Review: Gorillaz at The O2

Save on tour support: create a huge multi-national band. To be fair, given the sheer quality and variety of acts that features both on Gorillaz latest album and on their current arena tour, it would be an error not to allow a few of them their own little bit of stage time. Even an epic medley of half a dozen of the different musicians wouldn’t be beyond the realm of possibility, but tonight Damon Albarn’s musical juggernaut has chosen to focus on just two amongst their sizable number.

Little Dragon are first up, and the Swedish group show just how well the succession of large-scale shows has helped them to grow into their role. Yukimi Nagano’s vocals are a clear focus, and are set against a far bolder electro backdrop than we’ve become used to on the albums, lending the performance the kind of energy needed to perform in such a substantial arena. Their appearance on ‘Plastic Beach’ has proved a major boost to the Swede’s careers, and on this evidence it’s no less than they deserve, particularly with songs as intricate and clever as ‘Twice’ up their sleeves.

De La Soul, sadly, don’t allow their music to do the talking in quite the same way. We’re aware we’re talking about a legendary musical act, but De La Soul seem to have caught the dreaded ‘arena fever’ and pad their set with all kinds of horrifically cheesy tat along the way. “When I say Hip, you say hop”, “When we say Ah, you say Ah”, “My side’s where the party’s at”, “hip hop is over here”, “the left’s better than the right”…. Please.

While there’s no doubting the class of hip-hop De La Soul are capable of, we feel like we’re living the very performance that led Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip to launch a hip-hop rebellion, and to be brutally honest, it’s total rubbish. With all due respect, De La Soul, announcing repeatedly how ‘hip-hop’ something is doesn’t make it hip-hop. We sincerely hope this is some kind of stadium excitement; if not De La soul should seriously consider calling it a day – or restricting themselves to performing with Gorillaz – before damaging a creditably legacy.

Having evolved from their cartoon shell a little and reformed as a sailor-themed supergroup, Albarn’s Gorillaz have so much credibility it’s almost ridiculous. Tonight’s show features members of The Clash, Mark E Smith of The Fall, De La Soul themselves, Little Dragon, the aurally stunning Bobby Womack, Davey and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. Not to mention the seven-piece string section that lurks at the back of the stage, and some interesting celebrity samples along the way.

With so many contributing to the sound, it’s a genuine feat just how well the show holds together: things seem to flow exceptionally smoothly, but as such a multimedia experience, a Gorillaz performance makes for a bizarre live event. While what’s going on at stage-front is the usual focus of a show, we find our attention continuously drawn away by (impressive) visuals, an effect that often leaves a resounding feeling that the experience is closer to watching a good animated television show than enjoying a real live experience. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with what’s on stage – on the contrary – just that it’s extremely difficult to properly relate to, and with the television the dominant feature, there’s sometimes a sense that we’re watching some very high-class, very expensive cinema.

The musical focus tonight is certainly on the new album Plastic Beach, with the LP offering plenty in the way of genre-hopping to keep things interesting. Singles ‘Stylo’ and the slower pace of dingy ‘On Melancholy Hill’ are striking. ‘Superfast Jellyfish’ is as intriguingly wacky as you’d expect from a track making use of the talent of a Super Furry Animal, while Bobby Womack makes his mark in vocally exceptional contributions to both ‘Stylo’ and ‘Cloud of Unknowing’. Little Dragon is equally brilliant in ‘Empire Ants’. It all fits in nicely with the world Gorilla have created for themselves in their latest effort, and comes with a performance that’s as tight as can be, even with the slightly cringeworthy Gorillaz characters appearing on-screen a couple of times to bemoan the ‘warm up band’ stealing their thunder on stage.

Perhaps it’s a problem with our ability to multi-task, but as exceptional as Gorillaz musicianship and ability to perform with such variety is, we can’t help wishing they’d tone it all back and just play, allow us to soak up all that they’re capable of. When they do display the slightly less overwhelming graphics of earlier hits ‘Clint Eastwood’, ‘19-2000’ and ‘Feel Good Inc’ we feel drawn in and connect far more strongly with what’s actually going on. Given the quality of musicianship, though, the vibe is disappointing to the say least, and we can’t help attribute that to the overwhelming nature of it all. To see Albarn and his astounding selection of musicians ply their trade without all the gimmicks (which, incidentally, have bought in a massive pre-pubescent crowd in the seats today) and focus instead on the wonderful blend of angst (Mark E Smith), soul (Bobby Womack) and potent front man energy (the brilliant energetic Albarn) instead? That would create an atmosphere; that’d be a show.