Photography: Kyle Mcloughlin

Eight British pounds and 30 British pence was the amount I spent on a poor tasting, pre-poured pint of Madri at the Ovo Hydro last Tuesday. As I begrudgingly made my way from the bar to my seat, I began to get excited about the show I was about to see. I was here to see Gorillaz, a world-renowned band known for blending alternative rock with the likes of hip-hop and rap.

The brainchild of Blur members Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, Gorillaz came to prominence in 2001 after their self-entitled debut album went triple platinum in the UK. Even though Albarn is the only permanent music contributor of the Gorillaz, with the other members being virtual characters, there was still a clear buzz around the arena as fans waited in anticipation of the show that they had ahead of them.

Before Albarn was set to take the stage, the show was opened by Trueno, an Argentine rapper who is pioneering Latin American rap music across the globe. Trueno was a lively and energetic opener and had the crowd bouncing by the end of his first song ‘Fuck El Police’. This high-energy vibe stayed the entire way through his set, and even though the only words I understood were the occasional “Glasgow” and “Fuck”, the crowd seemed to be constantly singing along. My personal highlight of Trueno’s set was his bongo player, who I can only describe as going “unfathomably hard”.

Gorillaz arrived on stage at exactly 8:45pm. There was clearly a bit of disappointment from some whenever the animated characters themselves didn’t walk out on stage, however that didn’t last long, and everyone was ready whenever the human alternatives began to play. Albarn clearly wanted to play a lot of his new music during the set, as he started the gig with two songs off Gorillaz’s new album The Mountain. From what I could see, the opening songs didn’t seem to hold the crowd in that strong of a bounce-fueled grasp. Whether this was because the crowd didn’t know the songs or weren’t enjoying them, I do not know, however it was evident that there was a nonchalant vibe in the air.

This level of melancholy-ness continued until it was broken, ironically, by ‘On Melancholy Hill’, with which Albarn paid tribute to Simple Minds. On stage, Albarn conducted himself in a way that is very difficult to describe. He had such strong confidence, but in a way that he knew and understood that he was good and that people liked him. I would compare it to Homelander from the TV Series The Boys (albeit without all the evil stuff and whatnot).

From here on, the crowd was excited. ‘On Melancholy Hill’ was followed by the likes of Delerium and Stylo (a new personal favourite), which featured a rogue Bruce Willis driving a gorgeous Chevrolet El Camino. From my vantage point in the seating gallery, I could clearly see that the fans in the pit were beginning to have a night to remember. At one point, as Albarn jumped down to the crowd, I could see an uncountable number of handing reaching out, praying that they would be able to even brush the garments surrounding Albarn. The ex-Blur frontman was worshipped like he was a King among commoners throughout the entire show.

The biggest cheer of the night went up whenever the music video for ‘Dirty Harry’ appeared on the big screen behind the band. Gorillaz were suddenly joined on stage by Bootie Brown, one of many surprise acts that night, and they combined together to perform a magnificent live rendition of ‘Dirty Harry’, which was surely the highlight of the night for many (myself included!). Gorillaz followed this with ‘The Shadowy Light’ and ‘The Sad God’, before swiftly making their way off stage in a soft close that surely fooled absolutely nobody in the crowd.

Surprise surprise, the band returned a few minutes later, giving the crowd five more songs, including three from the new album and the big two; ‘Feel Good Inc.’ and ‘Clint Eastwood’. As the bass riff for ‘Feel Good Inc.’ began, it was quickly smothered by the roar of a full capacity Ovo Hydro. Joined by Posdnuos, Gorillaz belted out the tune as if in competition with the crowd for who could be the loudest. With emotions so high in the arena, it was, in my eyes, a strange choice to finish with ‘Clint Eastwood’, as it felt like everything was being reined-in right at the very climax of the show. I would’ve personally preferred ‘Feel Good Inc.’ to finish off my night, however I’m sure Albarn had a vision and a plan.

As the musicians walked off the stage to conclude the show, for real this time, the crowd stayed, cheering and whistling. It was clear that Gorillaz’s sound, which is incomparable to anything else, has fans, and it was beautiful to see them all coming together to applaud the artists they admire.