The last time Damon Albarn did back-to-back gigs on the same night was in 1990 at the famed Whisky a Go Go club in West Hollywood. Nearly a quarter of a century has passed and he was doing it again, this time at the Sydney Opera House.
Much has changed in that time. Albarn’s band Blur were in their infancy back then. What followed (roughly speaking) was Britpop, band split, seemingly esoteric but hugely lauded solo projects, band reformation, more solo stuff, middle age.
The circumstances are starkly different too. Albarn had to cancel his first opera house show due to the day’s hostage siege at the nearby Lindt cafe. Instead of elongating his stay in Sydney, Albarn opted to add the show to the next day’s performance, making it a potentially draining night for the musician.
The audience, you sensed, could do without a downbeat performance. People seemed initially subdued, perhaps unsure how to feel about a night of entertainment after two days of trauma.
Albarn, to his credit, didn’t milk the situation. “Well, we’re here. You’re here. Let’s have some fun,” he said, straightforwardly. Clad in a leather jacket, he bounded on stage to belt out tracks from his new solo album Everyday Robots. “This place is wonderful, but you need to be louder,” he told the crowd.
Momentum began to build as Albarn launched into Kids with Guns and then the Good, the Bad and the Queen, both results of previous projects. He wound back the mood again with stripped down piano versions of Blur songs Out of Time and End of a Century, a rather gaunt Icelandic trumpeter joining him on stage for the latter.
No more imploring of the crowd was required. The tempo lifted again for Clint Eastwood by Albarn’s previous collaboration Gorillaz and then near-bedlam was achieved when De La Soul strode out on stage to combine with Albarn to deliver Feel Good Inc.
Albarn was in his element now, spraying the crowd with water, backed up ably by a zoot suit-wearing bassist, gospel choir and strings section, among others. He sprinkled some Everyday Robots songs in towards the end and they held up strongly.
Not many living artists other than Albarn can draw upon so many genres and heartfelt moments when plucking from their back catalogue. His songs of east London melancholy, bombastic hip-hop and odes to yearning love may come from a different place but it worked perfectly on a wounded Sydney.
It was a relief to smile again, to shout out joyfully in a crowd again. Albarn provided a collective emotional release, as well as some excellent music.
