Gorillaz played Madison Square Garden

Gorillaz returned to Madison Square Garden for the first time in over fifteen years and brought out some great special guests.

In support of this year's album The Mountain, the Damon Albarn-led project known as Gorillaz came to New York City and played their hits to an arena of devoted fans who came dressed the part. Widely known as an animated band whose music is brought to life by humans on stage, the visuals for the night were impressive displays of these characters that expanded beyond their roles in music videos and introduced into a whole new world. As the live band took to the stage, nearly fifteen people packed behind Albarn and slowly brought the music to life. The pan flute opening of "The Mountain" brought a settled calmness to the Garden, the piping bursts of air making for a tranquil setting before launching into the pop moment of "The Happy Dictator" which had images of the band Sparks on the massive screens behind them to fill in on their parts. With four percussionists, four back up singers, guitar, bass, drums, keys and more, the room was filled with sound throughout the night and their extensive musicianship made these studio gems glow with life on stage. Damon wasted little time jumping from the stage into the crowd and when Miho Hatori joined for "19-2000" Albarn was busy making his way to the bowl seating, taking selfies with fans, hugging children in the crowd, and signing the plethora of memorabilia thrown in his path. Guests were aplenty throughout the night, both a combo of what a Gorillaz tour is on its own (I need to know how they're arranging for so many people to be on this tour and having certain guests appear for single tracks night after night) paired with the factor of being in New York City. After Black Thought from the Roots joined for "The Moon Cave," another early highlight came in the form of the ever delightful, bright and bubbly "On Melancholy Hill" which resulted in the entire arena joining along for the "ba ba ba da ba" moments to close out the track, the deliriously happy melody floating on and carrying joy. Kara Jackson joined for "Orange County" and show opener Little Simz was stunning on "Garage Palace." Adding to the onstage presence, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble added even more instruments to the stage when they came on for "Broken" and Bootie Brown's verse on "Stylo" was electric, his energy radiating and bringing along a crowd that was beginning to feel the clock push towards midnight. For the first time since 2017, the band busted out "Let Me Out" and brought the one and only Pusha T to the stage backed by the almighty Harlem Gospel Choir. The range of music and styles for the evening was next level and truly showcased Albarn's sphere of influence on the music world, his ability to play to both rock and hip-hop crowds while serving up slices of various world music as well. The inspirations are not just impressive, but his clear love for making music is apparent whenever he's on stage. At one point he grabbed a "Free Palestine" sign from the crowd and held it on stage while the audience roared with applause (see, it's not that hard). The night concluded with a blowout of hits and the return of the other openers, Deltron 3030, to help take it home. Del's verse on "Rock the House" had the crowd back on their feet and ready to go and Bootie Brown turned it up one more time on "Dirty Harry," but it was the appearance of De La Soul's Posdnuos for "Feel Good Inc." that turned the night upside down as the Garden joined him in his maniacal laugh before Del brought it all down with "Clint Eastwood." As the building shook from the bass and drum beats, it was the perfect culmination and return to how we all were introduced to the band decades ago. A great end to a night that seemed filled with never-ending surprises.

Set list:

01 "The Mountain"
02 "The Happy Dictator"
03 "Tranz"
04 "Last Living Souls"
05 "Tomorrow Comes Today"
06 "19-2000" (with Miho Hatori)
07 "Rhinestone Eyes"
08 "The Moon Cave" (with Black Thought and Asha Puthli)
09 "Intro: Madam"
10 "On Melancholy Hill"
11 "Orange County" (with Kara Jackson)
12 "Casablanca"
13 "Delirium"
14 "Andromeda"
15 "Garage Palace" (with Little Simz)
16 "She's My Collar"
17 "Broken" (with Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
18 "Stylo" (with Bootie Brown)
19 "Let Me Out" (with Pusha T and Harlem Gospel Choir)
20 "Kids With Guns" (with Michelle Ndegwa)
21 "The Sad God" (with Black Thought)
22 "Don't Get Lost in Heaven"
23 "Demon Days" (with Harlem Gospel Choir)
--
24 "Cloud of Unknowing"
25 "Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach"
26 "Rock the House" (with Del the Funky Homosapien)
27 "Dirty Harry" (with Bootie Brown)
28 "Feel Good Inc." (with Posdnuos)
29 "Clint Eastwood" (with Del the Funky Homosapien and Dan the Automater)