Sigh… well, here we are, reader. Thanks for clicking that headline out there (or scrolling down from another story). I appreciate you sticking this story out with me even though it’s not what I thought it was. Now, first things first. We both need to come to grips with the fact that a bunch of gorillas are, in point of fact, not touring around the United Kingdom at the end of the summer. Sure, that would have been awesome, and we all would have paid good money to see it. And maybe someday, on the back of today’s advancements in genetic science, that dream will be realized and throngs of humans will pack like so many sardines into giant futuristic arenas to hear a cutting-edge band of apes bash-out a completely off-the-wall-awesome cover of “All the Single Ladies.”
But for now, there is at least a silver lining: Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz are embarking on their first ever arena tour — dubbed the “Escape To Plastic Beach” Tour — with dates scheduled across the UK this September and November. Following their recent sell-out performances at Coachella and the Roundhouse in London, the tour will see Albarn and his crew stopping off at Birmingham, Newcastle, and Manchester, and two back-to-back closeout shows in London, with a couple more dates announced so far for November. The live show this time around will feature songs from all three Gorillaz records (Gorillaz, Demon Days and Plastic Beach) being performed by Albarn, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and, of course, the Gorillaz band (featuring animation, artwork, and film as designed by Jamie Hewlett).
Featured artists have yet to be announced, but if recent live Gorillaz shows that have included performances by De La Soul, Roses Gabor, Bobby Womack, Little Dragon, Mos Def, Kano, Bashy and the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble are any indication, then there probably isn’t much of a chance that we’ll see any actual gorillas playing flying-v guitars. Unless you want to meet me at Chuck E. Cheese’s?
Gorillaz “Escape To Plastic Beach” Tour
09.08.10 - Glasgow, UK - SECC
09.10.10 - Birmingham, UK - NIA
09.11.10 - Newcastle, UK - Metro Arena
09.12.10 - Manchester, UK - Evening News Arena
09.14.10 - London, UK - O2 Arena
09.15.10 - London, UK - O2 Arena
09.22.10 - Dublin, Ireland - O2 Arena
11.08.10 - Paris, France - Zenith
11.14.10 - Milan, Italy - Forum
• Gorillaz: http://gorillaz.com
• Gorillas: http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vYuCyV3a5sc/0.jpg
