October 19, 2001

Gorillaz : Manchester Academy

The whole thing seems like half-an-idea run out of control. Maybe that's why the band spend all night, silhouetted, behind a big screen, because they're embarrassed.

[I]"Damon is the blackest man in west London," remarked Alex James recently. It was
a bit snide and slightly wide of the mark - Gorrillaz
owe as much to Money Mark
as King Tubby - but we all know what he means, don't we?
Dilettante Damon has had his head turned at Carnival, his eyes opened in Mali
and suddenly he's all roots 'n' street culture. A man for all seasons, a persona
for all zeitgeists. Is he New Lad or lo-fi punk? Nick Hornby or Andy Kershaw?
Who knows? And, therefore, why bother? When Femi Kuti, Wookiem and Moodymann, to
name but a few, are out there tirelessly refining their sound in the pursuit of
deeply-mined emotions.

It's not like Damon can't knock out a decent tune either. At this ear-rattling
volume, 'Clint Eastwood' is seismic (the contributions of rappers Phi-Life
Cypher the night's highlight), 'Punk' is fun, in a Blur b-side kinda way, and even
'19-2000' is Dee-Litefully disposable. The rest of it though, is Kinder Egg
Massive Attack, dub-ious tunes and sketches like 'Rock The House'.
The whole thing seems like half-an-idea run out of control. Maybe that's why the
band spend all night, silhouetted, behind a big screen, because they're
embarrassed. Certainly, the streams of Hewlitt cartoons, Pop Art and CGI's don't
- partly for technical reasons, mainly because we're not all graphic design
geeks - make for eye-popping spectacle. There's plenty of titting about behind
the screen mind. Someone repeatedly shouts: [I]"Have you got any crisps?"! A bloke
moons! Damon talks in a daft voice that sounds like Eastenders' Jim Braner! It's
like being trapped in a lift with John Sessions.

For all that, with six MTV awards nominations and a Spielberg film in the
offing, and American sales rocketing,Gorillaz
are a phenomena. One that poses
post-modern questions (do they play 'Clint Eastwood' twice in half-an-hour as a
dig at blipvert culture or haven't they got any material?) while fostering a
remarkable synergy between computer games/ music/ Internet/ TV. It's very 2001
and, as tonight's excitable coalition of preteens, students and retarded
adolescents proves, potentially massive.
None of which changes the fact that the tunes and the show are just so-so. As
gimmicks go,Gorillaz
aren't even a good one. Resist at all costs.

Tony Naylor