The Gorillaz Tour Diary Part 2: Hitting It Big In Budapest

How do you bring an animated band to the stage? And how do you do it properly? Judging from Gorillaz’s show in Budapest last night (and in Warsaw on Wednesday), Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett have thought this out. The band took the stage at Budapest’s Várkert Bazár, an almost unbelievably beautiful space inside a castle right on the Danube.

Watching Gorillaz live is an interesting experience in which the boundaries of fantasy and reality converge. Though there is a live band on stage, the action is supplemented by electrifying visuals projected along the wall. As Albarn and company groove and writhe, the band’s iconic characters skip, dance and mingle with the faces of the album’s many guest collaborators. You haven’t really heard Humanz until you’ve seen it performed live like this. It goes beyond just sound to deliver a total sensory experience that runs from the initial ghostly blue swirls that start the show to the thrilling encore end run through the band’s classics.

All this is to say that the group’s performances really have to be seen to be believed. Get a taste of last night’s show in the photo gallery below, but if you want to see them for yourself, be sure to check back here on Tuesday, June 20 to watch the 360-degree video live stream of the group’s album showcase performance in Cologne.

Published June 17, 2017.