I used to hate on Damon Albarn and Blur, but then I fell in love with a girl in the summer 1996 and then I no longer hated Damon Albarn and Blur cause she loved Damon Albarn and Blur and her body was mad kickin and sick, and whatever made her body move and groove would now would make mine move and groove.  the rest is mystory

Damon Albarn is my moist flavorite musician goings, and maybe ever.  probably ever!!!  he’s like the Stanley Kubrick of music making, if Stanley looked like Jude Law.  he is like Jesus and Moses and Col Mustard rolled into one human being.  HUMAN BEING AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

schlappy 43rd matey!!!!!!!!!!!

Albarn – empee3 love 1991 – 2005

Gorillaz
Madison Square Garden
Rocktober 8th

Damon Albarn was once simply known as the frontman for the Brit-pop band called Blur, who were popular worldwide, but moderately successful in our neck of the shore (unless you count the amount of times ‘Song 2’ has been used in adverts and other stuffs).  Then something happened, something moist incredible: Albarn and his flatmate, renowned animator Jamie Hewlett,  cooked up an idea to make a virtual cartoon band, a Banana Splits meets a hodge-pudge of every musical style conceivable, that could possibly conquer this brave new world

Three albums later, the latest landing at #2 on the US Charts (with the other two within the top 20!), and the furthest thought is that the new world conquerers Gorillaz are a joke.  The combination of Albarn’s voice and vision, Hewlett’s visuals, ingenious producers (first Dan the Automator, then with Danger Mouse, and then Albarn alone!),  a large array of rappers (Del The Funky Homosapien, De La Soul, that dude from the Pharcyde), worldclass world musicians (Buena Vista Social Clubber Ibrahim Ferrer), and long loved, but lately ignored legends (Ike Turner, Bobby Womack) has equaled and continued to equal nothing short of brilliance.  People from the future (we pity you) will look back at marvel at these talents collaborating on what each album has become: a once in a lifetime opportunity, which will stand the test of time

Damon Albarn had finally cracked America, and we were better for it.  The Gorillaz’ first tour in 2002 was a rawkin, yet curious hocus pocus act, featuring incredible theatrics and toons, but left many a concertgoer befuddled and remote from the musicians, since they played the entire show behind a sheet in silhoutte.  Then came the landmark residency shows in Manchester and at the famed Apollo Theater, but 10 masterful shows in total isn’t really reaching your entire audience.  That was a mistake Albarn & Co wouldn’t let happen again, as their latest jaunt to support Plastic Beach is a global one, including multiple stops all over our country

And so, how is the show?  Uh, we saw Roger Waters’ can’t miss Wall show earlier in the week, and our early collected thoughts have the Plastic Beach extravaganza topping it!  Yes!!!!!!!  Sure, the other stops won’t include Lou Reed, Mos Def or Cibo Matto’s Miho Hatori reprising her Noodle ways, but that won’t make the show any less memorable or can’t can’t can’t can’t miss.  This show cannot be missed cause this show will never exist as it is again.  Ferrer, Turner and Dennis Hopper are all dead, and can no longer monkey around with Albarn on stage.  We hope and pray for the long life of Bobby Womack, but lettuce juss say you won’t be able to here him belt out ‘Stylo’ in 30 years time.  Also, how often will Clashers Mick Jones and Paul Simonon play together again, and with Albarn, and with the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble!!!!  O M GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blur was never big enough to play Madison Square Garden, and probably never will (booooooooo!!  although we’re glad we saw em at Hyde Park last summer), but the Gorillaz are, and they did, and even if the show wasn’t sold out, they owned the place and everyone’s attention in it.  Sure, not everyone was digging Def’s ‘Sweepstakes’ entry, but as we left da Garden, heading to the usual White Castle afterparty, people couldn’t help but shout ‘SWEEEEEEPSTAKES!!!!!!!!!’  We’re still screaming it

Gawd bless you Damon Albarn.  Now figure out a way to get Graham, Alex and Dave to the Garden Party

setlist

Orchestral Intro
Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach
19/2000 (with Miho Hatori)
Last Living Souls
Stylo (with Bobby Womack)
On Melancholy Hill
Rhinestone Eyes
Superfast Jellyfish (with De La Soul)
Tomorrow Comes Today
Some Kind of Nature (with Lou Reed)
Empire Ants (with Yukimi Nagano)
Dirty Harry (with Bootie Brown)
El Mañana
White Flag (with Bashy)
To Binge (with Yukimi Nagano)
DARE (with Rosie Wilson)
Glitter Freeze
Sweepstakes (with Mos Def)
Plastic Beach

Encore
Cloud of Unknowing (with Bobby Womack)
Feel Good Inc. (with De La Soul)
Clint Eastwood (with Bashy)
Don’t Get Lost In Heaven
Demon Days

more pictures

+ watch the Gorillaz’ 44 minute triumph on Live On Letterman

Röyksopp – Junior | Karen O And The Kids – Where The Wild Things Are Soundtrack | Unofficial Eastbound & Down Soundtrack | Flight of The Conchords – I Told You I Was Freaky | Fantastic Mr Fox Soundtrack | Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You | U2 – No Line On The Horizon | Air – Love 2 | Muse – The Resistance | The Swell Season – Strict Joy | Moby – Wait For Me | Jean-Benoit Dunckel – Cyprien Soundtrack

*out of a total of 12.31 albums that we listened to in the ‘009. yep, wees still far removed from today’s music, but we’re old and don’t have time for Lady Pupugaga and new things and stuff and don’t have a clue as to who 99.99% of the bands being Brooklyn Veganed about be, but no sweat off our backs cause this was a banner year for us in concerting (see below), as we took in 2 out of the top 3 shows we hath ever seen, and some of the others may go down in herstory as top 20ers, which is really saying something, but we’re not really saying anything, and if you know anything about music, yer probably not getting yer music knowledge here, but whatevs.net

Flight of the Conchords + Kristen Schaal @ Radio City Music Hall
Travis @ Webster Hall
Franz Ferdinand @ Roseland Ballroom
Leonard Cohen @ Radio City Music Hall
Phish @ Jones Beach
Fleetwood Mac @ MSG
Fatboy Slim @ Terminal 5
Blur @ Hyde Park!!!!!
Paul McCartney @ Shea II
Paul McCartney @ FedEx Field
Moby @ 9:30 Club and Irving Plaza
U2 @ Giants Stadium
Davy Jones @ BB Kings
Brian Wilson @ Bergen PAC
The 25th Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Anniversary Concerts – Night 1 @ MSG
The 25th Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Anniversary Concerts – Night 2 @ MSG
An Evening with Fran Healy and Andy Dunlop from Travis @ Joe’s Pub
Röyksopp @ Webster Hall
Matisyahu @ Sixth & I Synagogue
Phish @ MSG
Fiery Furnaces @ Bowery Ballroom

the past is the passed

’08
’07
’06
’05
’04
’03

in closing there waz one album, which was born in 1966 and wasn’t studio completed until 2004, that (shlong-overduedly) ruled our ears for all of 2009 and will until the dayz wees thighs dies: Brian Wilson – SMiLE. own it, rip it, d-lode it, love it

No Distance Left To Run, a Blur doc that will rock more than the shows Roc and The Rockford Files combined!!!!!

love how they used ‘The Universal’ in the trailer (can you see us in the Hyde Park crowd?) since it’s one of the mos trailer friendly songs mt EVERest. curious why more movie trailers don’t employ it. it really, really, really could should happen

Gorillaz third album to be called Plastic Beach & guest stars Lou Reed, Snoop Dogg, Bobby Womack, Barry Gibb, Mos Def and the Horrors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (you can here demos from said album hear)

Massive Attack w/Damon Albarn ‘Saturday Come Slow’, live Brixton 9/17/09

Heritage of venue for Blur’s first gig to be recognized

anything Damon touches turns to gold. we hope one day he’ll touch our peniseseses

now that The Old Man of the Mountain has crumbled more than a presidential campaign run by his brother John Kerry, a new thing hath since becometh the bestest thing to hail from our 9th state, New Hampshire, and it goes by the name of Funspot

fo those of yous who saw the franztastic doc King of Kong, you probably remember this as the place Steve Wiebe earned his crown, but fo the rest of you alls, lest this serve as a giant wake-up call as it’s a place (right behind Graceland and the Kingdom of Thighland) to make a pilgrimage to befive you dies. if you were an arcade gamer in the 80s, or ever wanted to know what it was like back then (we pity the fool you), then you MUSS get yer a$$ to Mars Funspot, and specifically, to their American Classic Arcade Museum section. LOOK AT THIS FRIGGIN FARGIN LIST O GAMES!!!! tits a gamer’s wet dream come true and all over one’s pants (the only ones missing in our books be Baby Pac Man and Haunted House pinball). most of the old schooly games are only a token. $20 gets you 80 tokens + a bonus of 50!!! that’s MO than a enuff to keep you busy for hours and hours of powers and powers!!!!

all hail the King of Kong!!!

WIEBE!!

anywho, Kid Kadoji and we used a visit to our pal Tom Welling: Greatest Actor EV‘s Shirehamp lake house paddy-pad as an eggcuse to go to the F-Spot (or was it the other way around?). everyone had such a gay olde thyme there (sadly we didn’t have enuff gay olde thyme for duckpin bowling, air hockey, kiddie bumper cars or bingo. yes Funspot also has BINGO!) that we’re gonna invite ourselves back to TW:GAE’s place next summer so we can keep feeding our Crystal Castles addiction (BK’s splendid Barcade will fill in our arcading void in the interim). anywho rd2, we took some fotos, and here they is, but fotos could never replace the actual experience of slipping money into metal slots. THE LOOSEST SLOTS IN ALL OF NEW ENGLAND!!!

doesn’t get more klassic than the OG Star Wars game

cause nuttin beats blowin up the Death Star over & over & over

another of our balls thyme faves, esp the mine car riding part

too bad there aint a level where you get to whip George Lucas

man, we’re juss as awful at Paperboy as we used to be!

hactually, all these old games are forkin umpossible!!

TRON!

almos as confusing and as lame as the original movie!

we gots more Elevator Action this July

then we did regular action

SKATE OR DIE!!!

eat it Anderson Cooper & yer 360 BS!!!

biggest waste of tokens mt EVERest: Dragon’s Lair

but nuttin beats its look, spanks to Don Bluth!

2nd biggest waste of tokens mt EVERest: Space Ace

which is D Lair’s flashier, butter playing brother

wait, they made a real game out of the fictional game in C & D?

either way, that game sucked!
but the movie didn’t!
go Dabney Coleman!!!

POOYAN!

it sez POO!!!

pee es – we were a lil depressed that the Crossbow and Fire Truck games were out of order :(

pee es 2 – the folks over at Joystiq made a visit as well and took an a$$ load of (butter) pics!