Review | Gorillaz ‘The Mountain’ Tour

Most of the songs on the radio I listened to on the way to school growing up were really pop-centric. And while I absolutely love pop music dearly, I’d usually glance at the screen of my parents’ car to find out the song title when, once in a while, a song would come along that kind of blew my mind. 

One of those instances was the Gorillaz song “Feel Good Inc.” Not quite crazy but not quite sane, the song was alternative without taking itself too seriously. 

It started me on a deeper dive into the band’s back catalogue that has lasted long enough that I was ecstatic to see they were coming to Los Angeles, intrigued to both hear their music catalogue and see how they incorporated the visual art of their image into their live show. (An example worth checking out is one I found through one of my jobs this past year researching video games by music artists, and the band made one of my favorite ones I found.) 

Gorillaz are an English alternative rock band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn (who composes and performs the music) and artist Jamie Hewlett (who creates the artistic universe and animations). The band consists of fictional members 2-D (vocals by Albarn, keyboards, melodica), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, keyboards, backup vocals), and Russel Hobbs (drums), and fuses influences of trip-hop, hip-hop, electronica, and rock.  

At the start of their L.A. show, the screen changed from a red curtain to a smaller screen showing the band members walking through trees and swimming to a mountain, while “The Mountain” started playing. The band members joined in, going straight into “The Happy Dictator,” “Tranz,” and “Last Living Souls.” “But just as long you need the gear / So sing a song that doesn’t sin / It grows,” sings Albarn, as the band swings into motion around him.

The band plays a string of older songs, including “19-2000” (joined by Miho Hatori), “Rhinestone Eyes,” and “On Melancholy Hill”— the latter two are personal favorites. “19-2000” features Noodle front and center, singing “day doo de bop, get the cool, get the cool shoeshine” as she gets the entire crowd to sway their hands back and forth in the air. The jagged melody atop a sparse instrumental on “Rhinestone Eyes” went perfectly into “On Melancholy Hill’s” pulsing beat and atmospheric sounds that felt timelessly nostalgic as they wrapped around the arena.

At various points throughout the show, Albarn went into the crowd with an open earnestness to sign vinyl and take photos with fans. The crowd was respectful, and Albarn looked genuinely happy to be there. 

Throughout the night, they showed animated clips of the band members on various adventures or singing along to the music. The band also brought on a slew of guests to perform with them, including “Re-Hash” (with Miho Hatori), “Garage Palace” (with opener Little Simz), “Pac-Man” (with ScHoolboy Q), and, fittingly, “Hollywood” (with Jamie Principle). The crowd went particularly wild for “She’s My Collar” when the band brought out Kali Uchis. “She’s the serpentine, she’s my collar. I send a message, never call her / And now I wanna taste another, and it’s safe in a persona, she’s my collar.”

After an energetic run of guests joining him onstage, Albarn took center stage again for “Kids With Guns,” then Posdnuos joined him to move the crowd into a frenzy. “You having fun? Did you use up all your energy? Are you sure you have energy left?” Posdnuos asked, as the audience screamed affirmatively. “I guess you all … are ready … to feel good!” he shouted as the first notes of “Feel Good Inc.” started to play. 

The show ended with “Clint Eastwood” as Albarn sang, “I ain’t happy, I’m feeling glad. I got sunshine in a bag, I’m useless, but not for long, the future is comin’ on.” He brought the guests and the band onstage with a wide grin, as they all formed a line on stage and waved goodbye to the audience. 

The little radio-listening kid in my heart felt seen and happy, and the warmth and energy it brought helped me brave the insane traffic outside as I waited for the bus to come. When it didn’t show up after over half an hour of waiting, and the cars on the street were clearly not making any headway, I walked another half an hour to In-N-Out, where all the Gorillaz and Jay-Z fans had congregated from SoFi and The Forum to wait out traffic … by waiting another half an hour for burgers. 

It was worth it.