I saw the Gorillaz exhibit in LA
I am not a massive Gorillaz fan, but I am fond of the stuff they released in their first two albums, when I was a kid. It's very nostalgic for me - it was the background music to a lot of spaces I occupied and cars I rode in.
So I was glad to be invited along to see the very strange exhibit they have in the Arts District in Los Angeles right now.
It's a semi-interactive installation meant to promote their most recent album release, The Mountain, which I hadn't actually listened to before being invited to tag along. I won't spoil the exhibit... but I'll just say that the first half is more like an art gallery, but the second half is more unusual and feels a bit more like being in a kind of band-themed haunted house. (There are no scare actors.)
As someone who mostly engaged with Gorillaz through their absolute biggest hits, I had the strong sense the entire time that I was a kind of interloper, not enjoying the exhibit at its deepest level. I'd seen a strange smattering of their music videos - like, I was familiar with the animatic for Rhinestone Eyes without really knowing what it was or what the characters were doing or why the video looked like that. Anyway, if you know the history behind that stuff, then this is for you.
If you don't, though, it's enjoyable enough - it gets very weird in the second half [laudatory]. However, I'm not sure that everyone would enjoy it at its listed ticket price (40-80 dollars, depending on when you go). I got a thrill mostly from being there with friends, and it's definitely for people who are much more committed to Gorillaz than I am.
Anyway, they have the model for Plastic Beach there:
After attending, I ended up watching this video from Lady Emily about the history of Plastic Beach and its place in Gorillaz lore. I probably should have watched it before going, because I really enjoyed it, and it elucidated a lot of things for me about what the Gorillaz were doing when I was in college:
So - didn't regret going! I am constantly learning things that explain the cultural landscape I kind of blundered through in my late teens and early 20s. Back then, I had a lot going on, a very tepid interest in any music with lyrics, and no time at all to listen to music I could not fall asleep to. There was all this crazy Gorillaz website lore stuff going on, and I had no idea! I think I would have liked it at the time - it reminds me a lot of the stuff I got obsessed with in the Bionicles fandom when I was 12 or 13 years old. It's a shame it's all so lost to time!