Demon Days Live was a limited concert tour performed by the British alternative rock virtual band Gorillaz, in support of their second studio album Demon Days.[1][2][3] Demon Days Live consisted of two residencies, with five shows played at the Manchester Opera House in England, and another five played at New York City's Apollo Theater. The Manchester residency was later released onto DVD as Demon Days: Live at the Manchester Opera House.[4] One of the New York shows was broadcast on MHD (now MTV Live) as Gorillaz: Live in Harlem.[5] The Manchester Opera House film was later nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Film.
Tour by Gorillaz | |
![]() Promotional poster for Manchester dates | |
Location |
|
---|---|
Associated album | Demon Days |
Start date | 1 November 2005 |
End date | 6 April 2006 |
Legs | 2 |
No. of shows |
|
Gorillaz concert chronology |
Live band
edit- Damon Albarn[6] – vocals, piano, melodica
- Mike Smith – keyboards
- Simon Tong – guitar
- Simon Jones – guitar
- Morgan Nicholls – bass
- Cass Browne – drums
- Darren Galea – turntable
- Karl Vanden Bossche – percussion
- Wayne Hernandez – backing vocals
- Sharlene Hector – backing vocals
- Rosie Wilson – backing vocals
- Wendi Rose – backing vocals
- Aaron Sokell – backing vocals
- Isabelle Dunn – cello
- Dan Keane – cello
- Deborah Chandler – cello
- Emma Smith – bass
- Amanda Drummond – viola
- Nina Kapinsky – viola
- Gary Pomeroy – viola
- Antonia Pagulatos – violin
- Jennifer Berman – violin
- Kirsty Mangan – violin
Guest collaborators and additional musicians
edit- Neneh Cherry – vocals on "Kids with Guns"
- Bootie Brown – vocals on "Dirty Harry"
- De La Soul – vocals on "Feel Good Inc"
- Ike Turner – piano on "Every Planet We Reach is Dead"
- MF Doom – vocals on "November Has Come" (video only)
- Roots Manuva – vocals on "All Alone"
- Martina Topley-Bird – vocals on "All Alone"
- Rosie Wilson – vocals on "Dare"
- Shaun Ryder – vocals on "Dare"
- Dennis Hopper – narration on "Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head" (New York dates only)
- London Community Gospel Choir – vocals on "Don't Get Lost in Heaven" and "Demon Days"
- Zeng Zhen – guzheng on "Hong Kong"
- Ibrahim Ferrer – vocals on "Latin Simone (¿Qué Pasa Contigo?)" (video only)
Production
editDemon Days Live marked the first Gorillaz concert where the live band performed in full view of the audience, forgoing the "behind-the-screen" setup of Gorillaz' previous tour. Visuals and music videos tailor-made for the shows played on a large screen above the band, while the band themselves were kept silhouetted by a combination of dim lighting and colorful, illuminated back-paneling. Puppets of 2-D and Murdoc were utilized during intros and intermissions, addressing the audience and commenting on the show from the venues' balconies. The lifesize puppets were created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop; the Jim Henson Company would later award Gorillaz with the "Jim Henson Creativity Honor".[7][8]
A Las Vegas residency was considered, but the "astronomical" production cost of previous shows dissuaded the band from continuing the concerts. Speaking on tour expenses, Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett explained: "The idea of putting it on in Vegas really appealed, but in the end it would have cost too much. The Demon Days Live shows actually ended up costing Damon and I money overall."[9]
Setlist
editThe following setlist is obtained from the concert held in Manchester on 1 November 2005. This setlist accurately represents all shows on the tour.
- "Intro"
- "Last Living Souls"
- "Kids with Guns" (featuring. Neneh Cherry)
- "O Green World"
- "Dirty Harry" (featuring. Bootie Brown)
- "Feel Good Inc." (featuring. De La Soul)
- "El Mañana"
- "Every Planet We Reach Is Dead" (featuring. Ike Turner)
- "November Has Come" (featuring. MF Doom) (footage)
- "All Alone" (featuring. Roots Manuva and Martina Topley-Bird)
- "White Light"
- "Dare" (featuring. Roses Gabor and Shaun Ryder)
- "Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head" – Read by Dennis Hopper
- "Don't Get Lost in Heaven" (featuring. The London Community Gospel Choir)
- "Demon Days" (featuring. The London Community Gospel Choir)
- Encore
- "Hong Kong" (featuring. Zeng Zhen)
- "Latin Simone (¿Qué Pasa Contigo?)" (featuring. Ibrahim Ferrer) (footage)
Tour dates
editDate | City | Country | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
Europe[2] | |||
1 November 2005 | Manchester | United Kingdom | Manchester Opera House |
2 November 2005 | |||
3 November 2005 | |||
4 November 2005 | |||
5 November 2005 | |||
North America[3] | |||
2 April 2006 | New York City | United States | Apollo Theater |
3 April 2006 | |||
4 April 2006 | |||
5 April 2006 | |||
6 April 2006 |
References
edit- ^ "Gorillaz Take Manchester, Prep Holographic Live Show". Spin. 22 September 2005. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- ^ a b "Gorillaz live secrets revealed". NME. 29 October 2005. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- ^ a b "GORILLAZ TAKING UP RESIDENCY AT NEW YORK'S APOLLO THEATER". MTV. 1 March 2006. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- ^ "Gorillaz to release DVD". NME. 24 February 2006. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- ^ "MHD to air "Gorillaz: Live in Harlem" concert on New Year's Eve". Engadget. 21 December 2006. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- ^ Demon Days: Live at the Manchester Opera House (DVD Booklet). Gorillaz. Parlophone. 2006.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Gorillaz / April 2, 5, 2006 / Harlem, N.Y. (Apollo Theatre)". Billboard. 5 April 2006. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- ^ "THE JIM HENSON COMPANY ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS OF THE FIRST ANNUAL JIM HENSON HONORS" (PDF). The Jim Henson Company. 21 December 2005. Archived from the original on 5 November 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2017 – via Archive.org.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Jamie Hewlett: The Gorillaz-Unofficial 2008 Interview". www.gorillaz-unofficial.com. 2008. Archived from the original on 5 June 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2018 – via Archive.org.