Gorillaz
Barclays Center
October 13

If I had a pocket full of endless money, I would just keep throwing it at Damon Albarn and force him to keep coming up with new music, in whatever form he chooses, and then tour it, and I’d be there every fcuking time.  I basically have.  OK, so I was late to the Blur express, but ever since I brought Damon into my ears, my modern life has been as far from rubbish as possible!

I’ve seen him solo once (with two brothers Graham)

Got to see him as The Good, The Bad & The Queen (what a dumb name for such an awesome side project)

I’ve seen Blur 4 times (the Hyde Park show being the mostest!)

And now I’ve see 6 Gorillaz shows (like a child, you can’t pick a favorite, so I won’t – they are all a BLESSING TO SEE AND HEAR!!)

This means I’ve seen Damon Albarn in some form play a concert 12 times, which means I’ve seen him perform in concert more than any other human on earth (besides my mom singing Bob Marley songs).  This means I love Damon Albarn above all others.  And I would say that is accurate.  No matter how much I LIVE for the Beatles and their living members, I’m all for Damon or bust.

Damon is THE best.  He always brings it.  I’m glad he’s found a way to be successful in America.  Guess most Yanks aren’t into cockney word play.  Their loss.  But really my loss.  If Blur were big over here, they would play here all the time, instead of barely selling out MSG.  Whatevs.  Come here with them, without them, with De La Soul, with Gay La Bowl, whoever.  If you played with a pack of wild dogs, it would be amazing, and I would be there, for you and for me!

Damon, I am in awe of you.  Some people love and worship Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.  That’s great!  Let those people bow that way, and I’ll bow towards something much more wow, and now now – you Damon Albarn.  Bless your fcuking heart mate!

Setlist – M1 A1 / Tranz / Last Living Souls / Rhinestone Eyes / Saturnz Barz / Tomorrow Comes Today / Every Planet We Reach Is Dead / 19-2000 / Humility / Superfast Jellyfish (with De La Soul) / On Melancholy Hill / El Mañana / Fire Flies / Strobelite (with Peven Everett) / Interlude: Elevator Going Up / Andromeda / Hollywood (with Jamie Principle) / Dirty Harry (with Bootie Brown) / Feel Good Inc (with De La Soul) / Souk Eye / Plastic Beach

Encore – Lake Zurich / Latin Simone / Kids With Guns / Stylo (with Mos Def and Peven Everett) / Clint Eastwood / Don’t Get Lost in Heaven / Demon Days

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo5lOfMg9mn/

Gorillaz
Merriweather Post Pavilion
July 17th

How lucky are we to be alive (and well) in a day and age where we get to over-experience the genius of Damon Albarn – our most magnificent modern music maestro, master of majestic melodies in multiple multitudes?

I only discovered this man in 1998, after a former thigh mistress imparted her Blur wisdom on me.  I felt so behind (they were already on their 5th album), and dumb for being so behind on Dan Abnormal, but once bitten, 9ever smitten

Since then, it’s been nothing but Damon Albarn for me, in any shape or form, and there have certainly been a lot of forms.  Blur is what launched him into the stratosphere (WOO-WHO!!), but in their long 21st century hiatus, his idle hands were hardly anything but.  There was a fantastic teaming with Clash bassist Paul Simonon and Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen – The Good, The Bad, The Queen, another side project with Allen and RHCP’s Flea - Rocket Juice & The Moon, a (not so amazing considering how amazing he is) solo album – Everyday Robots, and other lil things here and there, but the one project that seems to capture his greatness greater than all the rest of the greatness (yes, even more than Blur!) has been Gorillaz

Now four brilliant albums deep, the Gorillaz is not only Albarn’s most tremendous accomplishment to date, but they may in fact be the best music act going IN THE WORLD!!!  I may be biased, but I am not wrong.  The Gorillaz’ albums act as a mix tape carnival of what the world sounds like, well, at least to Damon.  And we’re all ears!! He supplies the basis, and brings on a bunch of guest stars – legends, ones in the making, and people you have zero awarness of – and blends it into the best cocktail that you want to rub your cock to

On the Gorillaz’ latest go around – Humanz – it’s not more of the same – but even more insane!!!!  And when it came alive at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland (where I haven’t seen a show since 1997, when I caught the Wu-Tang Clan open for Rage Against The Machine… and then left after the Clan finished their set!), it was even more marvelous live, in the flesh… and on tape!  

Tape! as in pre-recorded video, for the contributors who couldn’t join the Gorillaz on this tour.  And in the past, that was part of the problem of their ability to tour.  The first album had few guest stars, but when their all-star studded second, Demon Days, dropped, they weren’t really into the pre-tapping stuff, and so they only staged concerts in 2 cities, for 10 shows in total (I saw 2 of them!).  That was it!  Everyone else outside of Manchester England and New York City had to suck it!  And that really sucks.  People deserved to see Demon Days toured… even if, lets say, Ike Turner and Dennis Hopper couldn’t make it to every stop (although they did film one of the shows for all to see)

But such things don’t stop the Gorillaz now.  It’s all systems go, even if some of the guest stars can’t go with them. So while Gorillaz newbies like Vince Staples, Danny Brown, Peven Everett, Jamie Principle and Pusha T (his 1st appearance on the tour) were able to join this Merriweather date, we had to make do with a pre-recorded Mavis Staples and a bunch of others.  We didn’t get De La Soul, live OR recorded, and so we didn’t get soulful De La/Gorillaz tracks, and that’s OK, cause everything we did get was amazing (although I really would have loved to have heard ‘She’s My Collar’ and ‘Charger’, which were played at other stops), and we always get Damon Albarn at every show, and he gives us his all, and all of him is all I truly need (this marks the 11th concert I’ve seen of him in some form or another.  I look forward to the next 11)

Guess if I want it all(barn), I’ll just have to quit all my jobs and follow Damon everywhere he goes.  I bet he even makes sweet music on the toilet.  Too be honest, I’d love to find out.  I’d even do the wiping!

Setlist РM1 A1 / Ascension (with Vince Staples) / Last Living Souls / Saturnz Barz / Tomorrow Comes Today / Rhinestone Eyes / Sleeping Powder / 19/2000 / El Ma̱ana / On Melancholy Hill / Busted and Blue / Let Me Out (with Pusha T) / Submission (with Danny Brown) / Strobelite (with Peven Everett) / Andromeda / Sex Murder Party (with Jamie Principle) / DARE / We Got the Power

Encore – Stylo (with Peven Everett) / Kids With Guns / Clint Eastwood (with Vince Staples) / Don’t Get Lost in Heaven / Demon Days

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWrSKeWjCGi/

Damon Albarn
Irving Plaza
June 8th

No, that is not a picture of Damon Albarn and two dudes with their mouths gaping open – it’s Uncle Grambo, yours drooly and Grahamorama, reunited like Wu Tang, but with no double LP, but the world was still excited.  Actually the world didn’t really know or really care, but I did.  It’s not often that I get to be in the company of these extra ordinary gentlemen, and on top of that, gettin to pound whatever Miller Fortunes are is, with background music provided by my favorite living artist born post 1960 – Mr Albarn.  The show?  Damn good stuff – including tracks from his not so hot solo album + choice non-Blur project cuts (see set list below) – but what really made the show a show of shows was being with the Bros Graham, and showing them how much I loved them.  I almost humped their thighs to pieces.  Afterwards, we craved Dairy Queen, but it was closed, so instead we all took a rookie spin on a CitiBike bike, and forever changed our thighs/lives

Setlist - Lonely Press Play / Everyday Robots / Tomorrow Comes Today (Gorillaz) / Hostiles / Slow Country (Gorillaz) / Kids With Guns (Gorillaz) / Three Changes (The Good, The Bad & The Queen) / You and Me / Photographs (You Are Taking Now) / Poison (Rocket Juice & The Moon song) / El Mañana (Gorillaz) / Kingdom of Doom (The Good, The Bad & The Queen) / The History of a Cheating Heart / Out of Time (Blur) / All Your Life (Blur) 

Encore - Last Living Souls (Gorillaz) / Clint Eastwood with Vic Mensa (Gorillaz) / Mr Tembo / Heavy Seas of Love

Peace The Forks Out

to

Blur vs Oasis

August 14, 1995 – March 23, 2013

 

 +

huge-o jackass

van cliburnin’ no mo

no more days at a time

silent child actor + second-unit director of ALL THREE Indiana Jones movies!!!

Paul Bearer!!!

board to death

jump shot kind Bud

inspiration for crazed Natural stalker lady

bag lady

Pol Pot’s brother-in-law

a doolittler

no

no longer tempted and he too and no mo miracles for this guy

some TV western shooter dude

some actor with crazy hair & glasses

Hitler plotter

bottomed out

he went home at Woodstock

&

Reems-y and his dreamy mustache

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