Coachella: Gorillaz you could have missed

Kevin Bronson on April 20th, 2010

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Who: Gorillaz on the main stage
In 3 or Fewer Words: They’re only human.
I’ll Remember This Until Pee-wee Herman Gets Announced as a 2011 Headliner Because: It was like watching KISS without the makeup. Damon Albarn and crew, numbering 14 or more, performed as a straight-ahead live act instead of as video projections, giving a 90-minute performance that was more Coachella Lite than the exclamation point the festival deserved after a Day 3 build-up that included Spoon, Phoenix, Pavement and Thom Yorke. There was plenty of star power – the Clash’s Mick Jones and Paul Simonon were in the band (doing vocals on “Broken”), and the diminishing crowd got cameos from De La Soul and Bobby Womack – and (for the main stage) a daring display of emotional range, especially at the end, when Womack sung “Cloud of Unknowing.” But outside of new songs “Stylo” and “White Flag” and old faves “Demon Days” and “Feel Good Inc.,” Gorillaz’ insistent genre-hopping failed to electrify anybody outside the most devout (or drunk). Maybe it was the band’s seafarers’ garb, but I expected the Captain and Tennille to show up at any moment.
What I’d Tell My Friends Who Hopped on the I-10 Westbound Early: Hope you didn’t run into any traffic.
–K.B.

Benjamin Schwartz says:

April 20, 2010 at 12:11 pm

The Gorillaz show on Sunday night did nothing but provide an amazing show. They were super tight and Paul Simonton was always in the pocket. Damon Albarn was in great vocal form and for everyone who knows how Damon Albarn is, I was extremely excited to not only hear “Plastic Beach” from beginning to end. Albarn will usually only play his current album that he is promoting from beginning to end, in track order. As was the case with The Good, The Bad And The Queen in 2007 at Coachella and Demon Days at the Manchester Opera House; and the four day run at The Apollo Theatre in New York. So, I was extremely surprised when they started playing “Last Living Souls” and “O Green World”. Not to mention, Gorillaz has only played a handful of shows in their career and all of them being nowhere near California. The show was amazing, and the videos and artwork that accompanied the music was awesome. Boo to anyone who wanted more out of this show. Gorillaz delivered, and with flying colors. This show was undeniably the best show of the weekend.