Gorillaz headlined the third day of Open’er Festival 2018 last night, stunning the 60,000 strong crowd with a set that received one of the best reactions of the entire week.
After opening with ‘M1 A1’ from their 2001 debut, the group then took things to the present – delivering an energetic rendition of ‘Tranz’ from new album ‘The Now Now’.
The performance saw frontman Damon Albarn leaving the stage – getting up close and personal with the crowd as he prowled the barrier and sung in their faces.
‘Last Living Souls’ then followed, with Albarn’s moves being contrasted against the onstage moves of his cartoon counterparts – with an array of different animations being displayed throughout.
The set also proved to be a career-spanning affair. The subtle synth-pop of 2010’s ‘On Melancholy Hill’ was followed by ‘El Manana’ from 2005’s seminal ‘Demon Dayz’, which then segued straight back to ‘Strobelite’ from 2017’s ‘Humanz’.
But while the set largely focused on Damon Albarn’s formidable reputation as a frontman, there was also some customary room for guest appearances.
‘Garage Palace’ saw Little Simz threatening to steal Albarn’s thunder as she powerfully stalked the stage, while vocalist Peven Everett proved to be a strong support on ‘Stylo’.
Gorillaz na Open’er Festival pic.twitter.com/M90Qv7P4HV
— Pablo (@pablowlowski) July 7, 2018
And as the performance drew to a close, there was only one way it could possibly conclude – with Damon joined by Del the Funky Homosapien to belt out the anthemic trip-hop of ‘Clint Eastwood’.
The festival concludes today with performances from Yung Lean, Years & Years and a headline set from Bruno Mars.