I shouldn't be surprised, some people will never get Gorillaz

I don't know if it's my immense impartiality toward anything vaguely connected with Damon Albarn, but I'm getting really miffed at all the idiots out there complaining about the Gorillaz Coachella show. The main complaint is that they played as themselves and didn't use "puppets", or cartoons or holograms or whatever. Really? Was the giant freaking screen with amazing visuals not enough? Were you put off by the presence of TWO BLOODY MEMBERS OF THE CLASH!? Did you not want to see that? "Oh for god's sake you can do anything, but PLEASE don't show me TWO LIVING LEGENDS in person." Well, really it's three living legends if you count Damon, and I certainly do.

I've ranted on twitter about this the past few days, but I felt like writing a stern telling off on my blog. The comments section on Entertainment Weekly's review is what really set me off, one astute "music lover" Bob wrote:

"[T]his guy has to be the biggest moron ever. that gorillaz performance was absolute trash. a fake band that decides not to be a fake band for the coachella closing performance? it was terrible. i have seen gorillaz in concert before, with actual animation, and it was amazing. this performance was uninspired and poorly executed. people left early in droves because it was so bad."

So, "Bob" would prefer to see a fake band, screw who the actual musicians are! "If I don't have some cartoons to make this K-Hole more psychedelic I'm going back to my tent." The thing is, Gorillaz never were a fake band. Anyone with an internet connection, or a brain could've figured out that one of the biggest music stars was behind it. Where was the music coming from? I think Bob has just blown my mind, did I imagine it all, have I been listening to silence and inserting my own made-up music in my head?

The Coachella message board is another place where Gorillaz dissenters have posted their grievances (dissenters is too nice, I should say wankers). The comments range from disrespect towards the wonderful Bobby Womack, anger at the lack of DARE, and also disappointment that they chose to end with the MOST PERFECT CLOSING SONG EVER "Cloud Of Unknowing". Come on, that song was made for closing a festival. One of the worst comments comes from music genius and casual racist Dogvolta:

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed Bobby W. was off of his fucking rocker the whole god damned time. Did anyone else noticed he had to be pulled off stage after Stylo?
And Rhinestone Eyes, the first note when the colored women were to sing "thats electrictrictrictric" they missed HORRIBLY. The 2nd time that part came up Damon straight up shouted those lyrics, as if it was a "FUCK YOU LADIES AND SING THIS SHIT NOW"
So pissed I left Plastkiman man for this mess, but so happy I left early, if I heard them end on Cloud of Unknowing I would have taken a shit right on the grass."

Um, colored women? REALLY? Way to go Dogvolta, racial epithets really help your argument. Bobby Womack is old, and this was probably one of the first times in many, many years that he had performed for a huge crowd. Also, Damon did not look mad, in fact he was more excited and animated than I've ever seen him.

I used to cringe a bit when I'd hear Damon say things about having to dumb things down for Americans, living in the US now, I had a bit of a defensive attitude towards it. However, now I really see his point. People, Gorillaz aren't a fake band, they aren't ACTUAL CARTOONS. Damon Albarn takes great pains to gather some of the best musicians in the world to make these albums. Sorry, it's not Murdoc.

Ever since Demon Days they've performed as a real live band, visible to the public. If all these so called "fans" would've taken it upon themselves to actually find out about Gorillaz before the show, maybe the lack of "puppets" wouldn't have come as such a shock and they wouldn't have needed those smelling salts back at the tent. The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Mos Def, Bashy, Kano, and Shaun Ryder all couldn't make it because of the Icelandic volcano. Did you hear Damon making excuses? No, because it didn't matter. He knew it was going to be an epic show no-matter what

As for the visual aspect, I thought the giant letters spelling out Gorillaz, and the video screen made for a really sharp and cool presentation, definitely the most impressive thing I saw at this years' Coachella.

Anyway, since it's my blog I get to have these little fan-girl rants, and now I feel better. It truly was one of the greatest shows I've ever seen.

AMERICA, THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS.