Pop Break Live: Gorillaz “North American Tour 2022” with Earthgang with special guests Beck, DeLaSoul, Del the Funky Homosapien, Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, Thundercat and Bootie Brown at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, CA on Friday September 23, 2022
There’s a lot of great places an Angeleno might find themselves on a Friday night, but there was no greater place to be than at the Kia Forum last Friday night – and it’s all because of Gorillaz. Returning for their first live show in LA since the end of 2018, Gorillaz – led by frontman and musical genius Damon Albarn – played a 28-song, two-hour-plus set full of hits, deep cuts, and brand new songs to a completely sold-out arena Oh, and nearly half a dozen special guests including Beck, Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, De La Soul, Thundercat, and many more, showed up to join in on the fun.
In anticipation of their upcoming 8th record, Cracker Island, which is set to be released in February 2023, Gorillaz decided to take the band on an arena tour and debut new tracks live instead of a traditional album release with a tour to follow. Never ones to follow the rules and always ready to break the mold, the band’s unorthodox approach proved to be a successful one at the iconic Kia Forum. Following their exciting openers EarthGang – a hip hop and rap duo from Atlanta – Gorillaz opened the night with their instantly recognizable throwback track, “M1 A1” with Damon Albarn calling out to the audience, “Hello, is there anyone there?”
Right from the top track of the night, the concert instantly became a gigantic dance party. With practically every seat in the arena full and the crowd on the venue floor dancing as one, Gorillaz tore through classics from their 2005 smash hit Demon Dayz, including “Last Living Souls” and “White Light.” Fans of their more recent albums The Now Now and Humanz even got to hear “Tranz” and “Andromeda” – the stand out tracks from each record, respectively. The first big surprise of the night was the tour debut of “Pac-Man” from Song Machine: Season One, which was accompanied by the trademark blue and yellow lights and color scheme of the video game character, and impressive visuals of the Gorillaz’ animated members Murdoc, 2-D, Noodle, and Russel playing Pac-Man in an arcade. Rapper ScHoolboy Q even came out to join in on the performance.
Speaking of special guests, it wasn’t before long that singer-songwriter Beck joined Gorillaz onstage for “Valley of the Pagans,” a rarely-played-live track from Song Machine: Season One that Beck himself has incorporated into his own live sets; but never have he and Gorillaz played it live together. Bass player Thundercat then joined the band for one of the new releases, “Cracker Island,” an instant hit with the crowd that will certainly become a staple in all future setlists for Gorillaz. Another highlight of the night was Plastic Beach’s “On Melancholy Hill,” a sweetly atmospheric track that provoked the audience to light up the arena with twinkling cell phone lights and lots of swaying.
The entire concert proved to be a sensory experience with impressive visuals of our favorite animated Gorillaz projected behind Gorillaz in real-life, and even more guests. Singer-songwriter from the Ivory Coast, Fatoumata Diawara, transformed the arena during “Désolé” while Bootie Brown brought the funk during “Dirty Harry” and “Stylo.” Before leaping into everyone’s favorite “Feel Good Inc.,” De La Soul inspired the audience with motivational talk-backs and solemnly swearing to never let anyone stop us from “feeling good.” Beck returned to the stage for the world premiere of “Possession Island,” a slower, wistful track not yet heard from the new record, but one that will certainly have an excellent studio version. Shortly after, Kevin Parker of Tame Impala joined during the 4-song encore to play the newly-released track “New Gold.” Bookending the two-hour-plus set with the song that made them known, Gorillaz launched into “Clint Eastwood” as the rapturous crowd of 18,000 sang along with every single word.
Overall, Gorillaz and Damon Albarn proved why they’ve remained not only relevant but revolutionary in music over the last twenty years. Through unique genre-defying mash-ups, truly collaborative approaches to songwriting, and unparalleled visual storytelling through animation and world-building lore, Gorillaz put on an unmissable live show. Unafraid of playing old hits as well as never-before-heard new tracks, the band remains worthy of our attention, time, and dance moves. Based upon the reaction at the Kia Forum, I’m sure Cracker Island will be an excellent addition to the Gorillaz discography.
Gorillaz Setlist (via setlist.fm)
M1 A1
Last Living Souls
Tranz
White Light
Tomorrow Comes Today
19-2000
Rhinestone Eyes
Pac-Man (with ScHoolboy Q)
The Valley of the Pagans (with Beck)
Cracker Island (with Thundercat)
O Green World
On Melancholy Hill
El Mañana
New Genious (Brother)
Empire Ants
Kids With Guns
Opium (with EARTHGANG)
Désolé (with Fatoumata Diawara)
Andromeda
Dirty Harry (with Bootie Brown)
DARE
Feel Good Inc. (with De La Soul)
Momentary Bliss
Possession Island (with Beck)
Encore:
New Gold (with Tame Impala and Bootie Brown)
Stylo (with Bootie Brown)
Rock the House (with Del the Funky Homosapien)
Clint Eastwood (with Del the Funky Homosapien)
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