Gorillaz - OVO Hydro 24/03/2026

The future is comin on.....

The jungle‐themed visuals accompanied the Indian instrumentation of hypnotic opener, The Mountain, as Gorillaz made a winning return to Glasgow.

The immersive and captivating effect of the band playing to the backdrop of stunning cartoon comic artwork was outstanding throughout, transporting the crowd during the deceptively upbeat Sparks collaboration, The Happy Dictator. Tranz got a particularly wild reaction as did the Gorillaz classic 19/2000, with the fans energy matched from the stage. The melding of animated visuals and live action sequences lifted things higher. Delirium maintained the momentum, and later the crowd were bouncing once more to Stylo (featuring Yasiin Bey; previously known to older fans of hip-hop as Mos Def) whose masterly rapping was a highlight. There followed the mighty, genre-straddling Damascus - East and West, in music and lyrics, with pulsating Arabic language vocals mixed with the fluent rap of Yasiin Bey: the crowd joined in this one - a heartening sight and sound during these times of conflict.

The mesmerisingly chilled Shadowy light had the audience hooked and slurring along. The show ended with the Sad God - a low-key rap ditty. What an end before the encore...

Bellows imploring "One more tune!" were duly answered! Hit record The Hardest Thing sent the crowd into a standing trance. The aptly entitled Feel Good Inc was an appropriately cheerful celebration for the birthday boy, Damon Albarn, who had turned 58 on the eve of the show. Guest Posdnuos finished the song, telling the crowd "I love ya".

The show finished off with the iconic debut hit Clint Eastwood - and what a finale it was! Bathed in colour from the massive screens, the audience bounced around with aural delight. It was clear Gorillaz are dab hands at thrilling the crowd with their genre-fluid postmodern electronic music, their own distinct and artistic cartoon accompaniment embellishing it with a unique and highly sensorially stimulating flavour. The future is comin on.....

Set list

THE MOUNTAIN

THE HAPPY DICTATOR

TRANZ

int dark pop

TOMORROW COMES TODAY

19/2000

THE GOD OF LYING (IDLES)

THE MOON CAVE

EL MANANA

intro madam

ON MELANCHOLY HILL

THE EMPTY DREAM MACHINE

DELIRIUM

ANDROMEDA

STYLO (Yasiin Bey)

DAMASCUS (YasiinBey)

KIDS WITH GUNS (Michelle Ndegwa)

intro

DIRTY HARRY (Bootie Brown)

THE SHADOWY LIGHT

THE SAD GOD

==========================

THE HARDEST THING

ORANGE COUNTY (Kara Jackson)

THE MANIFESTO - Trueno

FEEL GOOD INC (Pos - De La Soul)

CLINT EASTWOOD


Review by Sara Law, photography by Kyle Mac

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