Just after a few shows into their 2022 North American tour, the Gorillaz arrived in San Francisco to bring yet another vibrant performance to the Bay Area.
Their performance marks their triumphant return to the bay while headlining at the Chase Center for the first time. The last time the Gorillaz performed in the Bay Area was in 2017 for their Humanz North American tour.
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Gorillaz performances are well-known for their genre-bending music that is accompanied by stunning and captivating visuals.
Whenever the Gorillaz perform live, Damon Albarn provides his audience with an energetic and electrifying performance, as well as a variety of guest artists, and San Francisco was no exception. These guest artists include: Earthgang, Fatoumata Diawara, De La Soul, Bootie Brown, Sweetie Irie, and the Bay Area’s own Del The Funky Homosapien.
Following the tradition set by previous performances, Damon starts off the set by playing the rock inspired M1A1, off of their 2001 debut album, “Gorillaz”.
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Unlike previous tours, the Gorillaz band were all fashioned in pink clothing as a way to symbolize their cult-theme for the upcoming “Cracker Island” album.
Gorillaz live in San Francisco. Photos by @byonome pic.twitter.com/k8OAKySiRb
Towards the middle of the performance, San Francisco had the luxury of hearing Gorillaz debut their new song “Skinny Ape” from the upcoming album.
Before debuting, Albarn briefly mentioned his inspirations behind the song.
He said, “This is a new song. It’s inspired in part by one of those wonderful things that’ve come out of Silicon Valley. The Amazon bot that walks down the road and delivers things. It’s something that which we haven’t got in my little island far away, yet. I saw it first in Los Angeles, and it inspired me to pen this tune.”
You can hear the debut of Skinny Ape here:
Soon after debuting “Skinny Ape”, Gorillaz brought out their opener, Earthgang, as their first guest of the night to play “Opium”.
Following “Opium”, the band played the groovy French-pop inspired “Désolé”, from their 2020 Album, “Song Machine: Strange Timez”. The performance for this song featured Fatoumata Diawara onstage with Damon Albarn. On top of the pleasure to see Diawara live, fans were provided with colorful visuals from the song’s music video. Diawara’s vocal contributions to the performance make it a major highlight in the night’s setlist.
Désolé, but this is so fire @gorillaz pic.twitter.com/RPlIWSYXMd
Before concluding their show, Albarn had claimed the night as a “special occasion”. He was able to signify this by playing a long horn for the crowd.
Welp it’s officially horn szn, even @Damonalbarn is playing real life Trombone Champ. @gorillaz pic.twitter.com/g9m6EnjVQn
The Gorillaz then concluded their show with the Bay Area’s own Del The Funky Homosapien by playing “Rock the House” and the fan favorite “Clint Eastwood”. During “Clint Eastwood”, the band also brought out Sweetie Irie to play the remixed version of the song.
ROCK THE HOUSE! @gorillaz with @DelHIERO in San Francisco! pic.twitter.com/zE60UNyYJB
This concert is yet another example of how Albarn continues to prove that he is one of the most energetic and exciting performers of our times. By featuring various songs from their 20 year long discography, Gorillaz were able to put on one of their most versatile set lists to date.
Gorillaz Setlist in San Francisco On September 21st:
M1A1
Last Living Souls
Tranz
White Light
Tomorrow Comes Today
19-2000
Rhinestone Eyes
Cracker Island
O Green World
On Melancholy Hill
El Mañana
New Genius
Empire Ants
Skinny Ape (New Song)
Kids With Guns (With Michelle Ndegwa)
Opium (With EarthGang)
Désolé (With Fatoumata Diawara)
Andromeda
Dirty Harry (With Bootie Brown)
Dare! (With Rebecca Freckleton & Petra Luke)
Feel Good Inc. (With Pos from De La Soul)
Momentary Bliss
Encore:
New Gold (With Bootie Brown)
Stylo (With Bootie Brown)
Rock The House (With Del The Funky Homosapien)
Clint Eastwood (With Del The Funky Homosapien & Sweetie Irie)
The Gorillaz continue to progress through their North American tour throughout the next few months. You can find more details about upcoming tour dates on their website.
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Photography by: Steve Jennings/Getty Images
