One of the most Anticipated and long overdue tours came to Cardiff with everyone’s favourite virtual band and a host of Special guests, stunning visual effects and flawless musical moments.
The night kicked off with Argentinian artist Trueno, riding the current wave of Latin rap. Despite performing in Spanish, he had the crowd hooked from the start. Even dropping a “shmae Cymru” which went down brilliantly. With sharp visuals and high energy, he felt like a mix of Kneecap and 4AM Kru with a Latin twist and set the tone perfectly.
After a short break, the huge stage came to life. The show opened with stunning visuals of the animated band across a massive screen, dropping you straight into a jungle world from The Mountain The New Moon. It felt like stepping inside a living, breathing art installation as the full band, including Damon Albarn and a 15 piece setup, took their places.
From there it was hit after hit. The Happy Dictator, Tranz, Tomorrow Comes Today, On Melancholy Hill and Superfast Jellyfish, with special guests taking things up another level.
Gruff Rhys joined twice, including a standout moment where Damon called him someone who changed his life a truly Wonderfull person. Pos from De La Soul, Bootie Brown for Dirty Harry, and Kara Jackson all made appearances, before closing with a huge reworked Clint Eastwood by Sweetie Irie that sent the arena into chaos.
One of the standout moments came during On Melancholy Hill, where everything slowed down and the visuals and sound came together perfectly.
With a huge 15 piece band that included a sitar, bongo drums, keyboards and a huge live band backing it all, this was world music at its very best.
A fully immersive, visually stunning show that proves Gorillaz are still one of the most creative live acts around.
