G-UNIT

NO silly not 50 cent’s gangster Hip Hop group…

My G-unit is a term that Ive coined for the purpose of this article that I feel adequately describes a) the group that is collectively the Gorillaz and the numerous cult collaborators that joined them on stage at the Roundhouse in Camden last week and b) how fucking bad ass this collective and their performance was.

If seeing Blur perform in Hyde park last summer reawakened my teenage crush on Damon Albarn, his performance last Thursday made me want to marry him. I find it hard to grasp how one man can be so cool. Surrounded by epic visuals, and the likes of   Mick Jones and Paul Simon of The Clash, Bobby Womack, De La Soul, Little Dragon & Kano to name but a few,  Albarn and his “Gorillaz,” resolved the ambitious challenge of expressing the performance of a fictional live band with inspiring style. The show was non stop excitement, continuous colour, energy, spectacle and extravaganza. As well as the various rappers and singers, there were multi-media montages designed by Gorillaz  character creator Jamie Hewlett , there were Ensembles and Orchestras( at times there were over thirty people on stage!) and there were a whole bunch of heads in sailors hats.

For someone with an attention span that seldom lasts over an hour and a half (to put things into perspective, the last hour of Avitar, was a great challenge for me,)  I can say with confidence that I could EASILY have stayed there watching, listening and dancing all night. Never have I been so up for an encore, especially when the encore involved  “Clint Eastwood.” My only criticism was the fact Snoop Dog wasn’t there (instead they had him on a pre recorded video that ran on the giant screen above the performers ,) because his featuring track, “Welcome to The World of The Plastic BEach,” which opened the show, is one of my favorites and also if only for the reason that he’s a total P.I.M.P. However his lacking presence was soon forgotten thanks to the multitude of other people that filled the stage at various points during the show. Highlights for me were; Shaun Ryder’s characteristic apathetic entry onto the stage for a cracking performance of 2005’s no.1 song “Dare,”  “Kids with Guns,” which had my favourite accompanying visuals consisting of  psychedelic guns  flashing up above the heads of the performers. From Plastic Beach “Stylo,” was awesome, as was “On Melancholy Hill” and “Plastic Beach,” itself. nothing was bad, nothing went wrong, I could go on and on.

So far I haven’t read a review that hasn’t rated this gig an impressive 5*s. Although being a sheep is not something I’m usually that into doing, I’m also not into lieing for the sake of not being a sheep so…..Damon, my love….I without doubt bestow on you and your G-Unit 5 wonderful, golden and much deserved stars for a performance that was unforgettable.