are we the last living souls on earth
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One of the best things about my mom's house is that she has satellite TV. Me, I've never even signed up for cable (TV eats your brain, you know) - but that's not to say I don't indulge. Especially when there's an exclusive broadcast of the Gorillaz performing Demon Days in Manchester!I watched it three times today, I'm not ashamed to admit.The band, true to concept, performs largely in silhouette against large colored panels. Damon Albarn's figure is unmistakeable, curved catlike over the keyboards and crooning to his mic like it's his best friend. Spread across the width of the stage, but always in shadow, the other faces are more difficult to make out.In front of the band, the backup singers and string section are brightly lit, effectively taking center stage. And they deserve it: as a vocalist, I am really impressed by the vocal ensemble and direction (but who, who is the director? Does anyone know?). The vocalists' tones are perfectly matched, exquisitely balanced. Of course it's hard to listen to Demon Days and not notice the huge role of the Gorillaz' vocal ensemble - several of the songs depend heavily on choral arrangements - but still, this particular group really strikes me with its precision, its accuracy, and (bien sur) its synchronized dance moves.BUT I DIGRESS.The magic of this show is that it is so perfectly choreographed, so obviously composed and performed by rote. There is little to no improvisation; song changes go off without a hitch, followed by lighting cues, dance cues, tempo shifts. Each song is led by a different group of musicians, who step forward to the lit center stage, garbed in obscenely fabulous costumes. Each song is its own world, a three-minute vignette. This is not just a concert; this is a performance, a ballet. I love it. It's so rare to see something like this, these days, if you aren't down with Britney...And by the way, speaking of female vocalists that is, let's hear it for Rosie Wilson! She's perfect. The way her tone blends with Albarn's falsetto is spooky; her smile is effortless, her pitch control completely unaffected. Somebody get this girl about three million singing gigs. Well, I suppose someone just did.Shaun Ryder overrides her with great tacky aplomb on DARE, holding what appears to be a bottle of booze. But that's why we love Shaun Ryder.Near the end of the concert, we're treated to a new song, "Hong Kong," with a live koto performance by Jenny Zeng. Albarn steps to the front of the stage to sing this song under the bright lights. The audience, screaming, leaps to its feet. It's an interesting action for Albarn, who originally insisted on so much anonymity within the group. But personally, I think he deserves all the admiration he gets.All in all, it's a wonderful concert, inventive and entertaining, high on showmanship and low on showboating. The effect is of a real, contemporary music collective.My question: what do you call this? Post-pop? Post-hop? Freak pop? Hop on pop? Tell me. I need a proper genre to make it all okay.
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