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Live Review
by SashaS
29-9-2001
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| 2D Fronting |
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Live: Gorillaz
The Forum, London
Friday, September 28, 2001
Virtual band stages 're-animation' of anarchy by way of flickering lights; true to real life after a fashion...
Playing live will always be a challenge for a cartoon supergroup such as Gorillaz because two-into-three can't fit. Months after their self-titled debut album touched down the members tackle the problem of stage presence again due to being two-dimensional which is hardly suitable for the usual spotlights. So how was it for real? Perchance like 'old skool' animation in action...?
Imagine something akin to the 'remote-show' from the famous trilogy-in-five parts, 'Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy'. Yes indeedy, this turned out to be a virtual 'concert'. The whole set-up of musicians behind a screen alive with animated projections of ‘band’ members, lesbians at bondage play and waving apes blocked the stage from view, and any (randomly silhouetted) body could have been act-playing while the tapes spooled along.
The album's respectable variety of songs was performed with machine like perfection. The hit 'Clint Eastwood' required its singer, Damon Albarn of Blur, but was he there? At one moment it looked like he was, the cheer went up, but who could be sure? Cocreator Dan The Automator was due to guest, as well as Sweetie Irie and Ed Case. Mmmm. And the music? 'Man Research' sounded decent, 'Re-Hash' was cute, 'Starshine' rocked a bit...
Not surprisingly such a novel approach to performing leaves the audience in a state of bafflement, clueless how to behave in the face of such ‘neo-empirics’; so, unsure of the correct response, they applaud hesitantly and meekly. But after a while, human nature being highly adaptable, most simply suspends disbelief and start to move to the tunes, enjoying themselves. If proof of our distancing from reality is indeed needed, here it is.
The most important question is what is the motive behind Gorillaz? Art, maybe, but have cynicism and subversion become interchangeable, or even one and the same? In any case there's little distinction between this lot and the Popstars' 'Hear'Say' with the slight difference that puppets in the latter are human. Still, no problem choosing which we'd rather...
*
'Gorillaz' by Gorillaz had been nominated for the Mercury Award but they made their company (Parlophone/EMI) withdraw it from the running. Since then they've been nominated for 6 MTV Awards (EU), which they gracefully accepted. High marks for both moves.
SashaS
18-7-2005
Wordage: 353; Sat., 29 Sept. 2001; 09:33:06am
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