Damon Albarn’s ‘other’ band are now a bigger deal than Blur, and it’s easy to see why
Albarn’s original band may be a foundational part of Britpop and beyond, but this entity is a true world-music juggernaut that has featured more than 100 guest artists to date.
Some of those collaborators are present for the first of two sold-out Dublin shows and help elevate the modern-day Gorillaz live experience way beyond what it initially was.
For two hours, Albarn and a large panoply of musicians from far-flung corners deliver a maximalist audio-visional masterclass. Albarn may frequently take lead vocals, but he is keen to share the spotlight.
There is considerable emphasis on the Indian-oriented latest album The Mountain, with its sitars and flute-like bansuri, and Hewlett’s latest comic-book creations that provide a striking visual backdrop. No fewer than a dozen songs from that album are played, with The Happy Dictator and The Empty Dream Machine resonating strongly.
But this is a career-spanning show, too, with the first three albums prominent. A number of the night’s finest moments are culled from that 2000s era.
The eclectic nature of the set is helped by the guest singers. Idles’ Joe Talbot goes all in on The God of Lying, while Yasiin Bey, the artist formerly known as Mos Def, is in incendiary form on Damascus.
Dirty Harry, a crowd-pleasing highlight, finds Bootie Brown in great voice, while The Manifesto is all about Argentinian rapper Trueno, who furiously delivers his message en Español (accompanied by helpful subtitles on screen).
A Gorillaz show in 2026 is not just about the living. Deceased collaborators are honoured too. Among them are The Fall’s Mark E Smith and Hollywood countercultural icon Dennis Hopper, who sing/speak along on a backing track, their images resplendent on the big screen, while Albarn et al match their energy.
Gorillaz on stage at the 3Arena, April 1, 2026. Photo: Luke Dyson
And what energy there is. How could it be otherwise when there are no fewer than three percussionists on stage and a quartet of female backing vocalists who are determined to hit the heights?
If there’s one complaint – and it can be applied to the band’s recorded work too – it’s the shortage of female guest vocals. American singer and former US youth poet laureate, Kara Jackson, is a welcome exception.
Perhaps predictably, the show ends with two of the band’s most emblematic numbers. A euphoric Feel Good Inc benefits from a star turn from De La Soul’s Kelvin Mercer, aka Posdnuos, while their debut single, Clint Eastwood, sends an up-for-it crowd home happy.
Gorillaz will headline Electric Picnic this year. On the strength of this performance, the masses at Stradbally are in for one hell of a show.