All Points East - Gorillaz

All Points East boasts some of the most jaw dropping line-ups this year, and last Friday we were lucky enough to catch Gorillaz headlining a homecoming set full of classics from their vastly impressive discography, along with countless collaborators and surprises. After seeing off a hideous, cheap bottle of wine, and enduring a complicated, convoluted journey through London due to the tube strikes, we eventually made our way to Victoria Park. When we arrived, it seemed like there wasn’t a festival at all due to the lack of signs and absence of bucket hatted festival goers, however after spotting some younger people we hurried along, excited to see Jeshi as our first act of the day. It was yet another unbelievably sunny day for a festival, and the perfect opportunity to catch Jeshi for the first time – unfortunately, we ran into our first frustrating issue, as is always the case with festivals. We were told our tickets weren’t valid despite purchasing them directly and were made to go all the way back to the box office to have our tickets printed off, to be told we weren’t on the system. Numerous people had the same issue, and it meant we missed the Universal Credit MC, all because of something that shouldn’t have even been an issue to begin with, if there was better preparation for the festival. This was even more aggravating as it was a day festival with a stacked line-up. With some acts only being given 30-minute slots, every minute was essential, but we were let down. After a back-and-forth, trying to prove we had purchased tickets under my name, we finally made it through the gates. Thankfully, this was the only major issue of the day, despite some later self-inflicted hiccups. That magical festival feeling settled in following the smell of street food, the sight of dirty portaloos, and the sound of music from every direction. We instantly made our way to the North Stage, a large blue tent housing some of the most electrifying talent over the course of the day, including the abrasive, arrogant Paris Texas, the ever exciting, mysterious duo from Compton, who delivered with their alternative Hip Hop bangers. This was a fantastic (delayed) start to the day as immediately mosh pits filled the tent, as the crowd grew dramatically from a dozen people to hundreds. Whilst the performance begun a little shaky with the DJ unenthusiastically spinning tracks from Donda, and the sound quality being a little muffled, they soon got into a tight setlist of trademark indie rock flavoured tracks like FORCE OF HABIT, HEAVY METAL, BULLSEYE, and girls like drugs. As I was thrown to the ground in the pit, I was immediately helped back up by several people - it was only 3pm but things were already kicking off, and I was ready for whatever chaos occurred for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, I had to miss the soulful, afrobeat flavoured sounds of Obongjayer, and the afro-funk driven grooves of Ibibio Sound Machine, but Paris Texas was an eventful trade. It was definitely frustrating that the day festival had so many clashes, but this was to be expected with the ridiculous amount of talent compressed on to the line-up.

As I lay on dead grass, enjoying the sunshine and recovering from the previous set, we awaited Remi Wolf, who was by far one of the biggest surprises of the day. Delivering even more energy than usual to her unique blend of Hip Hop, bedroom pop, and funk, she showed off her infectious stage presence with tracks like Liquor Store and a cover of Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy which went over particularly well with the crowd. It was a fun set which showed just how much potential the star has. As we exited the tent, we slumped over by the East Stage to witness jazz-funk, afrobeat royalty Femi Kuti, son of pioneer and legend Fela Kuti. As we embraced the calming sounds radiated from the Nigerian musician, we bumped into Obongjayer who was enjoying the music as much as everyone else. He expressed his annoyance at his technical difficulties and told us to come see him in September. He also mentioned that he planned to bring out Little Simz for Point and Kill – selfishly I’m glad he didn’t, as I wouldn’t have been there to witness the moment! 

We then waited, baking in the sun, for one half of the legendary Clipse, and GOOD Music president Pusha T. I hadn’t seen the cocaine wordsmith take to the stage for 8 years, and he hadn’t lost his charisma one bit. Performing a weapons grade selection of songs from DAYTONA and It’s Almost Dry, amongst his arsenal were flawless tracks like Let The Smokers Shine The Coupes, Diet Coke, Santeria, and If You Know You Know. He then delved into some classic Kanye West collabs like New God Flow, although we unfortunately had to miss Mercy and Runaway for Yves Tumour, only for them to be late. The Virginia rapper looked like a menace on stage, staring back at the crowd with his villainous grin. We also had to miss what was surely a great set from Nia Archives, but as she’s seemingly scattered around the UK every night, we couldn’t miss King Push for the world.  

After a lengthy walk to the Ray Ban stage, we bumped into one half of Paris Texas amongst the crowd awaiting Yves Tumour And Its Band. It was good to see so many artists enjoying the music too, and we don’t blame anyone for sticking about to see Yves Tumour, as they commanded the crowd from the second they walked out covered in white face paint with their ass on full show. Tearing through their unsettling, experimental, genre-bending psychadelia and noise, the Miami musician immaculately performed favourites like Jackie, Gospel For A New Century, and Kerosene, alongside their fantastic live band who were the perfect backdrop for their ghostly vocals. Their performance showed classic rockstar rebellion, as they got off with members of the audience, and jumped down into the crowd. The atmosphere was dark and moody, but overwhelmingly fun and chaotic simultaneously, and it was definitely a standout performance of the night, with my only complaint being that they didn’t perform any songs from Safe In The Hands Of Love, particularly Noid. Unfortunately, we had to miss Knucks for this set, but with plenty of opportunities to see the MC in the near future, we decided Yves Tumour was unmissable, after not making it to see them in Leeds. 

The hardcore riffs and intensity didn’t end there, as we caught a glimpse of Turnstile back at the east stage, performing a handful of headbangers from their amazing latest LP, GLOW ON. This was contrasted nicely by Kenny Beats, who conquered the North Stage, and exceeded expectations with a superb mix of Hip Hop. The energy was high, and the track selection was top shelf. Despite Kenny Beats revered producing talent, he excelled as a DJ with his blend of crowd pleasers. We managed to catch a little bit of IDLES, who by far had one of the most mental crowds of the day, but Gorillaz were only half an hour away from their massive 2-hour set, so it was time to head over. With no clashes for the last act, everyone was coming together for this one. Anticipation built as we guessed what guests would be brought along. Little Simz? Slowthai? Kano? Unfortunately, as we made our way deep into the crowd, I immediately felt disgustingly ill from day drinking – fantastic timing. Luckily, having caught Gorillaz at the O2 a year ago, I was able to enjoy the show from the back, where the crowd transitioned from younger adults, into mostly middle-aged people break dancing and frolicking about. I still enjoyed the show from a distance, but it was a huge shame to not be amongst the crowd for incredible moments like Mos Def coming out to perform Stylo, and Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder and Rowetta joining Damon on stage for DARE. One particular highlight which I managed to throw up all throughout, was Tame Impala and Bootie Brown from The Pharcyde making an appearance for a brand-new track, New Gold, likely off their upcoming record. I couldn’t quite cherish the moment from the ground, vomiting onto dry grass. That being said, despite my own misfortunes, Gorillaz got through a monstrous set of classics and fan favourites, spanning across their whole career’s discography, from Demon Dayz to Plastic Beach, and Humanz to Song Machine. Gorillaz unique blend of hip hop, rock, electronic, trip hop, and dance pop meant we were left with no dull moments. 

Kicking off things heavy with the Blur-esque M1 A1, before diving into gems like Last Living Souls, Tranz, and Rhinestone Eyes, which in particular brought an electric energy to Victoria Park. A particular childhood favourite was always 19-200, with its clunky, playful animated beat, it was joyous to see live again. The virtual Gorillaz world was more immersive than ever as Jamie Hewlett’s other worldly animations sat alongside a mesmerising light show, and captivating as ever live band. Hearing Cracker Island’s London debut was excellent, with its stirring, colourful synths, and hushed Thundercat vocals echoing from the sound system. Damon Alburn brought a captivating energy on stage as he proclaimed the gig his ‘most local’ show to where he grew up. He looked just as youthful on stage as he would have done 17 years ago, cheekily donning a 2-D inspired blue wig for sections of the show, and spellbindingly playing the melodica for all time classic Tomorrow Comes Today. 

Of course, undisputable masterpieces like Feel Good Inc, DARE, Clint Eastwood, and Dirty Harry were mouth-watering, as everyone should expect, and it was certainly surreal to see such iconic, timeless songs play out in front of you. Newer era Gorillaz cuts like Andromeda, and Momentary Bliss were definitely some of the best moments of the night too (despite no Slowthai appearance). 

Whilst at the O2 last year they did do more underrated tracks like Jimmy Jimmy and D-Sides excellent Hong Kong, as well as Song Machine standouts like Desole, Aries, Opium, and Strange Timez, all complete with guests, it did make sense for Damon to go all out for his first shows post-pandemic. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t put his all into All Points East – the setlist didn’t get tiresome for the whole two hours, even as I was sat down on the grass, appreciating the equally wonderful, slower paced, sombre tracks like On Melonchily Hill, El Mañana, Empire Ants, before a huge finish with Clint Eastwood and its Sweetie Irie Refix. 

We were absolutely spoilt at Victoria Park, with appearances from Paul Simonon of The Clash, Moonchild Sanelly, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Popcaan, Sweetie Irie, and even Pos from De La Soul who instructed the audience to embrace each other in a lovey, therapeutic speech, before erupting into Feel Good Inc. Damon also united the crowd (who persevered through national rail strikes to be there) and put on one unforgettable show, with a bit of help from his musical friends. My own mishaps couldn’t take away from the endless setlist of Gorillaz magic on stage. It’s always special to see the virtual band live, and I can’t wait for the next (sober) opportunity to do so – fingers crossed that after two decades they still don’t stop any time soon.

All Points East continues to prove itself as a festival well worth the ridiculously cheap price tag, for the endless shopping list of talent stacked onto each day.