Gorillaz live in Liverpool Sensory Overload, Strange Beauty And Total Escapism At M&S Bank Arena
- Desh Kapur
- 7 minutes ago
- 3 min read
M&S Bank Arena- Liverpool - 29th March 2026
WORDS DESH KAPUR / IMAGES LUKE DYSON
There’s something about the M&S Bank Arena that lends itself to scale. Sitting on the city’s waterfront, it’s a venue built for big nights — and on a clear but biting March evening, Liverpool felt ready for one. The air was crisp, the pre-show drinks flowed easily, and by the time doors opened, the place was buzzing. Inside, it was a full-spectrum crowd — kids, long-time fans, curious newcomers — all pulled together by the promise of something more than just a gig.
Because Gorillaz have never really been just a band. Conceived by Damon Albarn (Blur) and Jamie Hewlett (Tank Girl), the project has always blurred lines between music, animation and storytelling — a “virtual” act that somehow feels more expansive, more fluid than most real ones. That ethos carries into The Mountain Tour, a show built on genre-hopping and visual immersion, where hip-hop, electronica and indie collide under towering LED visuals and a revolving cast of collaborators.
They open with ‘The Mountain’, and it’s immediately clear this won’t be a conventional set. Jungle Book-style visuals flicker across huge screens, tablas ripple through the arena, and Albarn appears centre stage in a yoga mountain pose, in shades — a surreal, almost mystical introduction. It’s Indian-influenced, hypnotic, and just disorienting enough to pull you fully in. The crowd is hooked from the off.
By the second track, ‘The Happy Dictator’, the sensory overload ramps up. The screens stutter with fragmented imagery — faces that half-resemble Bryan Ferry, glitching in and out — while the music itself feels oddly euphoric, almost celebratory. Albarn straps on a guitar, and from here, the set barely pauses. It flows — relentlessly, seamlessly — like one long, shifting piece of art.
If anything, that’s the point. Gorillaz don’t guide you through the experience — they drop you into it.
Interaction is minimal, almost non-existent at times. Albarn keeps talking to a minimum, letting the visuals and the music do the work. It’s overwhelming — deliberately so. By the third or fourth track, you’re not quite sure where to look. It’s immersive, and intoxicating — like sensory overload in its most enjoyable form.
Then ‘19/2000’ hits, and everything snaps into focus. The crowd erupts. Suddenly, there’s release. Albarn finally breaks the silence: “Thanks, it’s great to be back.” It’s brief, but it lands.
But what is Gorillaz in this setting? That question lingers throughout. There’s Indian mysticism woven into hip-hop beats, indie textures colliding with electronic pulses. It’s self-indulgent — but in exactly the right way. At times it borders on bombastic, yet there’s an underlying coolness that keeps it grounded. Messages flicker visually and lyrically, often feeling subliminal, just out of reach. You’re not always sure what it means — and that ambiguity feels intentional.
The guest appearances only amplify that sense of unpredictability. Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) gold cap, baggy white shorts, oversized boots — and suddenly the vibe flips. It’s funkier, looser, more direct. That’s the brilliance of Gorillaz: the constant contradiction. It shouldn’t work — but it does. he brings weight to Stylo and ‘Damascus’, Bootie Brown ignites ‘Dirty Harry’, while Kara Jackson and Trueno add fresh textures elsewhere. It’s a rotating, ever-shifting cast — a reminder that Gorillaz has always been bigger than any single lineup.
And yes — the encore. Or at least, the idea of one. Because by this point, it almost feels unnecessary. The show has been one continuous arc, and stopping just to restart slightly breaks the spell.
Still, when the final run lands, it lands hard.
‘Feel Good Inc.’ nearly lifts the roof clean off, especially with De La Soul’s presence looming large over it. Then comes ‘Clint Eastwood’, and the entire arena moves as one — voices raised, energy peaking, everything clicking into place. It’s euphoric, chaotic, and completely unifying.
And then, just like that, it’s over.
You step back out into the cold Liverpool night — ears ringing, head spinning, still trying to process what you’ve just seen. Time has blurred. Nothing quite made complete sense. And yet, somehow, it all worked.
That’s Gorillaz.
Not always immediate. Not always clear. But when it hits — it’s unlike anything else.
SET LIST
THE MOUNTAIN
THE HAPPY DICTATOR
TRANZ
int dark pop
TOMORROW COMES TODAY
19/2000
THE MOON CAVE
EL MANANA
intro madam
ON MELANCHOLY HILL
THE EMPTY DREAM MACHINE
CLOUD OF UNKNOWING
DELIRIUM
ANDROMEDA
STYLO (Yasiin Bey)
DAMASCUS (Yasiin Bey)
KIDS WITH GUNS (Michelle Ndegwa)
intro
DIRTY HARRY (Bootie Brown)
THE SHADOWY LIGHT
THE SAD GOD
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THE HARDEST THING
ORANGE COUNTY (Kara Jackson)
THE MANIFESTO (Trueno)
FEEL GOOD INC (Pos - De La Soul)
CLINT EASTWOOD - CLINT REFIX (Sweetie Irie)
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