Gorillaz in Boston, MA – October 11, 2022

The iconic virtual band Gorillaz has returned to the stage after a four year hiatus. Joining them on their North American tour is rap duo EARTHGANG. 

EARTHGANG

EARTHGANG, the project of Olu and WowGr8, kicked off the night, getting the crowd hyped up. After starting their show with “Ghetto Gods” and “Top Down”, they played their powerful anthem, “Proud of You,” in which they told anybody in the crowd who was with someone they loved to tell them that they are proud of them . The crowd loved their 11 song set, which came to a strong finish with “Down Bad.”

Gorillaz

Gorillaz is a band that has always hidden behind animated characters. People I mentioned that I would be going to the show asked me how that works. Gorillaz is really a music collaborative fronted by former Blur front man Damon Albarn. He and a large, talented roster of rotating musicians, perform a two hour set, while videos on the screen behind them showed the animated characters we are familiar with from their music videos. I’ve never had the chance to see Gorillaz live before, but I’ve seen the Adult Swim heavy-metal band Dethklok, several times. Very different music, but the performance is a similar idea.

Some of the guest performers who joined them throughout the night were Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara, on “Désolé,” Bootie Brown on multiple songs throughout the night, De La Soul on the iconic “Feel Good, Inc.,” and the return of EARTHGANG for “Opium.” In addition to the guest singers, Damon is backed by a band of at least 10 musicians. Guitar, bass, keyboards, multiple drummers/percussionists, and five amazing women singing powerful back up vocals. I give big respect to him coming out with a band like this, as he could very easily plug in a laptop with backing tracks, and sing along to those.

New songs like “Skinny Ape” and “New Gold” were played off of their upcoming album, Cracker Island. The largest reactions of the night came with their classic hits like “19–2000,” “Feel Good, Inc.,” and “Clint Eastwood.” It’s crazy to think that some of these songs are now over two decades old! Audiences still love them, showing that they were songs written to last.

Gorillaz did not disappoint, with a nearly-full arena going home fulfilled after an impressive 27 song set .