Gorillaz, Little Simz, and Deltron 3030 @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
The end of September was filled with rain, heavy winds, and dark skies, but as they say – the show must go on. On September 27th, Gorillaz made their official The Mountain Tour stop in Camden, NJ, at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion on the waterfront. Coming from England, this weather was probably of no surprise to the touring band. As a longtime fan of the virtual band, I was ecstatic when my best friend Alana, who is just as big of a fan, invited me along with her after securing tickets as a birthday gift. We suited up in our best Gorillaz attire, weatherproofed ourselves, and stood in a sea of ponchos, umbrellas, and rain jackets anxiously awaiting the doors to open at 6pm.
Gorillaz has been a popular name in music for almost 30 years now, and Damon Albarn refuses to stop working on new music for this project. Getting his start in the 1990s Britpop scene as frontman of Blur, Albarn later created Gorillaz as an artistic exploration of hip-hop and electronic genres. Most popular for his integration of a cartoon fictional band designed by Jamie Hewlett, Gorillaz’ animated band consists of Noodle, 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, and Russel Hobbs. Whether you know their names, their design, or who is really behind the music, there is no denying almost every person can identify or name a single Gorillaz song.
Packed from the pit to the seated area and all the way to the lawn, fans were hungry and ready for what the night had to bring. After quickly securing some merch and making it to our seats, the show started promptly at 7pm with hip-hop trio Deltron 3030.
Although it was a quick 20 minute set, Deltron 3030 got the venue moving. Many Gorillaz fans are already hip to the group through member Del the Funky Homosapien, longtime Gorillaz collaborator. The American/Canadian group consists of Del, Dan the Automator, and DJ Kid Koala. Emerging together during the late 90s, Gorillaz and Deltron 3030 have a long standing public friendship. They kept the crowd engaged by playing a majority of their set from their debut self-titled album. To pair with the dystopian nature of their music, futuristic visuals were plastered behind them during each performance. I think by far the coolest aspect of their set though, was DJ Kid Koala’s djing. He switched back and forth between multiple turntables, using vinyl to spin each track. After their set came to an end, there was a quick 15 minute switch-over before Little Simz emerged at 7:35.
Simbiatu Abisola Abiola Ajikawo, or Little Simz, is a young Nigerian-English rapper. Since releasing her first album in 2015, she has been working in the industry for just over a decade and has created a name for herself in the hip-hop and rap scene. She has toured with Gorillaz in the past, and is featured on their 2017 track “Garage Palace.” With a 40 minute set, Ajikawo performed a set-list pulling from her entire discography. Her voice is almost hypnotic, there is something so smooth and captivating about her flow. The best moment by far, was when she performed “Woman,” an empowering song that gives props to women all over the world who have inspired her. The song uplifts women, and serves as a love letter to keep us together and not divided. Little Simz made this abundantly clear as well, by including the crowd and giving a big shout out to women before starting the track.
Staying on theme with the show’s punctuality, the lights went down and the show began around 8:50pm like promised. In typical Gorillaz fashion, there was a series of animations that followed The Mountain’s lore. The screens played scenes from the music video for “The Mountain, The Moon Cave and the Sad God,” showing the members reunion and the visual lore of how The Mountain came to be. Albarn then entered the stage wearing camouflage utility wear and a tan beret, on theme with the current and previous album’s visual aesthetics. He started with the album’s title track, “The Mountain,” and then “The Happy Dictator” before moving through a setlist filled with hits old and new. Each song had visuals to pair, and Albarn kept the crowd alive with a spectacular backing band and vocalists. Older hits like “Rhinestone Eyes,” “19-2000,” “On Melancholy Hill” and “Last Living Souls” brought the energy to another world. You could hear a sea of people singing their favorite songs.
Of course I am biased, but the highlight of the show came as we got halfway through the set list. “Andromeda” set the tone, as it is one of my all time favorites from Gorillaz. My friend and I were on cloud nine at this point, just dancing the night away. Things only got better as Gorillaz began bringing out collaborators to perform their songs.
They teased us a bit earlier in the set by bringing out musician and former US National Youth Poet Laureate Kara Jackson to perform “Orange County.” Kicking off a long string of guest artist performances, Little Simz returned to the stage to perform “Garage Palace” with Gorillaz. Energy was already high, when the intro to Plastic Beach’s “Superfast Jellyfish” began and Pos of the iconic hip-hop trio De La Soul came onto the stage. This was immediately followed by a performance of “Stylo.” The original song features hip-hop artist Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, and the late Bobby Womack. To stand in their place, frequent Gorillaz collaborator Bootie Brown ran on stage to perform alongside Albarn. The crowd was going absolutely insane at this point, and we could not believe how much of a treat we were getting. Michelle Ndegwa came out to perform another classic, “Kids With Guns,” and shortly after the band exited the stage. With the lights remaining dimmed, we all knew an iconic encore was coming.
Making their return on stage, Gorillaz ended their show with “Cloud of Unknowing,” “Rock The House” and “Clint Eastwood” with the help of Del the Funky Homosapien, “Dirty Harry” with Bootie Brown, and finally “Feel Good Inc.” with Pos. This was the longest encore I’ve experienced live, but there was no complaining. With the show wrapping up around 10:30 after the final song, you could feel the energy continue to radiate throughout the venue. Despite the weather, spirits were kept high. With a total set time of over an hour and a half, every touring member of the band played their best up until the very end. This show was a love letter to Gorillaz fans of every era, and I am still in awe from getting to experience it live. From the animations and integration of music videos to the incredible backing band and high energy, this was a concert I will always remember.
The Mountain Tour continues in the US through Oct. 31st, making stops all around the country. Albarn tweaks the set-list and guests a bit differently with every show, so every stop is a new and exciting experience. Continuing the tour in Latin America and then India from November to January, the band will be on the road for the next few months. The Mountain is Gorillaz most recent album and is free to stream on all music services and available for physical purchase through their website and at any tour stops.
Cover photo by Ben Bentley.
