Feel Good Inc.,” taking a song that already tends to send arenas into a frenzy and finding another gear.
Not only were the musicians visibly commanding, and the guests kept coming, but it was Gorillaz co-founder Hewlett who got one of the biggest ovations as the night drew to a close, even though it all felt considerably more human than the concept that started it.