It was somewhat of a surprise to hear that Gorillaz, a previously mostly studio based act, would be embarking on a world tour. It was even more surprising to hear that they would be including Perth in their itinerary. Yet that’s exactly what happened at the Burswood Dome on Monday night. With the fascinating Little Dragon and all out incredible De La Soul as support acts, there was no doubt in mind that this would be a very special night for all involved.

New comers Little Dragon were first on stage, and the quartet’s unique brand of electro-pop set the scene for what was all to follow. Having guested on Plastic Beach (the latest Gorillaz album), it was interesting to see what the band would sound like themselves. Enigmatic front-woman Yukimi Nagano was a delight and her vocals were extraordinary and Little Dragon made for a worthy opener.

Next to appear were hip hop legends De La Soul, and their hands-in-the-air old school party sounds were almost worth the price of admission alone. With big grins from the trio and the audience all round, it was impossible to be having anything but a great time throughout. Even if hits like Me Myself And I or A Roller-skating Jam Named Saturdays were missing, it simply didn’t matter. The fans were delighted for another chance to see their heroes and the newcomers might just have discovered a new favourite band. With Maceo manning the decks and Posdnuos and Dave laying down the rhymes like the ultimate pro’s they are, De La Soul proved to still be better than most current hip hop acts. They quite simply still kick it like no others.

Finally, after the supreme warm ups, came Gorillaz. The lights went down, the screen came up and the crowd went off. After a brief appearance from Murdoc (the band’s animated guitarist and head honco), Plastic Beach’s Orchestral Intro began and the significantly plentiful band took the stage. Blasting into ‘Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach’. The already huge band were accompanied by an on screen appearance from Snoop Dogg and the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and the party began. At times it was difficult to know where to look (and due to the acoustics of the dome, sometimes it was difficult what to hear…) but with a band with such a visual element as Gorillaz that was always going to be a given. That said, whether you were more interested in the cartoon element of the band themselves, the show was consistently brilliant.

’19/2000;, from their debut, was an early highlight and your reviewer admittedly almost had a teary eyed moment during ‘On Melancholy Hill’. This performance would be the closest Perth will ever get to seeing The Clash, as Mick Jones (guitar) and Paul Simonon (bass, and still hung low after all these years) were both members of the Gorillaz band. Watching them play together was a very special part of the performance to witness. Mr Damon Albarn was the man of the evening though, and the magnetic stage presence of the man is undeniable. Whether Albarn was strumming an acoustic, or behind the keys, or leaping around the stage like a man half his age, he was clearly having the time off his life. De La Soul re-appeared during the comical ‘Superfast Jellyfish’ (and later during the excellent encore) and Bobby Womack’s vocal performance in Stylo was breathtaking. The setlist was the perfect mix from all three Gorillaz albums and featured every hit and numerous album favourites to boot.

Songs from Plastic Beach sounded even better live than on the album. ‘White Flag’ sounded huge and featured the Syrian National Orchestra. ‘To Binge’ made for a beautiful duet between Albarn and Nagano. Most notably was ‘Glitter Freeze’, while enjoyable on the album, live it became a musically powerful climax to the show. With the occasional sample of Mark E Smith, the mostly instrumental tune almost crushed the Dome in its enormity. ‘Punk’ was the perfect choice to follow. The two minute crash and smash was exactly what it said on the tin, Albarn went apeshit, the band ripped it up (Jones and Simonon particularly enjoying themselves, for obvious reasons) and the crowd exploded in ecstatic delight. The band played one more, the electro tinged ‘Plastic Beach’ and the show was over… until the mandatory and heavily demanded encore.

Returning once more with Bobby Womack, the band performed a very special ‘Cloud Of Unknowing’ and a pin being dropped would have been audible. The crowd was spellbound by Womack’s performance and erupted in momentous applause once he had finished. This made way for the anthem of ‘Feel Good Inc’ and De La Soul appeared one more time for the evening. The hits kept coming with ‘Clint Eastwood’, with Bashy filling in for Del Tha Funky Homosapien before ‘Don’t Get Lost In Heaven. Demon Days’ finished the ultimate Gorillaz encore. You couldn’t have asked for much more. The two hour assault on the senses was nothing short of amazing, and will go down as one of the best Perth has seen in 2010. It will remain to be seen if we’re ever lucky enough to witness the spectacle that is Gorillaz again, but those who were there on Monday night witnessed something very special indeed.

Review by Zero Interest. 09/12/2010