Last night the Gorillaz #HUMANZWORLDTOUR hit Toronto’s Air Canada Centre and we simply couldn’t miss it, given just how long it’s been since they performed in Toronto and how great their new record Humanz is. Here’s what you missed if you couldn’t make it…
Vince Staples opened the show and warmed the crowd up with tracks off his successful new second studio album Big Fish Theory. Staples got everyone hype amongst a big orange screen and a bunch of smoke as the crowd filled in the venue. Staples even threw in his Flume collaboration “Smoke & Retribution” and his 2014 hit “Blue Suede.” Even though you could barely see the kid throughout the set, it didn’t matter because his tracks are all so tight.
The main event kicked off shortly after 9pm as Gorillaz took the stage to some funky music & opened their set with the infectious “Ascension“ with Vince Staples returning to the stage to join in. The evening focused on cutting edge visuals of the animated band (made-up of 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle and Russel Hobbs) as co-creator/songwriter/Blur bro Damon Albarn smiled and danced around the stage with bandmate Jeff Wootton and a spectacular choir. Together, Gorillaz slayed through their new Humanz hits, including “Saturnz Barz“ featuring a projection Popcaan & “Andromeda” featuring a projection D.R.A.M. Albarn rocked out on his melodica while having fun with the crowd, which he often told he loved. “We haven’t played this song in a very long time,” Albarn teased, as he told us about how he wanted to go all around the venue and hug everyone but “that’s obviously impractical” he giggled as the band kicked into “19-2000” featuring the stunning Kilo Kish. The set list also featured a rambunctious edition of “Sex Murder Party” (with a little hiccup but even better recovery) featuring Zebra Katz with Jamie Principle, “Strobelite” featuring Peven Everett and Little Simz both on “Garage Palace” & filling in for Jehnny Beth on the uplifting closer “We Got The Power“.
The band returned for an encore with Plastic Beach cut “Stylo” featuring the music video with Bruce Willis. We almost forget how many hits they have… We all vibed out hard as they broke into “Kids With Guns” and then lost it when they gave us some sunshine in a bag with their classic “Clint Eastwood“ featuring guest verses from Vince Staples & Little Simz. Closing on a gospel note, we left feeling like we’d just attended a psychedelic church, hearts full of inspiration and joy.
Check out our photos from the wonderful night and upcoming Gorillaz tour dates below.
VINCE STAPLES
GORILLAZ
photos by Ori Raynai
Humanz is out now, grab it via iTunes here. You can also catch Gorillaz live on tour at the dates below…
TOUR DATES
July 12 – Boston MA – Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
July 13 – Philadelphia PA – Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing
July 15 – Quebec City QC – Quebec City Summer Festival
July 17 – Washington DC – Merriweather Post Pavilion
August 11-13 – San Francisco CA – Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival
Sept. 15-17 – New York NY – Meadows Music & Arts Festival
Sept. 18 – Detroit MI – Fox Theatre
Sept. 20 – Minneapolis MN – Roy Wilkins Auditorium
Sept. 22 – Kansas City MO – Sprint Center
Sept. 24 – Las Vegas NV – Life Is Beautiful
Sept. 26 – Denver CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Sept. 30 – Seattle WA – KeyArena at Seattle Center
Oct. 5 – Los Angeles CA – The Forum
Oct. 11 – Atlanta GA – Infinite Energy Center
Oct. 13-15 – Miami FL – III Points Festival