Gorillaz bring world tour to Seattle

The virtual band, Gorillaz, created in London by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett was back in Seattle for their latest tour at Climate Pledge Arena. The band, whose primary musical contributor has been Albarn, released their self-titled debut in 2001 with much commercial success. Drawing from different genres and multiple collaborators, it has continued to attract fans and create necessary influence to continue.

Their latest album Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, was released last year consisting of standalone singles from the music-based web series, Song Machine. Their eighth album named, Cracker Island, is due in 2023. Hewlett’s art comes to life with each music video which also serves as background to a lot of their live preperformance. This idea was so fresh when it started, and it still holds after all these years.

 

The band came on around nine to a packed arena while the screens displayed the words Hello in green color. Albarn kicked things off with “M1 A1,” “Last Living Souls,” “Tranz,” and “White Light,” which was performed live for the first time since 2006. The visuals and lights were amazing throughout the night keeping everyone’s attention and marrying the music in perfect harmony. Albarn stopped to thank their fans and shared that they don’t this for granted after doing this for over 30 years and that it’s so nice to see everyone’s face.

During “Opium,” openers Earthgang joined the stage to perform the tune. The band had 5 backup singers mesmerizing us and for “Dare” two stepped to the main stage to sing the famous chorus. The main set ended with their first major hit, “Clint Eastwood,” as people danced and sang along to the words.

The encore kept the energy high with “Stylo,” and “Feel Good Inc.” with Bootie Brown and Pos joining to sing. The incredible night came to an end with “Don’t Get Lost in Heaven,” and “Demon Days,” that felt like a dream ending. I guess that is the power of Gorillaz, the ability to pull you into this other world where the four characters exist parallel to your reality. This is not just a concert, it’s something you can’t find anywhere else and should at least experience it once.

Words and photos: @s.barkalakis