With special guests including Posdnuos of De La Soul for “Feel Good Inc.,” Del the Funky Homosapien for “Rock the House” and “Clint Eastwood,” Bootie Brown for “New Gold,” “Stylo” and “Dirty Harry,” and Little Simz for “Garage Palace,” Gorillaz brought their genre-blurring, boundary-pushing sound and visual world to life in Charlotte.
Damon Albarn and his talented group of instrumentalists and backing vocalists wove together the hip-hop, rock, electronic, and ambient sounds that define Gorillaz, while Albarn channeled Randy Newman-like whimsy and charm through a distinctly modern alternative and hip-hop lens, moving between melodica, guitar, and keys throughout the night.
The virtual band, created by multi-instrumentalist and Blur frontman Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in 1998, was represented throughout the evening by its iconic characters 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs and Noodle, projected across gigantic screens.
But while the visuals remained central to the Gorillaz experience, it was the musicians onstage, stellar backing vocalists and the parade of sounds and special guests that made the band’s Charlotte debut particularly memorable — and human.