Gorillaz, De La Soul, LittleDragon @ BrisbaneEntertainment Centre, Brisbane(19/12/2010)

Tue 21st Dec, 2010 in Gig Reviews

The Gorillaz Escape To Plastic Beach tour has been one of the most anticipated to hit Australian shores in 2010 as Damon Albarn takes his animated band on their first ever live outing. On this particularly wet and rather cool night, escaping to a beach, even a plastic one, was definitely not on the punters minds as they got out of the rain and filed into the Entertainment Centre for the final leg of the Australian tour.

Opening to around a third of the expected crowd are Sweden’s Little Dragon. They seem rather small on the stage against the large background that was swathed in black curtains awaiting the main act, and their performance is not the stuff of a support act worthy of the scale of the headliners.

The interesting sounds from the group have been well played over the likes of Triple J, and while they seemed to have potential on radio, in this live setting they were mundane. The antics of lead singer Yukimi Nagano seem contrived as she flaps around the stage. Her band mates, while capable of playing their instruments, don’t add any pizzazz or energy to their efforts and seem quite lifeless next to Nagano’s dancing. The crowd barely move and seem suitably unimpressed by Little Dragon and their efforts.

By now the crowd has started to really gather in the main arena and the general admission area is close to capacity as are most of the open seating areas around the floor.

Next to take the stage are De La Soul. Well-known for their contributions to the sounds of Gorillaz and their reputation of being one of the best hip-hop groups in the world, they relish being onstage and the crowd responds immediately.

Posdnous, Dave and Maceo really communicate with the audience and the response is deafening as they dance away to classic De La Soul tracks such as Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey) and Stakes Is High. The trio are fun, light-hearted and joke with the crowd and prove that they can still entertain even after twenty years.

The wait for Gorillaz is finally over as the huge screen at the back of the stage comes to life. A rather creepy cartoon figure that appears to be figuring out a way to interrupt the main performance is the prelude to the opening chords from the string section of the small orchestra that is gathered on stage. The notes are beautiful and the imagery on the screen of the ‘plastic beach’ are all so well done that the whole scene feels like something you can reach out and touch.

Launching straight into the first superstar cameo of the evening, Snoop Dog blends his vocal talents with the horn section as they perform Welcome To The World Of Plastic Beach. It isn’t long however before Albarn takes the vocal duties on as the spectacle of the show unfolds before a raucous crowd.

And what a spectacle it is. Hit songs such as Dirty Harry, 19/2000 and Stylo are not only performed onstage but are also shown in all their animated glory as Albarn’s alter-ego sings along behind him as the film clips are played.

Living up to the popularity of the animations may have been a daunting task to some performers but Albarn takes it in his stride as he struts and leaps about the stage. His vocals are deep and powerful and it is hard to find any fault with his singing throughout the entire set.

But the show is not all about Albarn. There are several collaborators that have joined this mammoth tour and they range from support acts De La Soul and Little Dragon to a rock and roll hall of fame inductee in Bobby Womack and legendary hip hop artist Bootie Brown. The Syrian National Orchestra are also on hand and they perform a haunting solo of middle-eastern music that really show the true depth of the vision Albarn has with his collaborations and the influences surrounding each one.

As each of these stars take the stage during their various duets the crowd roars their approval and the hits from the albums are sung along with by the crowd.

It was interesting to note that Nagano’s return to stage to assist with some of the setlist was a lot different than her first performance of the night. Performing next to Albarn it seems that she plays up to his level rather than letting the scope of the performance overwhelm her. If she can transfer this to her own band then Little Dragon could really set themselves apart as a live act.

Gorillaz have most certainly proved that their show was one of the highlights of the touring calendar in Australia this year and for those that missed the gig, hope that they return soon for it is one show that is not to be missed.