Mixed Response To Gorillaz Glastonbury Show


glastonbury-pyramid-stage




Fans and critics have been responding to Gorillaz’ headline spot on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage last night, with early opinions split on the success of the show.

Gorillaz were late additions to the festival’s 40th anniversary after U2’s forced cancellation, and provided a guest-laden show for the crowd. Damon Albarn at times appeared to struggle to command the audience as he had done so brilliantly when Blur topped the bill last year, and The Guardian’s Dorian Lynskey suggested it took time for Gorillaz’ main-man to get the crowd going. ‘…festival-goers continue to drift away at alarming rates,’ he wrote. ‘Disaster strikes when Albarn urges the crowd to sing along to ‘Pirate Jet’, a sombre album track about environmental blight. When few take up his offer, Albarn’s face falls and he mouths a desperate “please”.

The ballad ‘To Binge‘ is devastatingly tender, while ‘Feel Good Inc‘ and ‘Clint Eastwood‘ (the latter featuring a masterful cameo from Snoop Dogg) are joyously cathartic. ‘Clint Eastwood’s‘ chorus sounds strangely relevant: “I felt useless but not for long.” Albarn holds his microphone out to the crowd and, after a rocky, risk-taking night, finally gets his singalong.’

The BBC also quoted a fan who was less than enthused with the perfomance, saying: “It took a while to get going. Nothing happened for a long time. We gave up – we were a bit bored. Then in the last 10 minutes they brought out all the songs everyone wanted to hear.”

However, writing on qthemsuic.com, JD was more positive about the gig as a whole, but echoed the belief that the encore was the obvious highlight: ‘The encore is fantastic and delivers the hits half the audience has been hanging on for, as well as a tribute to Dennis Hopper whose channeling of Jack Kerouac soundtracked ‘Fire Coming Out of the Monkey’s Head‘. ‘Feel Good Inc‘ sends the audience into a frenzy and by the time Snoop Dogg steals the entire show on the closing ‘Clint Eastwood‘ it’s apparent that Damon has pulled it off again.’

Muse are set to headline the Pyramid Stage tonight, with expectations high for a memorable performance from one of the best live acts in the world.


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4 Comments

  1. Kevin 26 June, 2010
  2. Smelly Matt 29 June, 2010
  3. Tommy 29 June, 2010
  4. stevo 5 July, 2010